Today I met a guy who raved about the chocolate cupcake at the Lark Cake Shop in Silverlake. Since I was half way towards that end of the world anyway, I promptly headed over to the bakery to see the goods for myself. I can't say I fully loved everything about any one cupcake, but that said, they each had strong qualities. I shall break it down by flavor!
Chocolate/Chocolate Cupcake: the frosting on this cupcake was more like a really smooth, yet thick chocolate mousse. It had a deep but mild cocoa flavor and I believe I detected hints of cinnamon, which evoked Mexican chocolate to me. The frosting didn't quite wow me as I thought Mrs. Beasley's chocolate frosting did the mousse thing better. However, I did love the chocolate cake iteself, which tasted just like my grandma's famous recipe in the family! Finally, there's a delightful whipped-cream filling inside this cupcake that nicely balances the heaviness of the mousse frosting.
Vanilla/Vanilla Cupcake: ok, if you haven't heard me state it before, let me be clear for the record: I do not like icing that is overly whipped into a thin poof of saccharine nothingness! Frosting is not meant to be whipped-cream! Give me some consistency people! A little resistance against the teeth. Hoy, I did not like this icing. Thank goodness for the purple sugar sprinkled on top to give it a little texture. This all said, I did like the vanilla cake.. but I ask you, what's a great cake without good icing? Not much, I'm afraid.
Red Velvet Cupcake: This cupcake was my favorite of the batch. Compared to the vanilla cupcake, the frosting on this one tasted very sour, but on it's own, it tastes like fresh, cream cheese frosting. And while the consistency of this icing was also whipped very smooth, it still had some weight to it. Unfortunately, the red velvet cake itself was a little dry. Otherwise, it would have been a decent cake.
Finally, I tried their Vegan Banana Cupcake. Because this cake stands in a category unto itself, stay tuned for its separate review tomorrow!
For more info on Lark Cake Shop, click here.
I actually just drove by this place on Friday night! I haven't been before and was thinking, "I should stop in some time!" Think I might stick to getting my cupcake kicks from Susie Cakes, Sprinkles and Magnolia. Frosting should be substantial -- not fluffy like a cat!
Posted by: Diana | 09/28/2010 at 12:00 PM
this post was awesome. the part of the frosting actually made me laugh :) great post, i'm so glad i stumbled upon your blog!
Posted by: Kendall | 09/28/2010 at 01:26 PM