Cupcake Craze

If anyone has talked to Angela or myself longer than 10 minutes, you know our obsession with Magnolia Bakery cupcakes. We pride ourselves on loving them before it was "hip" to love cupcakes. We are also very protective of the fact that the magnolia cupcake is the best. I am known to trash Katie Holmes for her praise of 'Billy's Cupcakes' as the best NYC cupcake, and Angela whips up the best mock-magnolia now that she lives in Houston.

Now that the cupcake craze has spread nation-wide (even though founded by us originally), Angela and I are willing to do some serious taste-testing.

Test Location #1: Crave Cupcakes, Houston, TX

Pros:

-vanilla bean: you can actually see the vanilla bean they use in the cake. The flavor of the cake is very, very good. (see picture below taken with my "cuisine setting")

-large variety of flavors

-chilled bottles of ice-cold milk

-outside seating (although the West Village park across from Magnolia is a little more "bakery rustic")

Cons:

-icing: not the best icing... buttercream icing is a non-negotiable

-very expensive... even if your ingredients are expensive, $3.50 for a cupcake is a lot

-cupcakes are behind a glass display case... I like picking out my cupcakes

-too many flavors take you away from the goodness of vanilla/vanilla

-it's not Magnolia: I like waiting in line and watching the hippy bakers ice the cupcakes while listening to their ipods, picking out my own colors and sprinkles, adding on a banana pudding when i am feeling feisty, making the trip down to the West Village on a pretty day!