Carolina Cupcake Tour {GUEST POST}

Hi Ya'll!

It's Aimee from www.alilblackdress.blogspot.com and I'm so excited to be guest blogging my cupcake tour across the Carolina's with you!  Why you wonder?

Quite simply, I'm smitten with cupcakes.
Smitten with the enormous icing to cake ratio found in a cupcake.
Smitten with the flavor variations that can be found in cupcakes.  
Smitten with the smell that embraces you upon entering a cupcakery.

And lastly, I'm smitten with tracking down the nation's best cupcake!

My recent vacation involved visiting the family of my husband's best friend from childhood and the best man in our wedding....in Winston-Salem, NC.  From there we traveled down to Myrtle Beach, SC hitting every cupcakery we could find along the way.

Say hello to the Carolina Tour contestants:



Ready to get started?

While Winston-Salem didn't actually have a true to form "cupcakery", I stumbled upon Dewey's Bakery Cafe and here I found this little lovely:


And the most fabulous cupcake serving piece:


It was most certainly coming home with me!

I enlisted some honorary taste testers in Winston-Salem and developed tally sheets to keep our opinions straight. At Dewey's we sample the red velvet with cream cheese, chocolate with white icing, and a fun pink lemonade cake square. YUM!


Our second stop was C-Cups Cakery nestled in the quaint little town of Southern Pines, NC. I was excited to learn that a friend of mine in Michigan actually grew up with the C-Cups owner so my expectations were soaring!  They are a brand new shop, and unfortunately I was a tad premature in my arrival as they weren't open for business yet. 
I did meet the owner however and get a peek inside, and I am happy to report than rather than salt and pepper shakers, she has cupcake sprinkle shakers.  ADORABLE!


Not one to let a cupcake opportunity go to waste, I immediately googled a bakery in the next town over. 

In the booming golf mecca that is Pinehurst, NC I sent my husband to the golf course, as I set out to find  Kraz Elegant Cakes & Cupcakery ......and this delicious little guy:


In case you're wondering, their shop is not on the beach. I waited to photograph and eat the cupcake once we arrived at our condo in Myrtle Beach. For breakfast the next day.


Next up was a trip to Charleston, SC where we would meet both Cupcake as well as Sugar Bake Shop.
Here's where I should probably tell you that I research all of my cupcake stops (except for impromptu stops along the way). I can generally recite the "About Us" section of their website and have an idea if something has been rated "The Best Of" in a category. I had exceptionally high expectations for both of these shops.

Here's what the Cookies -n- Cream cupcake looks like on the Cupcake website:


And here's what it looks like in my hand:


It wasn't identical, but it was strikingly similar.

At the Columbia, SC location of the same store, we utilized their super cozy patio area and enjoyed both the Frangelico Swirl as the special of the day (thank you Facebook updates) as well as the Chocolate Tuxedo I had been drooling over at the Charleston shop.


While they were both insanely good, there was something delightful about the chocolate chip pieces housed inside the Chocolate Tuxedo.


And yes, I eat my cupcakes with a fork. Why? Because not only is it less messy, it allows you to proportion your cake with your icing in each bite. Because a bite of cake without icing, is well....unimpressive!

Earlier I said I love the large icing to cake ratio that cupcakes provide. With that being said.........



Too. Much. Icing.

I couldn't possibly eat it all without getting sick. While Cupcake gets high marks for creative flavors, cute atmosphere, and a cozy patio in Columbia- they lost me on the icing.

A quick stop in Murrells Inlet, SC was unfortunately a flop. I was much looking forward to indulging in a cupcake at Ndulge Cupcakery but instead this was on the door. Boo!



And finally....... Are you ready for the winner?!?!?

Sugar Bake Shop owners Bill Bowick and David Bouffard transplanted themselves to Charleston from New York City. One an architect, and one armed with his family's concoctions, these two are a recipe for success.
The location, while off the beaten path, is both charming and simple.
With an offering of  fresh fruit Popsicles,  if the even more charming Popsicle stand doesn't beckon you indoors, the smells wafting out the door as a customer exits surely will.



They are known for their Lady Baltimore cupcake but we opted for the Lemon Curd and a yellow cake with butter cream. And, we were there on a day when the Lady Baltimore wasn't offered- apparently my "research" and pre-planning has its faults. 



While the yellow cake butter cream cupcake was good, the Lemon Curd was the show stopper of the day. Moist with an appropriate amount of icing, this delicious ray of sunshine surprises you with a lemon filling that is out of this world. Grab an old-fashioned inspired cream soda and head out to their enclosed patio, and you'll absolutely lose yourself in the day. I had to remind myself I wasn't back home in New Orleans, this place has THAT much quiet elegance. If you're lucky enough to meet one of the two owners, you can see why this place is an easy favorite for locals to grab something sweet.

Thank you so much for joining me on my Carolina Cupcake Tour round-up. 
With NYC partially conquered, these yummies will join the ranks of my Philadelphia and Louisiana tours.
You never know where I'll end up next!

xoxo, Aimee

{DISCLAIMER} The opinions in this post are my own, and are in no way sponsored by anyone mentioned in the tour.






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