Petite Desserts at a Grand Price

This was another weekend we opted for something other than a visit to a cupcakery. However, cupcakes were not excluded from this weekend's edibles. After learning about this place from a coworker, my curiosity was peaked.

So, I ventured over to Petite Sweets for some treats. Ha! That would be a good jingle for them. Anyway, Petite Sweets is a little dessert/frozen custard/coffee shop that opened this month between River Oaks and the Upper Kirby District. It has a cute, simple decor with a fair amount of customers in attendance while I was there on Saturday.

Our dessert selections included: two mini strawberry cupcakes; two mini vanilla cupcakes; two mini red velvet cupcakes; a carrot cake ball; a strawberry cake ball; a red velvet cake ball; a red velvet whoopie pie; a chocolate chip cookie; a snickerdoodle cookie; and a bag of homemade vanilla marshmallows. Yes, it sounds like a lot, but most of these items are quite small. Hence the name of the business…petite… Since we usually eat half dozen big cupcakes combined, I assumed this quantity of small desserts would equate to that. Well, the price certainly didn't equate to a half dozen cupcakes. Petite Sweets desserts are in the $1-$2 range, which is good if you are portion controlling, but not in the way the boyfriend and I eat desserts. I walked out of there with a $27 charge. Even though the cupcakeries are a bit pricey, I usually walk out with a half dozen cupcakes for just under $20. Petite Sweets $1.75 mini cupcakes are one to two bites. Two of their mini cupcakes cost as much as a regular cupcake, but pale in comparison to the size. Strike one for the deceptive "small" pricing and two for the not-so-equal size equivalent.

After I returned home, the boyfriend and I split the chocolate chip cookie. It had a bunch of mini chocolate chips in it, which was interesting. The taste was decent; nothing to write home about, but acceptable. Later, I ate the mini strawberry cupcake. The cake was too dry and the frosting was jelly-like. It was only slightly edible. Second, I had the mini red velvet cupcake. It was better than the strawberry. Good frosting, but the cake was a tad dry. Third, I had the mini vanilla cupcake. It was also too dry and the frosting wasn't the creamy vanilla-type I was expecting. It was also almost jelly-like. I didn't think you could mess up a basic vanilla cupcake. Strike three for dry jelly cupcakes.

We then switched to the cake balls. Boyfriend ate the carrot and we split the strawberry and red velvet flavors. They were much better than the cupcakes; moist inside and a good exterior coating. Then, I ate a vanilla marshmallow. It was also very good. OK, I'm beginning to think this is getting better that I may remove a strike.

Next, we went for the snickerdoodle cookie. This cookie was so dry, it was as hard as a rock that you could barely break it apart. I know Houston is in a drought, but come on! It must have been sitting in the cookie jar for over a week! Strike four for extreme drought cookie conditions.

Last, we split the red velvet whoopie pie. The taste and consistency were fine, but at this point, I'm not too thrilled at having paid nearly $30 for a grand disappointment from such petite treats.

Three strikes mean you're out. I gave them four. That would be a disqualification in my playbook.

Not a Cupcake, Bundt Worth Mentioning

After purchasing a Groupon for Nothing Bundt Cakes last week, we decided to change up our dessert feast this weekend for bundt cakes.

Nothing Bundt Cakes offers bundt cakes in a handful of flavors and sizes. They have the regular 10 inch cakes down to as small as a cupcake size referred to as a "bundtini." We selected five of the "bundlet" size (single serving personal cake) in carrot, red velvet, marble, chocolate chocolate chip and white white chocolate. The boyfriend scarfed down the carrot and chocolate chocolate chip. I ate the marble and boyfriend and I split the red velvet and white white chocolate. All cakes are drizzled with cream cheese frosting.

The marble cake was good (pictured below). The red velvet had little bits of chocolate chip, which was interesting. And the white white chocolate was probably my favorite of all three I tried. All the cakes get props for moistness. The frosting is good, but if you like a lot of it, you might be let down as these cakes are only drizzled with it. While I enjoyed the frosting, I would have liked to see more frosting options.

We would definitely go back to Nothing Bundt Cakes; especially if they add more cake and frosting flavors. I still prefer the good ol' cupcake, bundt this was a nice change of pace.

Cupcakes to Crave For

The most recent (and usually most frequent) cupcake eating frenzy transpired by way of Crave Cupcakes. The boyfriend selected white chocolate macadamia nut (top middle), carrot cake (top right) and vanilla (bottom right). My flavors were strawberry (top left), chocolate on vanilla (bottom left) and red velvet (bottom middle). As many times as I have eaten Crave, I never had a bad experience with their sweet concoctions. I have tried some flavors that were good, but not a favorite. Yet, their cupcakes are always the right consistency; have the right amount of frosting; and contain the right combination of ingredients.

The boyfriend's favorite Crave cupcake of all time is the white chocolate macadamia nut. It's a flavor you don't see offered at many cupcakeries. I'm not a fan of nuts, so I haven't tried it, but I'll take his word for it being as scrumptious as he says it is. Never cared for carrot cake, so I didn't try that one either. I've had their vanilla in the past and even though it sounds plain, it's very good. They use pure Madagascar vanilla and coat the frosting with sprinkles, making this cupcake anything but plain.

As always, I started with the strawberry cupcake. I don't know why, but I've made it a ritual now, so why change? The strawberry flavor throughout the cake and the frosting make the perfect balance. There are small bits of real strawberries inside the cake that give it an authentic strawberry taste.

Second was the red velvet. Another perfect combination of cake and frosting in this southern favorite. The cupcake has a moderate cocoa flavor with creamy cream cheese frosting. What more can I say?

After the second cupcake, that sugar coma kicked in, so I needed a break. A few hours later, the finale took place...chocolate on vanilla. It also sounds plain like the vanilla, but again, the ingredients Crave uses make these traditional cupcakes pop with flavor. The cake is vanilla bean and the frosting is milk chocolate with a drizzle of sprinkles on top. Sometimes the simplest flavors are the most delicious.

Crave is my favorite cupcakery. There are several others that come very close though. Crave uses the best, purest ingredients and make batches continuously throughout the day, so you know they are fresh. Even though he likes Crave a lot, the boyfriend has a different favorite that we'll feature later. Till then…the crusade continues!