Gluten-Free and Glutton Full

We wanted to try some of the new Spring/Summer flavors at Gigi's, so we made the trip to the Land of Sugar again this weekend.

Since I loved the chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake at Sugarbaby's, I was eager to try Gigi's. And I’ve been intrigued by the gluten-free white velvet, so I finally got a chance to try it.

The first cupcake I had was the gluten-free white velvet. I'm not on a gluten-free diet, but I had been curious as to how white velvet would taste. I've tried a few other gluten-free products and had positive experiences with them. Gigi's white velvet cupcake is gluten-free white cake with a buttercream frosting, dusted with powdered sugar and topped with a white chocolate heart. Don't let the cake crumble! The cake part fell apart quite a bit, but apparently that is somewhat normal for gluten-free products. It was a bit dry as well. I'm not sure if the dryness was also due to being gluten-free. Overall, the cake was OK. The frosting was good and quite sweet.

The second cupcake was the newly debuted chocolate chip cookie dough (full of gluten and glutton). It’s chocolate chip cookie cake with cookie dough frosting, chocolate chips and topped with half of a mini chocolate chip cookie. This cake was a tad bit dry too. I really enjoyed the frosting. It was rich, but the best part of the cupcake. I would have preferred fewer chocolate chips. While I liked this cupcake, I feel Sugarbaby's version edges out for the win. The cake in Sugarbaby's chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake was moister and had slightly better flavor; and I felt the fewer chocolate chips didn’t overpower the overall taste.

Both cupcakes satisfied my sweet tooth, but didn't completely meet my high expectations for Gigi's this weekend. I definitely wouldn't disqualify either cupcake; I'd happily devour them again in the future.

Get Crackin' with Pistachio

Crave Cupcakes just announced their new pistachio flavor today; available daily, but only March 19-31. It's a blend of pureed pistachios with hints of citrus and spice, topped with white chocolate cream cheese frosting.

I'm not so sure about this one. I like pistachios by themselves, but I don't know if I'd like them in a cupcake. I'm not really tempted to try it. Let me know if you tried it and what you think...

New Spring/Summer Cupcakes

Gigi's Cupcakes is launching their Spring/Summer menu on March 19 with eight new flavors. Here's the lowdown on the new flavor lineup:

Cinnamon Roll - Cinnamon roll cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, topped with a glaze and cinnamon sugar. Available on Mondays & Fridays.

Mississippi Mud - Mississippi Mud cake with coconut and pecans, topped with chocolate marshmallow frosting, marshmallows and ganache. Available on Tuesdays & Thursdays.

Hummingbird - Hummingbird cake with walnuts and coconut topped with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting and a light pink fondant daisy. Available on Wednesdays.

White Chocolate Raspberry Frappe - White chocolate raspberry cake, raspberry buttercream frosting, topped with raspberry sauce and a Gigi swirl. Available on Wednesdays & Fridays.

Lemon Poppy Seed - Lemon poppy seed cake with lemon cream cheese frosting, sprinkled with poppy seeds and yellow sugar crystals. Available on Wednesdays & Saturdays.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough - Chocolate chip cookie cake with cookie dough frosting, chocolate chips, topped with a chocolate chip cookie. Available Thursdays & Saturdays.

Pistachio - Pistachio cake with pistachio buttercream frosting, rimmed with crunchy/salty pistachio nuts and topped with sea salt. Available on Thursdays & Saturdays.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake - Devil's food cake with dark chocolate chips, champagne cream cheese frosting, chocolate chips and chocolate ganache. Available on Fridays.

Irish for Cupcakes

As promised...I tried the Irish chocolate cupcake from Sprinkles this week. It's Belgian dark chocolate cake topped with Bailey's Irish cream frosting and a fondant shamrock. The cake was fluffy and moist at the same time. Loved the frosting! It was like a regular cream cheese frosting, but with a tad bit more creamy flavor.

During this baby shower, others also indulged in Sprinkles cupcakes. As a special request, I'm featuring my coworker Rob chowing down on his red velvet cupcake. So Rob...here is your online celebrity expose`...take pride in everyone seeing you pig out.

What if You Have a Cupcake Craving at 2AM?

Sprinkles has the answer with their new 24-hour cupcake vending machine. Check it out: Sprinkles Cupcake ATM

Gimme Some Sugar...Baby!

It's been a few years since we had Sugarbaby's Cupcake Boutique. It was, after all, my first gourmet cupcake experience. I've been eyeing their chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake, so I talked the fiance into grabbing some dessert from Sugarbaby's this weekend.

The top row cupcakes are chocolate chip cookie dough; one for the fiance and the other for me. Second row is sweet strawberry for me and chocolate truffle for the fiance. Third row is fiance's velvet rouge and my va-va vanilla with chocolate buttercream.

As Ms. Predictable, I had the strawberry first. It's strawberry cake made with real strawberries and topped with sweet strawberry buttercream. You could tell it was made with real strawberries because it had more of a natural sweet flavor rather than that heavy sugar sweetness. It was a tiny bit dry, but not too noticeable. I liked this one.

My second cupcake was the va-va vanilla, which is vanilla bean cake with traditional chocolate buttercream frosting and sprinkles on top. This one was just OK. It was a little on the dry side; more so than the strawberry.

Save the best for last...the chocolate chip cookie dough. It is vanilla chocolate chip cake topped with eggless chocolate chip cookie dough buttercream. It doesn't look as pretty as the others, but it sure tasted pretty...oh how yummy this one was! It definitely did not disappoint. I was immediately addicted. The right amount of moist cake with the appropriate balance of chocolate chips and sweetness. Delish! I highly recommend if you are a chocolate chip cookie dough fan!

The chocolate truffle cupcake was the fiance's selection, but I took a bite. It's made with chocolate cake filled with chocolate ganache, topped with chocolate buttercream, dipped in dark chocolate and topped with chocolate curls. If you are a fan of a ton of chocolate, than this is the cupcake for you. I thought it was alright, but just too much chocolate for me. The dark chocolate was a bit difficult to cut through with a fork. It was similar to a hard shell; perhaps it's intended to be that way.

Sugarbaby's cupcakes are similar in price to the other cupcakeries at $3.25 each, but they charge tax on top of it (some cupcake shops include it in their price). Their sizes are slightly smaller than Gigi's or Crave, but still acceptable. I would go back to Sugarbaby's for the chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake.

We are having a baby shower for someone at work this week and ordering from Sprinkles. I'm going to muster up the courage to try the seasonal Irish chocolate cupcake. Watch for that review!

March Cupcake Specials

Check out this month's specials...

Sprinkles

March 2-18:

• Irish Chocolate: Belgian dark chocolate cake topped with a Baileys Irish cream cheese frosting.

March 17:

• Green Velvet: light chocolate cake, tinted green and topped with cream cheese frosting.

March 23-April 8

• Brown Sugar Praline: rich caramel cake topped with brown sugar frosting and crunchy praline.

Crave

February 24-March 14:

• Various cupcakes decorated with cowboy hats, boots or the state of Texas in celebration of rodeo season.

Gigi's

Mid-March:

• Spring/Summer menu release.