Tag Archives: Annapolis

Just Like People, Can Cupcakes Have Bad Days? Another look at Sweet Hearts Patisserie

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After our recent review of Sweet Hearts Patisserie, located in Annapolis, MD, we were contacted by the bakery asking if they could get a second chance. They really believed their products could get a better review and they were eager to have us try them out again. We are always open to trying a place again, when approached with a sincere effort to make things right. It shows a great level of customer service, which Sweet Hearts Patisserie had already proven they exhibited after my dad’s pleasant experience in their shop. Even if the second tasting didn’t go well, one thing we could vouch for is that Sweet Hearts Patisserie really appreciates their customers and honest feedback. However, after trying their cupcakes again and being much more satisfied, it made me wonder, can cupcakes (like people) have bad days?

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(Beautiful decor inside Sweet Hearts Patisserie and all dressed up for Christmas.)

I was really excited to see the shop for myself. Photos online made them look like a wonderful shabby-chic getaway in the middle of a busy shopping center, and it was! Decorated for Christmas, I was stunned by the effort to make this shop stand-out.

There were six cupcakes to choose from, so I picked four (we had already tried the Red Velvet and I wasn’t as interested in the French Vanilla). I was glad to see holiday flavors, so the Eggnog and Peppermint Chocolate were a no-brainer. Then the Pistachio (one of my new favorites!) found its way into my box of goodies. Since my dad would be tasting with me, and because it looked so good, we also got the Chocolate Silk.

Chocolate Silk

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Back at my Dad’s house with our box of cupcakes, we decided we’d try the two chocolate cupcakes (he had no interest in the Eggnog or Pistachio). The chocolate cake on this cupcake was delicious! It was a heavier, moist, fudge-like cake, and yet still airy somehow. You can actually see how moist the cake was from the photo. The frosting was buttery, light, and smooth (just like our first experience), and rich in flavor. My dad said this was possibly his favorite cupcake ever!

Peppermint Chocolate

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This cupcake had the same great cake as the Chocolate Silk, and the frosting also had the same texture. Unlike most places, which overpower your taste buds with peppermint flavor, Sweet Hearts Patisserie’s was subtle but still present. Another winner! My dad was still questioning if any treat for one person was worth $3.00, but then later that night he took my step-mom back and they purchased these two chocolate cupcakes. I think he must have decided that they were worth it!

Pistachio

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As much as I wanted to try all the cupcakes in one sitting, I wasn’t able to get to the Pistachio and Eggnog until the next day. The cake was on the dry side, similar to our first tasting, however the texture of pistachio chunks redeemed the cupcake (I’m a sucker for texture in a cake!), along with the amazing frosting. Sweet Hearts Patisserie should consider selling frosting shots, because it’s so good.

Eggnog

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The cake on the Eggnog cupcake was moister than the Pistachio and had a great flavor, especially with the eggnog frosting. Any eggnog lover would appreciate this cupcake. Actually, I like eggnog cupcakes much more than actual eggnog!

French Macarons

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Since Sweet Hearts Patisserie is a French pastry shop, I was really excited to try their macarons. There were so many to choose from! They are priced at $1.75 each, which is pretty reasonable for a French macaron.

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(Macarons are packaged in neat little boxes with a  viewing window. What a great idea!)

I choose four macarons, the Chocolate Chestnut, Lavender Honey, Raspberry Rose, and Eggnog.

SweetHeartsPatisserie2_MacaronsSelected

They all had a perfect texture: smooth, crunchy exterior with soft moist centers. The Chocolate Chestnut had a nice nutty flavor, the Lavender Honey and Raspberry Rose both had subtle floral notes that didn’t overpower their complementing flavors, and the Eggnog tasted just like the Eggnog cupcake!

SweetHeartsPatisserie2_PetitFours

Sweet Hearts Patisserie also specializes in petit fours. They are beautiful and I’m really curious about them, but at $2.50 each, that’s more than I want to pay for a bite size treat. I know that they are usually on the pricier side and I can only imagine the amount of work that goes into creating them, but I’ll take a cupcake instead! However, if petit fours are your thing or you are looking for a special gift for a pastry lover, you should check them out (and then let us know what you think!). They are also offering a holiday menu with seasonal flavors assembled in cupcake, macaron, and petit four packages, plus cakes, tarts, and more.

I am glad we gave Sweet Hearts Patisserie a second chance. They are only a few minutes away from my dad’s house and they have the perfect cupcake to fulfill a chocolate craving. Have you ever given a place a second chance, to find that the product redeemed itself? Let us know!

– Posted by Cupcake Crusader, Jenn (Westminster, MD)

*Products were gifted, however this didn’t affect our opinions.

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Sweet Hearts Patisserie

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Our review of Sweet Hearts Patisserie is long overdue. We originally planned to try them back in June, but a big storm left Annapolis without power. I called to see if they were open with cupcakes, but was told their ovens were down. Nothing would be baked fresh that day, so the only cupcakes available would be ones that had been refrigerated from the day before. We wanted to make sure we tried them when they weren’t at a disadvantage, so instead we went to JoJo’s Cupcakes & Cream. After waiting almost all summer, we finally had the opportunity to try them when my dad brought them to our August rained out picnic gathering (Yes, it’s been since August! We’ve had so much cupcaking going on, that it’s taken us this long to get our review to you. Please forgive us!).

We were very excited to try cupcakes from Sweet Hearts Patisserie. From their website their shop looks very chic and boasts French style pastries such as petit fours, macarons, cakes, eclairs, croissants, and more. My dad said that the person helping him was very friendly. She even circled the cupcakes he selected on the menu, so that he wouldn’t forget when he brought them to us. Unfortunately we were let down by what we tasted.

Maple Bacon

This cupcake had a dense cake, and while we aren’t opposed to that, it was also dry. The bacon, which topped a buttercream frosting, wasn’t crunchy like you’d expect, but instead had a chewy texture. Crusader Elisa and I agreed that the flavor was good, but couldn’t save the cupcake from its failed textures.

Chocolate Hazelnut

The cake in the Chocolate Hazelnut cupcake was also dense, but not dry (more fudge like). I thought I picked up on coffee flavor, but Crusader Stacy said that could be because I’m so use to hazelnut coffee. The frosting was buttery and the cupcake had an overall good flavor. Despite the better cake texture, it still wasn’t our favorite.

Red Velvet

We all know Red Velvet is hit or miss (and is mostly a miss with me). Crusader Elisa, our Red Velvet connoisseur, thought the flavor was good, but not great. Again, the dry, dense cake couldn’t save it.

Lemon Berry

Among the four we tried, this was our favorite. The fresh berries on top and in the cake were the redeeming quality, adding moisture to the dense cake.

We were all really surprised by these cupcakes, but not in a good way. They are so pretty and we had high expectations, since Sweet Hearts Patisserie is a bakery that specializes in many French style confections. But maybe that’s their downfall versus other places that focus solely on cupcakes? I do think I would give them a second chance, given the opportunity, especially if it was to try some of their other pastries or macarons. The photos they post on Facebook look great and make me what to test them out again. If you’ve tried them, let us know what you think and what treats you had.

– Posted by Cupcake Crusader, Jenn (Westminster, MD)

Afternoon in Annapolis: JoJo’s Cupcakes & Cream

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Some of you may remember the bad storms that barraged the east coast a couple of weeks ago, leaving many of us, including Crusader Stacy, without power for days. During this time, one of our guest crusaders, Jen, was visiting for the weekend. We had planned on spending the afternoon in Annapolis, hometown for Crusader Stacy and Jenn, and wanted to visit Sweet Hearts Patisserie. I found out on Facebook that morning that they were partially without power and would not be serving fresh baked cupcakes that day, since their ovens were not operating. Instead of surprising them while they were at a low, we decided we would cut them some slack and plan a visit for another day. Bummed, we were at least glad that my dad still had power, and he and my step-mom would be able to venture out with us.

Downtown Annapolis was booming! Main Street was full of people, trying to get out of their powerless homes. It was a hot weekend and most people had no other choice but to eat out, with refrigerators and stoves out for the count. Not to mention the excuse to sit in an air-conditioned building. I called Chick ‘n Ruths that morning to make sure they had power, but when we arrived the line ran down the sidewalk. Another change of plans in our day lead us to 49 West, a coffeehouse, wine bar, and gallery on West Street, near Church Circle. They had tables available (apparently their morning rush had finally ended) so we found a spot in the cozy front dining room and perused the menu. Jen and I were happy to see that they serve breakfast late on weekends. So, we got some breakfast sandwiches while Crusader Stacy and our step-mom got a veggie sandwich. I know this is a cupcake blog, so you are probably wondering why I’m going on about 49 West, but it’s because I really recommend it. Great service, good food, and a quaint atmosphere…you really can’t ask for more while in Annapolis. And my step-mom swears that the veggie sandwich was the best she’s ever had in her life. She’s still talking about how good it was.

While strolling along Main Street we noticed that JoJo’s Cupcakes & Cream was open for business and in the same building that Nostalgia Cupcakes (now The Cake Courtesan in Bowie, MD) used to be located. We REALLY miss Nostalgia. Although you can get the same great cupcakes at their new store, the location isn’t as convenient for us anymore so we haven’t had the chance to check them out yet (but we will!). The benefit that JoJo’s has in this building is that they not only have the back space that used to be Nostalgia (and is now their party room), but they also have the street-front store, with windows and signage that can’t be missed.

This JoJo’s location also offers ice cream which is a nice feature, particularly since Annapolis’s tourist months are during the summer, and the locals don’t mind some ice cream in the winter. We had an opportunity to sample JoJo’s cupcakes around Christmas time, back when they had a kiosk in the Annapolis Mall. Anyone remember the missing cupcake mystery?

I think we all agreed that the cupcakes we had this day were a tad too sweet for us, mostly due to the very sweet icing that was piled high. Considering our previous review, this might have to do with quality control. It seemed as if more confectioner’s sugar was used at this location then the cupcakes we had before. One thing they did all have in common was moist, flavorful cake.

Lemon Blueberry

Crusader Stacy and I both got this lemon cupcake with blueberry lemon buttercream frosting. Looking at the frosting, we thought it would be packed with blueberry flavor, however the lemon and sugar overpowered it, and in the end it tasted like it was just a lemon cupcake.

Chocolate Monkey

Guest Crusader Jen and my step-mom both got this cupcake. While Jen felt that the banana flavor was lacking, my step-mom thought it was subtle, but still present. They also felt the icing was too sweet. When I was asking about ice cream and milkshakes I was told that they were out of bananas that day. I wonder if the frosting is supposed to pack more banana flavor?

Boston Cream

True to his nature, my dad stuck with his usual favorite and ordered the Boston Cream. There was just one BIG thing missing from this one…the cream! This boggled our minds because without the cream, it’s just a vanilla cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting. I did some research and found out from JoJo’s website that this cupcake is supposed to have a vanilla pudding filling. What happened, JoJo’s of Annapolis?!

Mint Chocolate

Because the cupcakes looked so good, I decided to take a couple home for my husband. I got two of his favorites, Mint Chocolate and Key Lime. While the frosting on this cupcake was sweet like the others, the mint flavor balanced it out well, making this one of my favorites.

Key Lime

Another usual favorite, this cupcake had good tartness but was still a little sweeter than I like in a Key Lime cupcake, although it didn’t seem as sweet as some of the other JoJo’s selections.

Since the day was so hot, Crusader Stacy, Jen, and I also got milkshakes to go along with our cupcakes. The choices were endless! You can make a milkshake out of any of their ice cream flavors and there are a lot to choose from.

Each of our milkshakes was really good and we happily sipped them while walking around the harbor. If you find yourself in Annapolis, I would suggest going to this JoJo’s location for the ice cream and milkshakes. Then if the cupcakes tempt you (which I think they might!) share one with a friend, because there is enough sweetness to go around.

– Posted by Cupcake Crusader, Jenn (Westminster, MD)

Convenient and Cheap Cupcake Fix: Giant’s Grocery Store Cupcakes

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The Crusaders’ Dad claims that he doesn’t have the same “gourmet tastes buds” as his daughters and swears by cupcakes he found at his local Giant store in Annapolis, MD. They are convenient and (with no better way to say it) CHEAP! Giant sells their custom flavors for only $0.99 each! Most of us are used to the run-of-the-mill grocery store cupcakes that come pre-packed in 6 or 12, with only chocolate and vanilla to choose from, and usually topped with overly sweet frosting, brightly colored and with sprinkles. However it’s becoming more popular for grocery stores to steer away from these and offer more custom confections (whether good or bad), as we’ve seen with Safeway and Fresh & Green.

Our dad has been going into Giant to get, primarily, their Coconut Cream and Boston Cream cupcakes. After going on many, many cupcake crusades with us, he still can’t believe they only cost $0.99. And, after seeing his cupcaking in action, we trust his opinion. So when he told us we had to try them, we said, “Bring ‘em on!” It was decided that he would bring some to our next gathering that didn’t already have cupcakes pre-planned into the mix. That time finally came during a family trip to the Maryland Science Center. It was a beautiful day, so after exploring the Science Center, we found a table outside by the harbor to dig in.

Unfortunately when my dad went into the Giant that morning, they didn’t have a Boston Cream. They did have his other favorite, the Coconut Cream, so he bought that plus 5 others for us to try.

Vanilla Chocolate:

The cake on this cupcake was a little dry, but the ganache frosting was delicious. It was more like what you’d find on a doughnut…gooey and rich! The chocolate ganache redeemed this cupcake, and there was a lot of it!


(As with all of Giant’s filled cupcakes, they use the same frosting on top for the filling and are very generous with it! Frosting lovers can appreciate that!)

We thought starting with a vanilla cupcake was smart, but the richness made me wish I had a glass of milk to go along with it! My dad was a little disappointed that we found the cake dry. After raving about the cupcakes, he could only surmise that these hadn’t been baked fresh that day since he was there so early in the morning.

Coconut Cream:

This cupcake had a vanilla cake, with whipped vanilla frosting, topped with shredded coconut. Crusader Stacy and I felt this cupcake could have used more coconut flavor, but keeping the price in mind, can see why it’s one of our dad’s Giant favorites.

Banana Split:

I was really surprised to see that Giant is offering a Banana Split cupcake. It’s been a popular one to see for the summer season and does show that their baker seems to be in-tuned to what’s going on in cupcake trends. It was a chocolate cake, with banana frosting (and filling), topped with chocolate fudge, walnuts, and a maraschino cherry. Stacy remembers this being one of her favorites of the selection.

Cookies and Cream:

This cupcake had a dark chocolate cake with cookies and cream frosting. The cake was the best of the selection and was my favorite of the group. The frosting alone was worth the 99 cents!

Mocha:

Crusader Stacy and I saved this cupcake for our big sis, who LOVES coffee and chocolate. I did steal a bite, and like some of the other cupcakes, the cake was on the dry side. However, there was a good coffee flavor, and despite how the frosting photographed, it was smooth and flavorful.

Red Velvet:

On this particular day, we let our niece have the Red Velvet cupcake, but luckily our dad brought Crusader Elisa one to try at our recent DC Cupcake Picnic! Here’s what our Red Velvet Connoisseur said:

The cake was bright red and looked beautiful, but was dry and lacked flavor. The icing was smooth, but very bland. The rose decoration on top was very sweet (since it was made with traditional sweet icing) and good, but couldn’t save this cupcake from being just mediocre. Being the “red velvet crusader” probably makes me more critical than most, so while this cupcake doesn’t make my list of great red velvets, it by far is not the worst either.

Can you tell she’s tried a lot of red velvet cupcakes? ;P

Boston Cream:

As I mentioned, this cupcake did not make it into the original taste testing, but luckily Giant had them the day of the Cupcake Picnic, so we were finally able to try it! Here’s what Crusader Stacy thought:

The cake was a bit spongy and lacked flavor, which I would expect from a grocery store cupcake, but the chocolate ganache had really good flavor, even if it was a bit runny, and the filling tasted just like what I would want from a Boston Cream pastry filling. The filling and ganache definitely saved this cupcake, but it was a bit of a mess to eat.

Like my dad, I’m a sucker for Boston Cream and really wish I could have tried this cupcake. From Crusader Stacy’s review, it seems to me that the frosting is very reminiscent of what you’d find on your typical Boston cream cake (or doughnut), and those are always messy to eat!

Over all we feel that if you are in need of a quick, convenient, and not-too-expensive cupcake fix, but want something better then the grocery store cupcakes we usually think of, you can find that at Giant.

Have any of you tried Giant’s cupcakes or any other chain grocery store’s cupcakes? What did you think? Did the lower price make you more lenient on your expectations?

– Posted by Cupcake Crusader, Jenn (Westminster, MD)

JoJo’s Cupcakes & Cream

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I would like to begin this review by saying that I have the best dad ever. He has always been supportive of my interests, and cupcakes are no exception. He gets excited about trying new places with us, he has often brought cupcakes to family gatherings, and he even signed up to receive email alerts whenever a new review is posted to this blog. He is amazing, and I’m so lucky to have him for a dad.

For this review, my dad brought the family cupcakes from JoJo’s Cupcakes & Cream‘s kiosk in the Annapolis Mall. Around the holiday season, JoJo’s had a temporary lease with the Annapolis Mall. Unfortunately they are no longer there, but according to their Facebook Page, they hope to return in April. JoJo’s main shop, located in Easton, MD, not only sells cupcakes, but also homemade ice cream. Their cupcakes are baked fresh daily. They also have a kiosk in the Queenstown Premium Outlets.

My dad bought six cupcakes: Chocolate Chocolate, Lemon, Vanilla with Chocolate frosting, Vanilla Vanilla, Cookies and Cream, and Red Velvet. Unfortunately there is no photo of the Red Velvet and I don’t know which family member ate it. (Sometimes things like that happen during family gatherings!)

The cupcakes had a rough trip over to my sister’s house, so we had to repair a few, the best we could, but luckily some messy frosting doesn’t affect the flavor.

My dad chose one of his go-to flavors: Chocolate Chocolate.

The cake was rich and dense and the frosting was really smooth but heavy. My dad prefers light, airy cupcakes, so this one wasn’t his favorite. It still didn’t stop him from eating every last bite though! So my guess is, while it may not have been the best he’s had, it definitely wasn’t the worst either.

I claimed my cupcake soon after hearing there was a Lemon one.

Like the Chocolate Chocolate the whole thing was very dense, but the cake was moist and it delivered lots of tart lemon flavor. Overall, I really enjoyed this cupcake and would definitely try it again.

The other three were left at my sister’s house. This is where the mystery of the missing cupcakes begins. These are the facts as we know them: three cupcakes were left on the premises. After intense questioning, all of the suspects (my sister, her husband and her two adorable daughters) still insist they have no recollection of what happened to said cupcakes. Yet somewhere along the line, those three cupcakes vanished. Until we can get CSI: Baltimore on the case, we’ll just have to blame the baby, since she can’t speak yet. 😉 Even though we don’t have a review for the remaining cupcakes, I wanted to share some of the crime scene photos for the sake of this post:


(Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Frosting from JoJo’s Cupcakes & Cream)


(Vanilla Vanilla from JoJo’s Cupcakes & Cream)


(Cookies and Cream from JoJo’s Cupcakes & Cream)

If you are in Easton or shopping in the Queenstown Premium Outlets outlets check them out! It will be a nice treat in the middle of a busy shopping trip and you would be supporting a family run small business. But be warned: their cupcakes may lead previously upstanding members of your family to turn to crime…

UPDATE: JoJo’s  Cupcakes & Cream now has a location in Dowtown Annapolis located along Main Street.

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

Good to “The Last Crumb?”

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While Christmas shopping at the Annapolis Mall with my mom, we happened upon The Last Crumb, an adorable little cupcake kiosk. Part of the larger smoothie kiosk, Smoothie Sensations, the owner’s wife bakes cupcakes to be sold on weekends. (Because this is a one-woman operation, which her husband supports, she currently does not have a website.) Luckily, we were there on a Sunday and they had a decent selection of mini and full-size cupcakes left for us to choose from. The set up was playful and cute, with a glass case and covered cake stand, and the staff were very sweet and helpful.

I LOVE minis, so I bought every mini flavor available (and at only $1 per mini, that is a deal too) and one full-size cupcake, that was not available as a mini.

Now, onto the cupcakes!

Pink Cotton Candy

This cupcake was the only cupcake I would not order again and was also the only full-size one I ordered. Since there was not much of a description, I assumed this cupcake would be very sweet and taste like cotton candy, sadly it was neither sweet nor cotton candy tasting. The cake was vanilla, but that wasn’t the issue, its dry, brittle texture and lack of flavor was its undoing. The icing was sweet, but tasted simply like confectioners sugar. The melted cotton candy on top may have given this cupcake some more flavor if there had been more of it. Overall, this cupcake looked beautiful and whimsical, but didn’t have much taste at all.

Red Velvet

Being the Red Velvet Crusader, I almost HAVE to get it – this little mini red velvet was very good. The icing was a vanilla buttercream, not the standard cream cheese icing, and had vanilla beans swirled through, creating a beautiful look. The bright red cake was a little dry, but had a great flavor. I would be very interested in trying their full-size red velvet to see if it was slightly better, being larger and able to hold onto more moisture within the cake.

Almond

This little mini packed a PUNCH of flavors! While the cake was a moist and savory almond flavor, the icing was a vanilla lemon buttercream. These complex flavors worked very well together, but apart, the icing was just a bit too sweet for my taste. I really love almond cake and this cake was amazing.

Black Bottom

Moist rich chocolate cake and cheesecake topped with chocolate mousse icing that was smooth, creamy, and not too sweet. Black bottoms are always a good idea, and this one had something extra. Maybe it was the icing, maybe it was the fact that it was a perfectly moist little mini: whatever it was, I wish I had gotten a regular size cupcake of this flavor, and plan on getting one the next time I am at Annapolis Mall.

Gingerbread

Because it was around the holiday season, The Last Crumb had some great holiday flavors available. This little gingerbread did not disappoint! The spiced cake AND icing might be a bit much for some people, and maybe a full-size cupcake would have been too much, but this spicy mini is perfect for me. I loved the true spice cake that revealed a different spice flavor with each bite. Add the spiced buttercream icing that was smooth, sweet, creamy, and of course spicy, and this gingerbread mini really shined.

Peppermint Chocolate

This tiny morsel of a cupcake left me wanting more! Between the incredibly moist and rich chocolate cake and the swirling, smooth peppermint icing, this cupcake really embodied its flavor profile. The chocolate peppermint bar on top was just an added bonus. I’m not huge on chocolate cake, but this cake in particular is one of the best I have ever had.

All in all my cupcake experience with The Last Crumb was a great one! I would really like to go back and get some of the mini cupcakes in full-size to test their moistness, as none of the minis were dry, but the one full-size cupcake was. It amazes me that this woman comes up with these flavor combinations, in mini and full size cupcakes, just for fun on the weekends. I would definitely recommend stopping by on a Saturday or Sunday to get some bite-sized cupcake treats!

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

Starbucks…Who doesn’t want cupcakes with their coffee?

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On a recent trip to Starbucks, I finally broke down and got a couple of their mini cupcakes to go along with my decaf Americano (cream and sugar, please!).  They had two options, chocolate peanut butter and carrot cake. I was a little disappointed when the employee couldn’t confirm for me that the carrot cake was carrot cake, but this particular location also got my drink order wrong…twice…which is always a disappointment when going into a place that is suppose to be the most popular coffeehouse for a reason. However, I still left happy to have sweets in one hand and a grande hot coffee in the other on a cold rainy day.

As you can see from the photo, the peanut butter frosting on the chocolate cupcake had an almost translucent appearance. My only thought for this was, butter! The frosting tasted like straight peanut butter, which was very pleasing, however the texture wasn’t what I prefer on a cupcake. The cake had good chocolate favor, but wasn’t very moist. My guess is that this is because their treats are trucked in.

Carrot cake is usually one of my favorite cake flavors.  I love a spiced cake that you can get all year round. However there was nothing memorable about this cupcake…maybe that’s why the employee couldn’t tell me what it was?

Despite my lack of enthusiasm over these mini cupcakes, I still love Starbucks. They specialize in coffee and don’t pretend to be a bakery. I appreciate that they offer fun sweet options, including bite-size minis, to accompany their beverages, should their guest like to indulge a bit more. I still think their Rocky Road Cake Pop is amazing and I’m looking forward to trying their seasonal treats, such as their Chocolate Crème Whoopie Pie and the Peppermint Brownie Cake Pop (Crusader Stacy will be posting her review on this, and other cake pops, tomorrow)!

– Posted by Cupcake Crusader, Jenn (Westminster, MD)

Nostaglia Cupcakes: A Farewell to Unforgettable Cupcakes

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The Crusaders all agree that one of the reasons we have a such a passion for cupcakes is that they are nostalgic; a personal sized dessert that takes us back to when we were children but now customized as a treat for adult taste buds. So, when Stacy and I heard of Nostalgia Cupcakes in Annapolis, MD two and a half years ago, we thought, “What a perfect name!” Our dad introduced us to this delectable shop for our birthday in July 2010 and we were happy to see that they lived up to their tagline, “Cakes you’ll never forget, for the day you’ll always remember.” Any day that included one of their cupcakes made it a memorable day so we were very sad to discover that just a couple of weeks ago they had to close their shop, but we will never forget their cupcakes.


(Left – Crusaders Jenn and Stacy’s dad with his cupcake in July 2011. Right – Lemoncello Cupcake: Yellow cake with a tangy lemon buttercream.)

When our dad first brought us Nostalgia’s cupcakes, there was something for everyone, but I think the real crowd pleaser was their Chocolate City Cake (or at least it was for Crusader Stacy and myself).


(Chocolate City Cake: Chocolate cake with whipped ganache rolled in pure chocolate sprinkles and topped with chocolate buttercream.)

After ohh’ing and ahh’ing over the perfectly constructed chocolate dome of frosting and sprinkles, we finally dug in to this bit of heaven. The dark/semi-sweet chocolate flavor was rich and exactly what Stacy and I look for in chocolate cake. All of the cupcakes tasted that day were moist, not overly sweet, and packed with flavor. Nostalgia quickly became one of our top 3 cupcake places of all time…dare I even say top 2? I know my dad says they are number 1!

Because Stacy and I don’t get to downtown Annapolis as much as we’d like, it would be awhile until we could enjoy these special treats again. I was fortunate enough to go back with my dad one day after we had a delicious lunch nearby, and the Chocolate City Cake and Keylime were among my selections. The keylime has a bright green frosting that may have scared away purest, however the yellow cake with key lime pastry cream filling and key lime buttercream was flavored to perfection.

This past July my dad came through for us again and brought Nostalgia Cupcakes up for our 29th birthday. I don’t think I’ve ever needed a cupcake so much, having just giving birth 10 days earlier! This time he brought a full selection. In order to fully experience each flavor, we shared.

(Some of the cupcakes seen in the photos above are Chocolate City Cake, Red Velvet, Cocoa-Coconut (Chocolate cake with cream cheese icing topped with fresh coconut), Pink Lady (Yellow cake with strawberry pastry filling and pink vanilla buttercream), Little Boy Blue (Yellow cake with chocolate pastry filling and blue vanilla buttercream), and lastly, a summer seasonal Piña Colada.)

The Piña Colada was one of my new favorites that I hadn’t tried before. Also the Red Velvet, which not a usual favorite of mine, was very good compared with others I’ve had. These cupcakes were, once again, all very moist and delicious. Consistency was always at it’s best with Nostalgia.

Just a few weeks ago I was in downtown Annapolis and decided that I should stop in on a whim. Thank goodness I did, because unknown to me at the time was that this would be my last of their cupcakes. There was no sign about them closing the following week and had I known I would have gotten more cupcakes. But I walked out with my favorite, the Chocolate City Cake and a new one for me, their salted caramel.

(Salted Caramel – Yellow cake with chocolate buttercream, caramel and topped with sea salts.)

Who could resist the puddle of caramel in the center with sea salt glistening on the edge of chocolate? I knew I couldn’t and for my fellow crusaders who are slightly obsessed with salted caramel, I had to get it. I’m so glad that I was able to taste this selection prior to their closing.

I know that I will have dreams about the Chocolate City Cake. And I will probably spend years trying to replicate the chocolate dome of sprinkles, only to fail. I wish that I could go back and get another one. Knowing that it would be my last, I could more fully savor each bite.

Nostalgia, we will always remember your cupcakes and the occasions that were made special by them. Thank you for the wonderful memories and happy taste buds.

– Posted by Cupcake Crusader, Jenn (Westminster, MD)

UPDATE: While Nostalgia is closed, you can now get her amazing cupcakes at her new shop located in Bowie, MD, called The Cake Courtesan.

My Birthday

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I was hoping to post this sooner, but I am now the mother of a 9 week old puppy, so things have been a bit hectic in my house. Follow Cupcake Crusader, Jenn, and I celebrated our birthday last weekend, and as I’m sure you would guess, our birthday would never be complete without cupcakes. We have to give our Dad four big thumbs up for getting an awesome selection of cupcakes from Nostalgia Cupcakes located in Annapolis, MD.

These cupcakes might be the best I’ve ever had in Maryland. My dad got a small sampling last year for our birthday and I was blown away. This year he went above and beyond. The one in the picture above was a lemon cupcake. The frosting on this one was sweet and tart, just like the perfect glass of ice cold lemonade. It was AMAZING. Here are the others he got:

Above: Chocolate City (Semi Sweet Chocolate Cake and Frosting), Coconut and Chocolate, Red Velvet with a Sweet Buttercream Frosting.

Above: Strawberry Frosted Yellow Cake with Strawberry Filling, Pina Coloda, “Blue Boy,” Lemon Frosted Yellow Cake, Yellow Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting.

Overall my favorites are definitely the Lemon, the Chocolate Coconut, and the Chocolate City. In close 2nd are the Pina Coloda and the Strawberry. The Blue Boy was okay. It was yellow cake, with a chocolate filling, and dyed blue Frosting. Nothing special. The Red Velvet was just okay too. I prefer a cream cheese frosting on my Red Velvet, so maybe that’s why I didn’t dig it as much? I didn’t even both trying the Milk Chocolate Frosted on Yellow Cake. Boring. Too many fabulous cupcakes and too little time to be wasted on something as common as that.

Overall, my dad made some really fantastic selections! I seriously have the best dad in the whole world. I also want to give a big thanks to my family for letting me cut up the cupcakes just to try as many flavors as possible. You all are the best!

If any of you have a chance to check out Nostalgia Cupcakes in Annapolis, MD, don’t hesitate. Run. Don’t Walk. You will not be disappointed.

UPDATE: We are sad to say that Nostalgia is now closed after serving Annapolis for 3 years, but you can now get her amazing cupcakes at her new shop located in Bowie, MD, called The Cake Courtesan.

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