We're hoping to have photos soon from San Diego's Eclipse Chocolat's Cupcake Extravaganza Weekend, but for now here's a report from blogger Queen of the Otter People! about three of their cupcakes:
I enjoyed the concept of the Sweet Onion Caramel. I really like mess-with-your-head foods, and onion isn't a typical 'dessert' food. It was pretty good, but not exceptionally so. I don't know I could have identified this as 'onion' if it hadn't been titled as such - it had that onion tang, but it wasn't very onion-y in flavor. Possibly due to the cake being very dark chocolate (and dry), and the caramel being salty-sweet - I think the onion flavor might've gotten lost in everything else. I did enjoy the merlot-infused sea salt on top, and actually noticed the merlot flavor.
The Salty Peanut Butter Toffee was the yellow-cake of the three, and the cake (aside from being dry) was pretty Boringly Yellow. Not that there's anything wrong with cake as a vehicle to deliver other flavors, but I had a hard time even identifying if they'd put vanilla or other flavors in the cake itself. The filling was the best part. More toffee flavor than peanut butter, at least to me, and it lingered nicely, leaving that salty peanut flavor after the toffee melted away. I don't have an impression of the topping for the cake, as my two bites of it didn't really have a lot.
Of the three, I enjoyed the Lavender-Vanilla Bean the most. Despite being chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, chocolate filling, it was surprisingly delicate and light, and as much as I have an internal bias against using terms like 'floral notes', it most definitely had floral notes. The lavender was a very present flavor in the filling, but not cloyingly so, and it mingled with the vanilla really well. Despite the consistent theme of chocolate, the chocolate didn't overpower the other flavors like I feared it would.
I enjoyed the concept of the Sweet Onion Caramel. I really like mess-with-your-head foods, and onion isn't a typical 'dessert' food. It was pretty good, but not exceptionally so. I don't know I could have identified this as 'onion' if it hadn't been titled as such - it had that onion tang, but it wasn't very onion-y in flavor. Possibly due to the cake being very dark chocolate (and dry), and the caramel being salty-sweet - I think the onion flavor might've gotten lost in everything else. I did enjoy the merlot-infused sea salt on top, and actually noticed the merlot flavor.
The Salty Peanut Butter Toffee was the yellow-cake of the three, and the cake (aside from being dry) was pretty Boringly Yellow. Not that there's anything wrong with cake as a vehicle to deliver other flavors, but I had a hard time even identifying if they'd put vanilla or other flavors in the cake itself. The filling was the best part. More toffee flavor than peanut butter, at least to me, and it lingered nicely, leaving that salty peanut flavor after the toffee melted away. I don't have an impression of the topping for the cake, as my two bites of it didn't really have a lot.
Of the three, I enjoyed the Lavender-Vanilla Bean the most. Despite being chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, chocolate filling, it was surprisingly delicate and light, and as much as I have an internal bias against using terms like 'floral notes', it most definitely had floral notes. The lavender was a very present flavor in the filling, but not cloyingly so, and it mingled with the vanilla really well. Despite the consistent theme of chocolate, the chocolate didn't overpower the other flavors like I feared it would.
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Think outside the normal flavors and the usual cupcake.
Donna Pickens
www.ButterCreamCakeDesigns.com