I’m so predicable. I say this because when it’s anyone’s birthday and I’m put in charge of sweets you can pretty much guarantee that I will get cupcakes. On Wednesday we had an office birthday. One co-worker was getting a card, another some flowers, and I was in charge of dessert. I decided to check out the new local grocery store, Fresh & Green’s. It hasn’t gotten good reviews, but it was convient, so I decided to give it a try. I haven’t had a chance to walk around, but I will say that they had a great selection of pastries and desserts to choose from in the bakery and the woman who was working there was very pleasant. She was eager to help and had a really positive attitude.

My goal was to get something different than my norm. I was determined to not walk into that office with cupcakes. I like being reliable, but not predictable, so I really wanted to surprise everyone by getting something different. I browsed their bakery section looking for something that would provide a nice variety, but I ended up with no choice other than cupcakes.

Their cupcakes are only $1 each, and we only had 4 employees in the office that day, so this offered the best variety for the best price. I decided to get 6: Vanilla/Vanilla with Rainbow Sprinkles, Chocolate Crunch, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate/Chocolate (Halloween version), and Chocolate/Chocolate with a Hershey’s Kiss.

The Birthday Girl decided on the Vanilla/Vanilla with Rainbow Sprinkles and raved about how good it was. I had been eying up the Strawberry Shortcake, so on the first chance I got, I went and grabbed it.

Normally I would say that the frosting to cake ratio on this cupcake was WAY out of control, but this cupcake actually had whipped cream on top, not overly sugary-sweet frosting. I decided to eat some of the frosting with the strawberry, then eat some just off the top becuase it was good, and then I decided to eat the rest with the cake at the same time. The cake was really light and airy. Not dry and dense like most grocery store cupcakes.

Overall, I was incredibly impressed. If I were to change one thing about this cupcake I would have added a strawberry filling, to keep that theme throughout the cupcake. But for only a dollar, I’m not complaining.

The next day I decided to try a little bit of the two that were left: Chocolate Crunch and Chocolate/Chocolate (Halloween version).

Again, I was really nervous about the frosting/cake ratio especially since this one was chocolate and I tend to be a bit picky about my chocolate frosting, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was more of a chocolate mousse than a typical frosting, and it was good. REALLY GOOD. The cake was a bit dry, but I think that is becuase it was a day old and not stored properly. Two co-workers had the Peanut Butter Cup one the day they were purchased and didn’t seem to have any complaints.

We’ve got two birthdays in the middle of October and with the price, convenient location, and quality of these cupcakes I’m hoping I get picked to bring dessert in again.  🙂

– Posted by Cupcake Crusader, Stacy (Baltimore, MD)

UPDATE: Fresh & Green’s Hampden location is now closed.