Cupcake craze hits Sacramento

I stopped by Babycakes, the much talked about new cupcake bakery on J street in Sacramento one day after school. Between tests and presentations, I was in dire need for a sugar spike. Half empty rows of sugary cupcakes and cute stacks of cookies welcomed me. It was like paradise.While a couple ahead of me took their time in ordering,I perused my options. Did I want to try the Chai cupcake, Chai spice with cinnamon buttercream,or triple chocolate, a dark chocolate cake with glossy fudge frosting and real French sprinkles? After weiging my options, it was judgment time. The guy behind the counter was very nice and I was in and out in a jiffy.

I wanted to sample them all but I didn’t for fear of a sugar coma. I picked the Passion-Coconut, a vanilla cupcake and buttercream with passion fruit filling all rolled in coconut, and my ultimate favorite, Red Velvet, a barely chocolate Southern velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.

The first bite into the passion fruit cupcake was surprising. The curd was sweet and yet a little salty with the fluffy frosting and crunchy cupcake. But, sadly, the first bite was the only good bite. The rest of the cupcake fell flat, without much flavor and was surprisingly dry. I will say that the curd filling was perfectly light and fruity without being overpowering. But this was not the best cupcake I’ve ever had.

The red velvet cupcake didn’t fare any better. In fact, it was pretty disastrous. Crumbly and dry, it tasted worse than the boxed cake variety. And the cream cheese frosting was not appetizing. It was either lacking some vanilla extract or some sugar because I could still taste the really strong cream cheese flavor that wasn’t good.

Despite my bad batch of cupcakes, I will still go back and try the other flavors, maybe earlier in the day. Their bostom cream cupcake sounds divine and I am itching to try their High Hat cupcake because of the chocolate shell that covers the frosting on top. Although the cupcakes themselves weren’t a huge hit, I did appreciate the small portions. I like a cupcake to satiate me but not fill me to the brim,which some bakeries seem intent on doing (magnolias, billys, sprinkles). These babycakes were definitely decorated adorably and while the cakes didn’t completely wow me, I am willing to give them another chance. The bakery is open 6 days of the week, from 10am to 6pm so if you are jonesing for some baked sweets, give Babycakes a shot.