Second Cupcake Review - The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company

I've been eating cupcakes everywhere I go this summer, but have not been keeping up with the review aspect of my new hobby, today, my second cupcake review.

I will be using the same rating system that I created and used for my Kara's Cupcakes Review. (see left side of blog, Cupcakes I've Tried)

While in Seattle, Washington on vacation (in July...where did this summer go!!) I stopped in for cupcakes at The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company.

Their tag line is "sweet, simple and sophisticated"

Right off the bat, I loved this store, look at the perfect box they have for their cupcakes, these little bakery gems were made to travel, and they did, to the top of the Space Needle and back to the hotel.

Not a crumb out of place. HURRAY!

When we got to the store, it was around 3 pm, the store closes at 6, and they were down to around 6 different flavors to choose from.

I asked what was their best, or most famous cupcake and they said this cupcake,

The Pancakes and Bacon Cupcake!!

Really, that's your "hot" cupcake. I hated to go to a cupcakery and not try their best cupcake, but really, a pancake batter cake, iced with maple butter cream frosting, topped with, are you ready, CANDIED BACON BITS!!

I was really torn, the cupcake just did not sound appealing to me, what's a "professional" cupcake reviewer to do? I hemmed and hawed until my husband finally said, "I'll get the Pancakes and Bacon cupcake, you can get what you want"! Woo Hoo, I knew I took him on vacation for a reason!

So I picked this cupcake,

White cake with chocolate Italian buttercream icing, the Ultimate Chocolate.

I took one bite of my husband's Pancake and Bacon cupcake and did not care for it, so I'm just going to review the cupcake I chose for myself.

The rating for the Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake -

Cupcakery - the store was pleasant, calm, clean and efficient. A soothing green and brown decor with nice tables for dining in. The staff was very helpful - I give it a

5

Cupcake Selection - There were only around 6 different varieties as I placed my order, around 3 in the afternoon, they close at 6 - I give it a

2.

Packaging of Cupcakes - The best packaging I've ever seen, kept the cupcakes fresh and in place. I give it a

5.

Cupcake's Appearance - They looked perfect, no complaints here! I give it a

5

Cake Portion of Cupcake - the cake was dense, dry and tasteless. It did not appeal to me- I give it a

1.

Frosting Portion of Cupcake - The frosting was a nice light buttercream with a delicious chocolatey flavor, not too strong or too sweet, tasty with just the right amount of frosting. I give it an

8.

Overall Cupcake Taste and Consistency - The chocolate buttercream frosting went well with the white cake and helped with the cake's unimpressive taste and texture. I give it an

5.

So the Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake earned a total of 31 points out of a possible 50.

There are too many good eating establishments in Seattle to waste your time and money on these cupcakes, if you're looking for something sweet, I suggest instead, stopping by the Dahlia Bakery that's just up the street instead.

So this cupcake remains in first place as my favorite cupcake,

The Fleur De Sel at Kara's Cupcakes.

It earned 44 points and would have earned more had it been packaged in a better box. The taste was amazing!! The Kara's Cupcake in the Yellow Leaf Container would earn a perfect score!

I hope you're having as much fun reading my reviews as I am eating all the cupcakes!

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First Cupcake Review - Kara's Cupcakes . . . .

Before I get into my review for Kara's Cupcakes, just a few words on how this aspect of my blog will work.

When I review a cupcake there will be no quilting talk, so if you aren't interested in cupcakes, and see "Cupcake Review" in the header, you may just want to come back another day.

I've decided on a rating system, because after tasting four cupcakes, from 2 different bakers, I don't think I'll come across a cupcake that I don't like, and blogging, "it was a great cupcake" doesn't really make for interesting reading.

So I've developed a 50 point system that works as follows:

The Cupcakery - maximum points available - 5

Cupcake Selection - maximum points available - 5

Packaging of Cupcakes - maximum points available - 5

Cupcake's Appearance - maximum points available - 5

Cake Portion of Cupcake - maximum points available - 10

Frosting Portion of Cupcake - maximum points available - 10

Overall Cupcake Taste and Consistency - maximum points available - 10

So a cupcake awarded a point value of 50 would be, in my opinion, and according to my taste, a perfect cupcake.

The store and packaging points will be a little tricky for the home baked cupcakes. I'll worry about that another day, and for you folks who invited me to your home for cupcakes, I hope to give you enough notice before I show up to enable you to get your kitchen 5 point worthy!!

I waffled on how many points to assign the overall appearance of a cupcake, but in the end decided it was somewhat important, but I would prefer to eat an ugly delicious cupcake as opposed to a beautiful tasteless one. And since it really is all about the taste, the taste categories have a higher point value.

I came up with the overall taste and consistency category because if the cake portion is great, and the icing is great, the two flavors together should also be a good match, since I eat the cake and icing at the same time. So a poor cake and icing combo could cost the cupcake some points.

Since this whole experience is a new one, I may change this up as I go along.

So now, my first official cupcake review!!

Kara's Cupcakes

San Francisco California

There are five Kara's Cupcakes locations in California, I visited the San Francisco bakery located in Ghirardelli Square. Visit Kara's Cupcakes for all the locations.

The store was adorable, but they would not let me take pictures inside the bakery, I was only able to snap a picture of their signage. All the questions I was peppering at them must have made them think I was an undercover cupcake spy. But I still loved the look and feel of the store, their colors are brown, pink and green, but mainly pink. There was no place to sit and eat inside the bakery, but there were plenty of tables and chairs outside.

Since I had just eaten a hot fudge sundae at the Ghirardelli Ice Cream Shop, I got two cupcakes to go.

They were packed in a bakery box and then put in this sack, which I saved, because it's so darn cute!

I think up until this point, I had been in only two Cupcakeries, so I was a little out of my element the day I stopped in, plus the place was packed with customers, and fresh cupcakes were being delivered and I didn't really have a plan as to what cupcakes I wanted. I really like yellow cake and buttercream icing, but those cupcakes are pretty common, since I wouldn't have the opportunity to stop back by this store anytime soon, I wanted to get something different and popular.

So with the help of the clerk working the counter, I chose the Chocolate Velvet cupcake - " a chocolate cupcake with a velvety bittersweet chocolate buttercream frosting".

And the Fleur De Sel cupcake - "a chocolate cupcake with caramel filling, ganache frosting and fleur de sel". Fleur de Sel is a special sea salt.

Each cupcake was $3.25 and packed into this adorable pink box for two!

I hopped into a cab, rode back to my hotel, smiling ear to ear, delicately holding my adorable Kara's Cupcakes bag.

We had tickets to a baseball game so I left the cupcakes sitting in my hotel room, waiting for my return. During the whole game I prayed for no extra innings and didn't eat a thing, knowing those cupcakes were waiting for me.

So I get back to the room, open the lid of my lovely pink box, and find this,

UGH!! What happened to my cupcakes that I lovingly and carefully carried to my hotel!!! What a disappointment, I was crushed and heartbroken, until I started eating them.....yum!! They were so good, I scraped the icing off the sides of the box with my fingers, then licked them clean. Very Un-Thelma like...I'm a little bit prissy, sometimes, a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do!

First Up, my rating for the Chocolate Velvet Cupcake

Cupcakery - the store was adorable, pink, clean and efficient. The staff very helpful - I give it a

5

Cupcake Selection - There must have been at least 15 different varieties available, and fresh cupcakes were being delivered as I was placing my order, around 4 pm - I give it a

5

Packaging of Cupcakes - I loved the sack, but the round cupcakes holders inside the box did not do the job - I give it a

1.

Cupcake's Appearance - When the cupcakes were setting in the bakery, they looked perfect, after I got them home, not so much. I would think twice about buying a box of a dozen or more cupcakes for a special occasion, what a mess they could be if the box didn't hold up. I give it a

3.

Cake Portion of Cupcake - the cake was a light texture, moist, delicious, perfectly sweet and a nice size - I give it a

9

Frosting Portion of Cupcake - The frosting was a nice light buttercream with a delicious chocolatey flavor, not too strong or too sweet, tasty but not all that different. Just the right amount of frosting. I give it an

8.

Overall Cupcake Taste and Consistency - The chocolate buttercream frosting went well with the chocolate cake, but again, a little on the common side. I give it an

8.

So the Chocolate Velvet Cupcake earned a total of 39 points.

The rating for the Fleur De Sel Cupcake -

All the categories for this cupcake would be the same as the Chocolate Velvet except for the following three:

Cake Portion of Cupcake - the cake texture was light, moist and the caramel filling out of this world and a great size, not too big, not too little- I give it a

10.

Frosting Portion of Cupcake - The frosting was creamy, rich, with a great flavor. Just the right amount, I give it a

10.

Overall Cupcake Taste and Consistency - Decadently good. The sea salt topping was the perfect touch, really gave it a different twist. I give it a

10.

So the Fleur De Sel Cupcake earned a total of 44 points.

If this cupcake had been sold in a better box, it would have been perfect. On the one hand, I'm kind of sad that this cupcake was so amazing, it will be hard to find a cupcake that tops it, but I'm up for the challenge, the bar has been set very high right from the start.

On the good side, these cupcakes are 2, 150 miles away from me, what a relief, I would be tempted daily to visit that cupcake store if it were near by!!

Be sure to drop me a line if you've tried these cupcakes or plan to, I would love to know what you thought of them.

There must be over a dozen bakeries and cupcakeries in San Francisco, but there were two other specific shops that I had hoped to try but did not have time, Susie Cakes and That Takes the Cake. Both got very high reviews online. Maybe next time!

I'm still getting caught up on my comments and stopping by my favorite blogs, I hope to be all caught up this week, Thanks!

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