omg i am finally done with moving in to my new place in downtown chicago. yay!
i dislike moving...... a lot. all the packing...the hauling of boxes....the unpacking.... but nonetheless the new place is really nice and good news is i don't have to commute to work anymore! which means more sleep.
i dislike moving...... a lot. all the packing...the hauling of boxes....the unpacking.... but nonetheless the new place is really nice and good news is i don't have to commute to work anymore! which means more sleep.
anywho, i have been on the hunt for some specific cupcakes that has been making headlines around the chicago area. finally after a month plus, i finally caught up with them for their popular cupcakes on wheels: flirty cupcakes. i first heard about them on tv on chicago's best and was intrigued by the concept. recently, they were featured on redeye as one of the ten things to do in the summer in chicago.
inspired by her childhood memories of running after the ice cream truck during hot summer days, the founders of flirty cupcakes (tiffany and chris) came up with the idea of selling cupcakes from a van . flirty cupcakes is only about three months old but they are quickly making a name for themselves. they have accumulated more than 3,000 followers (and counting) on twitter (@flirtycupcakes) which is one of the ways for sweet tooth lovers to find out their next stop or to send requests to stop by their area.
i've missed them several times when they were only like few blocks from my work place but i managed to finally find them at the museum of contemporary art farmer's market this last tuesday. i was uber excited and spotting their sky blue van parked at the corner of pearson and mies van der rohe way was quite easy.
as you walk up to the van, there is a menu of seven different types of cupcakes on the left of the window and a display of colorful cupcakes on tiers at the counter. occasionally, they have a weekly special on top of their usual seven flavors but considering i was the only one trying all of them out, i passed on the special. the person behind the counter (think it's jessica) was really friendly and patient as i was trying to decide what i was going to purchase. if you are wondering if you can pay by credit card, yes u can or by cash. my boss who went with me commented on the exhaust that was on top of the van was quite a annoying since the exhaust fumes were blowing directly into his face as he was waiting for his turn but it didn't bother me much since i am much shorter so i didn't even notice it.. lol
i bought the sampler of four mini's which is priced at $5.25 and whichever that wasn't in the sampler pack, i bought the regular cupcakes ($3.25 each). each cupcake is packed nicely and snugly in their boxes to prevent them from moving too much during transport.
as described| refers to the description you can find on their website
imo| what i think about the cupcakes.
the curious george | banana chocolate cupcake with a light, salted caramel italian buttercream frosting
as described | you’ll go bananas when you bite into this delectable banana cupcake topped with an oh-so-subtle salted caramel buttercream frosting… it’s bananas I tell you – bananas!
imo | the cupcake is moist with a burst of banana flavor which i love. the frosting is smooth and creamy with a hint of caramel topped with the crunch of the salt sprinkled on the top. what i love about it is that the frosting compliments the cake very well: the delicate balance of sweet and salty makes the cupcake awesome. i had to stop myself from eating too much frosting since it was so good. one thing i didn't like was the fact that it had too much frosting for such a the size of the cupcake - almost felt like the amount of frosting equaled the amount of cake. but that is really personal preference since i am more of a cake kind of girl. i thought this looked the most beautiful because this cupcake reminded me of a beautiful rose kissed by the morning dew.
cbff | chocolate cupcake with a nutella ganache
as described | if you consider chocolate your bff, you are going to be pinky swear this is the best chocolate cupcake ever!
imo | the first thing i noticed was the smell of nutella. as it was with the other cupcakes, this was moist and it wasn't too sweet. i thought in general it was light in flavor...maybe too light and it could use a lot more chocolate flavor. i like the ganache though it was chocolate-y with a subtle hint of nutella. i love the difference in textures with the crunchiness of the chopped nuts (possibly hazelnut) .
pb&c | peanut butter & chocolate
as described | adios jelly...hello chocolate. this fluffy chocolate cupcake is topped with a peanut butter ganache, so good you'll never have jelly on your peanut butter again
imo | i guess this is kinda an ode to the reese's in the form of a cupcake. i tasted the ganache and got the peanut butter flavor off the bat. every bite (with the ganache of course) ended with a subtle flavor of peanut butter which is delightful because it wasn't overpowering the other flavors whatsoever. i am not a huge fan of reese's but i like this quite a bit more. there is also a peanut butter surprise in the middle of the cupcake.
devil in disguise | red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting
as described | this sinfully good, moist red velvet cupcake is haloed with heavenly cream cheese cake frosting...to the hell with it, have two
imo | it immediately caught my attention with its bright red color. surprisingly, i love the strong flavor of the cream cheese frosting and the ratio of cupake and frosting is just right. i was most excited for this cupcake since red velvet is my most favorite cake after tiramisu. overall, i thought the cupcake was alright and i still prefer the one i usually get from starbucks cafe in barnes & noble in evanston for my red velvet cupcake fix.
no plain jane | vanilla cupcake with an italian vanilla buttercream frosting
as described | this ain't your average everyday vanilla cupcake! moist and refreshing, a scrumptious italian vanilla buttercream frosting makes you realize sometimes it's great to be vanilla!
imo | this is the classic cupcake that everyone are familiar with. it has a subtle vanilla presence (i'd prefer just a lil more vanilla flavor) and it was not too sweet. the frosting tasted good and creamy but there was again too much frosting. i personally would still enjoy the cake itself with or without the frosting since the cake itself was delish.
coconut...nuts! | vanilla coconut cupcake with a toasted coconut frosting
as described | who knew coconut could be so good? you'll love this subtle coconut cupcake...even if you don't like coconut, this will have you going coconut...nuts!
imo | as it was described on their website, their coconut cupcake had a very subtle coconut flavor in the cake itself. i was trying to find the coconut flavor but was less than successful. but what makes this cupcake was the frosting (although it was a lil too much of it) and the toasted coconut flakes. it gives a combined coconut-y and nutty flavor paired with the slight vanilla flavor in the cupcake and at the same time contributes to the difference in texture in each bite. if you asked me which part was my favorite it was definitely the toasted coconut topping.
the mcdreamy | chocolate cupcake with a cream cheese & chocolate filling
as described | you'll think you're dreaming when you bite into this super moist cupcake with a cream cheese & chocolate morsel filling...a dream come true!
imo | this cake packs a mean chocolate punch and quickly reminded me of a brownie. the sweetness of the chocolate cupcake is greeted by the slight tartness of the cream cheese frosting with the occasional surprise of the crunch of chocolate morsels inside. it has a filling of a lil bit of cream cheese in the inside of the cupcake. my boss tried this one and said it reminded him of a chocolate cheese cake and thought it was too cheesy for a cake. it could be the fault of the frosting which could have been balanced a little better with the amount of cupcake there was. but the flavors of this cupcake is very promising and i liked it.
the mini cupcakes comes in set of four which are the devil in disguise, no plain jane, the curious george and cbff. they are about half the size of the regular cupcakes and is awesome when you want variety but at the same time you want to watch your waist line.
amazing? no. good? yes.
one thing for sure you will get from these cupcakes: instant gratification, a happy tummy and a clean plate. :)
disclaimer this is written based on my personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others
imo | the cupcake is moist with a burst of banana flavor which i love. the frosting is smooth and creamy with a hint of caramel topped with the crunch of the salt sprinkled on the top. what i love about it is that the frosting compliments the cake very well: the delicate balance of sweet and salty makes the cupcake awesome. i had to stop myself from eating too much frosting since it was so good. one thing i didn't like was the fact that it had too much frosting for such a the size of the cupcake - almost felt like the amount of frosting equaled the amount of cake. but that is really personal preference since i am more of a cake kind of girl. i thought this looked the most beautiful because this cupcake reminded me of a beautiful rose kissed by the morning dew.
cbff | chocolate cupcake with a nutella ganache
as described | if you consider chocolate your bff, you are going to be pinky swear this is the best chocolate cupcake ever!
imo | the first thing i noticed was the smell of nutella. as it was with the other cupcakes, this was moist and it wasn't too sweet. i thought in general it was light in flavor...maybe too light and it could use a lot more chocolate flavor. i like the ganache though it was chocolate-y with a subtle hint of nutella. i love the difference in textures with the crunchiness of the chopped nuts (possibly hazelnut) .
pb&c | peanut butter & chocolate
as described | adios jelly...hello chocolate. this fluffy chocolate cupcake is topped with a peanut butter ganache, so good you'll never have jelly on your peanut butter again
imo | i guess this is kinda an ode to the reese's in the form of a cupcake. i tasted the ganache and got the peanut butter flavor off the bat. every bite (with the ganache of course) ended with a subtle flavor of peanut butter which is delightful because it wasn't overpowering the other flavors whatsoever. i am not a huge fan of reese's but i like this quite a bit more. there is also a peanut butter surprise in the middle of the cupcake.
devil in disguise | red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting
as described | this sinfully good, moist red velvet cupcake is haloed with heavenly cream cheese cake frosting...to the hell with it, have two
imo | it immediately caught my attention with its bright red color. surprisingly, i love the strong flavor of the cream cheese frosting and the ratio of cupake and frosting is just right. i was most excited for this cupcake since red velvet is my most favorite cake after tiramisu. overall, i thought the cupcake was alright and i still prefer the one i usually get from starbucks cafe in barnes & noble in evanston for my red velvet cupcake fix.
no plain jane | vanilla cupcake with an italian vanilla buttercream frosting
as described | this ain't your average everyday vanilla cupcake! moist and refreshing, a scrumptious italian vanilla buttercream frosting makes you realize sometimes it's great to be vanilla!
imo | this is the classic cupcake that everyone are familiar with. it has a subtle vanilla presence (i'd prefer just a lil more vanilla flavor) and it was not too sweet. the frosting tasted good and creamy but there was again too much frosting. i personally would still enjoy the cake itself with or without the frosting since the cake itself was delish.
coconut...nuts! | vanilla coconut cupcake with a toasted coconut frosting
as described | who knew coconut could be so good? you'll love this subtle coconut cupcake...even if you don't like coconut, this will have you going coconut...nuts!
imo | as it was described on their website, their coconut cupcake had a very subtle coconut flavor in the cake itself. i was trying to find the coconut flavor but was less than successful. but what makes this cupcake was the frosting (although it was a lil too much of it) and the toasted coconut flakes. it gives a combined coconut-y and nutty flavor paired with the slight vanilla flavor in the cupcake and at the same time contributes to the difference in texture in each bite. if you asked me which part was my favorite it was definitely the toasted coconut topping.
the mcdreamy | chocolate cupcake with a cream cheese & chocolate filling
as described | you'll think you're dreaming when you bite into this super moist cupcake with a cream cheese & chocolate morsel filling...a dream come true!
imo | this cake packs a mean chocolate punch and quickly reminded me of a brownie. the sweetness of the chocolate cupcake is greeted by the slight tartness of the cream cheese frosting with the occasional surprise of the crunch of chocolate morsels inside. it has a filling of a lil bit of cream cheese in the inside of the cupcake. my boss tried this one and said it reminded him of a chocolate cheese cake and thought it was too cheesy for a cake. it could be the fault of the frosting which could have been balanced a little better with the amount of cupcake there was. but the flavors of this cupcake is very promising and i liked it.
the mini cupcakes comes in set of four which are the devil in disguise, no plain jane, the curious george and cbff. they are about half the size of the regular cupcakes and is awesome when you want variety but at the same time you want to watch your waist line.
if you asked me, the one i like best is the curious george and the mcdreamy. i think overall, they offer a good variety of moist cupcake and the concept of cupcakes on wheels is gradually catching on and even has sprinkles cupcake hopping onto the bandwagon (last i read that is). if you want to find out where you can find these flirty cupcakes around chicago, you can either find them on twitter (@flirtycupcakes), their website or check them out on facebook.
one thing for sure you will get from these cupcakes: instant gratification, a happy tummy and a clean plate. :)
disclaimer this is written based on my personal experience and opinion. experiences and taste buds may vary for others
