Tag Archives: Williamsport

Wegmans’ Cupcakes

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I have a confession to make…Up until our annual fall girls’ weekend trip, I had never been into a Wegmans. Shameful, I know, especially in the Baltimore area. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Wegmans and the selection, so I’ve been dying to go. After hearing that their bakery offers “gourmet” cupcakes, we’ve had it on our list, but with so many cupcakeries to visit it had fallen to the wayside.

Since I haven’t managed to get to any of the local Wegmans, imagine my surprise when we passed a Wegmans in Williamsport, PA on the way to our cabin. I didn’t notice it on our first trip, but I think it’s been there for a while (it was kind of dated looking). Who knew Williamsport, PA would have a Wegmans?!

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(Leah didn’t care that the “car” looked like it had been in numerous collisions.)

Leah was thrilled with the child’s play car that was in the front of the shopping cart. There was space for two, and Freya indulged us, but Leah took control of both steering wheels and went to town.

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While Leah and Freya “drove,” Crusaders Stacy, Elisa, and I beelined for the bakery. We found their basic cupcakes, but walked down the counter a little further and found their “gourmet” cupcakes neatly packaged in really nice individual cupcakes containers, which Stacy and I had to save (example here). Once I saw the Peanut Butter Chocolate, I knew I had to get that one to take back to my peanut-butter-chocolate-loving husband. Stacy claimed a Pumpkin Spice as hers, so Elisa decided on the Carrot Cake.

Chocolate Peanut Butter:

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For me, this cupcake was just okay. I was really surprised to see that there was a whipped vanilla filling. If anything, I would have expected a peanut butter filling. The peanut butter drizzle wasn’t enough to bring out the flavor over the chocolate ganache frosting and chocolate cake, so in the end it just tasted like a decent chocolate cupcake.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcake:

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Crusader Stacy thought the pumpkin cake in this cupcake had great flavor and was super moist, but the cream cheese frosting was a little too rich. She said that she ended up scraping off most of the frosting and just leaving a little bit behind for flavor.

Carrot Cupcake:

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Elisa enjoyed the very moist cake that had a lovely hint of spice in this cupcake. She said, “I really liked the pieces of carrot in the cake and the addition of raisins. The cream cheese frosting was on the sweeter side, but because the cake had so much spice, it really worked. The cake to frosting ratio was perfect and I thought the size of the cupcake was perfect. I would definitely get this cupcake again.”

Our thoughts all varied, which may have to do with our selections, however I think it’s safe to say that Wegmans has cupcakes that are better than the average grocery store. And you get a single cupcake container that can be reused, so that’s an added bonus! Have you had Wegmans’ cupcakes? Let us know what you thought.

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

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Quaint Little Bakery in a Quaint Little Town | Roy’s Bakery, Williamsport, PA

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Crusader Jenn shared the details of our most recent annual girls’ camping weekend trip, in her post for Campfire Cupcakes, and like her, it’s something I look forward to every year. I mean, good friends, tons of food, a decent amount of wine, and lots of laughter. What’s not to love? Due to some last minute changes (hurricane damages to the cabin we initially rented), we happily found ourselves in the same town, and the same cabin, as two years ago in Williamsport, PA. One difference was that this year I came prepared with some research on where we could get cupcakes (I’m sure this shocks you. No?).

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Roy’s Bakery is a “mom and pop” bakery that was highly recommended by one Yelp reviewer. It has been around for over 60 years, so they must be doing something right. Right? Well they are, but unfortunately it wasn’t their cupcakes that impressed us.

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(The newest members to our girls’ trip, Freya and Leah, ogling the goodies at Roy’s.)

With so many treats available it was impossible for us to just try their cupcakes. Collectively the three of us ended up leaving with the following bounty: three cupcake-shaped sugar cookies, a chocolate and peanut butter cookie cup, two peanut butter cookie sandwiches, two whoopie pies (red velvet and pumpkin), and three cupcakes (chocolate/chocolate, vanilla/vanilla, and a jumbo-sized red velvet).

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With a small town bakery I was hoping to get cupcakes that had a nice homemade quality, but these just didn’t live up to my expectations. Overall the flavors where bland and Crusader Elisa said the cake on the red velvet cupcake was really dry. They were a big disappointment, but with that disappointment came delight over all the other treats we selected.

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Crusader Jenn said the chocolate peanut butter cup and peanut butter cookie sandwich were both really good (still not as good as La Casa de Sweet‘s or Kupcakes & Co.‘s, but good nonetheless); however, Elisa really loved the sugar cookies and her peanut butter cookie sandwich, and she and I couldn’t believe how good the whoopie pies were. They were the complete opposite from the dry lackluster cupcakes. The moist flavorful cake seemed to add more dimension to the sweet frosting which appeared to be the same used on their cupcakes. How the two products, made of the same components, could be so vastly different is beyond me, but I’m glad they were because they redeemed this sweet family owned bakery located in a pleasant little town along the Susquehanna River.

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

A Baking Adventure: Orange Campfire Cakes

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A craving for sweets can hit at any moment, so it’s always best to be prepared, even when camping. S’mores are great, but what if what you really want is cake? You may remember we posted about spotting Betty Crockers’ Shake-N-Pour cupcake mix at our local grocery store on our Facebook page. This is the perfect item to take along for a camping trip. All you have to do is add water!

Every fall, a handful of my girlfriends, including Crusaders Stacy and Elisa, get together for a girls’ weekend. It started five years ago in tents, and although we no longer stay in tents—after spoiling ourselves on year three with a cabin—the gist of the trip is the same: Sit around a fire, have fun, eat food, and throw in some drinks. With Pinterest, my campfire ideas for the weekend bloomed and I found a recipe for Orange Campfire Cakes from ljcfyi.com. Oranges are simple to take along with you and, with the added bonus of cake mix that requires no bowls, utensils, eggs, or oil, it was a no brainier that we would have these “rugged cupcakes” during our weekend.

Easy steps:
1. Hollow out an orange. This was the most difficult of the steps and we used several methods among us girls including spoons and bare hands.
2. After adding water to the mix, shake it up! As you can see, I had a good time with this step because who doesn’t love shakin’ it? (We also have music playing anytime we are at in the cabin.)
3. Pour the batter into the orange peels, replace the top, and wrap in foil.
4. Bake in the coals of a fire for 20 minutes, then enjoy!

Since it was SO cold on the weekend we went away, instead of an outdoor campfire we stayed in and kept the wood stove burning. The coals of the wood stove worked perfectly!

We had Funfetti cupcakes and chocolate cupcakes, for variety. We may have overfilled them, so the cake stuck to the tops of the oranges and oozed out the sides a little. But, the results were the same: Delicious!

A couple of my friends added chocolate chips to their Funfetti, but I slathered my chocolate cake with chocolate frosting! It’s not pretty, but keep in mind, this is “camping.”

Some might be skeptical of a cake mix in a plastic container that only requires water to be added. I know we were. But, baking them in an orange peel adds moisture and seals it in. If you don’t like orange flavor, than these cakes aren’t for you, but we all loved the flavor it added to the cake. The leftover cake batter made great pancakes the next morning too!

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(Having fun in Williamsport, PA! From left to right: Crusader Elisa, Crusader Jenn, Guest Crusader Beth Lacey with Leah, Guest Crusader Alli with her daughter Freya, Crusader Stacy, and Amy – who needs to be a guest crusader!)

There were more than enough sweets for the weekend and the bar was set high this year, but I’m sure we’ll manage next year. Now that there are two little girls who join us (my “little” Leah and my friend’s girl Freya, who is only 4-5 days older than Leah), I can’t help but think of the memories they’ll have from our fall trips, sitting around a campfire (or wood stove) making treats, laughing, and having fun with some of the best ladies in my life.

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