Crushcakes

Okay so after Charlie and I wrapped up lunch at Santa Barbara Shellfish Co., we headed to Crushcakes where we were greeted by a QTpie behind the counter and a jaw-dropping display of cupcakes. To be honest, I didn't even really notice her until after I gave the display a good once-over...

Gotta prioritize, ya know?



Got a bunch of stuff. Not all are pictured or listed:

Buttermilk Crumb Cake - moist buttermilk cinnamon swirl cake with brown sugar cinnamon frosting.
Strawberry Blush - fresh strawberry cake topped with rosy pink strawberry frosting.
Peanut Butter Cup - chocolate cake with creamy peanut butter frosting topped with ganache.
Chocolate Chocolate - rich dark chocolate cake smothered in dark chocolate frosting.
XYZ(I forgot) & a better version of the Hostess' CupCake

With a 2.5hr drive back to LA, I dunno how I made it without eating them all. For real, I show zero constraint when it comes to desserts. Will of Eclipse Chocolat fame can attest to that...so can my UCSD pals who've all seen me destroy a dozen donuts, a whole choco-cake, a whole batch of brownies, or big bag of Oreos in a single sitting.

It's a wonder I can still see my abs. Not that I'm bragging, of course. I'm just sayin'.

Alright, so two of them didn't make it home for an afternoon tea photoshoot:

Survivors

I anticipated the Peanut Butter Cup to be my favorite:


I mean, how could it not blow you away? I never pass judgment based on presentation when it comes to food, but this little guy totally had me sold. That is, until I took a chomp out of each of the four. PBCup was good, but nothing terribly remarkable, though the chococake was almost on par with my man Will's. The biggest weakness the PBCup has is the lack of PB flavor. If Crushcake can fix it, then we have a definite winner whose taste would match its perfect construction. On the other hand, Buttermilk Crumb Cake is a real sleeper. I did not expect such rich and decadent creamy/milky flavor from the cake. Holy **** it was like licking an angel. Choco-choco, however, did not wow me as much. It was a pretty standard chocolate cake/frosting combo. Maybe if some ganache were thrown in (kinda like Will's @ Eclipse) it would win more points.


Yes, the Buttermilk Crumb Cake blew my mind, but the winner of the tasting is Strawberry Blush. Almost too close to call, though. Stawberry blush packed a big whallop of fresh strawberry taste. I really dig that. Each bite tasted of the sweet aroma of fresh berries. Seriously. The cake is almost as rich as the Buttermilk Crumb Cake, but had a good touch of strawberry to it. Slap on that delectable strawberry frosting and Crushcake's got a signature cupcake. (No idea why their actual signature cake is the red velvet Crushcake. The thing was so unremarkable.)

I'm all for big bold flavors, but the thing is, I eat desserts in massive quantities. The Buttermilk Crumb Cake is just too heavy in such binging sessions and palate fatigue would creep up way too early. Out of a potential dozen Crushcakes, I'd likely buy three of their best flavors in sets of four. Four BCCs would just be too much even for me. Lastly, Stawberry Blush is just such a refined cupcake. It's "light" and yet it'll smack your mouth around with strawberry. A real culinary marvel. When the weather turns cold, though, I'd bump the BCC to #1 and wolf them down with some city+ roasted coffee.


Will, you've finally got a worthy competitor!




Crushcakes Cupcakery
1315 Anacapa STreet
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
805.963-9553