We have an exciting cupcake shop to share with you: Carolyn's Cupcakes! This place was AMAZING! We loved every thing about it, but specifically:
They had parking!
They have a super cute store with awesome decorations!
They make colossal cupcakes!
Organic coffee!
Their cupcakes were goooooooooooood!
They make vegan cupcakes! (This one's for you, Dani!)
Did I mention their cupcakes were good? :)
Don't believe us? Check out this photo evidence:
Pretty Vegan Cupcake!
Colossal Cupcake!
The Grand Entry
Lizzie making an appearance
Um, we need this shelf...AMAZING!
Carolyn's Cupcakes, Decatur, GA
Our delicate cupcakes, pre-consumption :)
Sarah and her fierce Tiger Tail
Sarah had the Tiger Tail Cupcake. This treat was composed of a soft citrus-flavored cake frosted with a rich, dark chocolate icing. We had not seen this type of cupcake before, but were eager to indulge in this new flavor. It was quite an experience! The cake was moist and had just the right citrus kick to it. Combined with the delicious dark chocolate icing on top, the whole thing was quite a treat!
Lizzie + Fluffer Nutter!
Lizzie tried the Fluffer Nutter Cupcakeand a Chocolate Vegan Cupcake.The Fluffer Nutter was a vanilla cupcake with peanut butter frosting and, as a surprise, there was a marshmallow in the middle! It was a really good cupcake: the cake was moist and it had plenty of icing! The chocolate vegan cupcake was really good too. I almost liked the vegan icing better than the regular icing. It had cute sea turtle sprinkles on top which only added to the greatness of the cupcake. Carolyn's regular and vegan cupcakes come highly recommend from both of us!
Want to check this cupcake oasis out for yourself? Here are the where, when, and how's:
Our next cupcake destination was Chocolate Pink, a shop located in Midtown on Juniper Street. We chose this as our next cupcake gig, as we had coupons for free cupcakes (thanks again LG!). And the temptation to resist free cupcakes was simply too strong. So on Saturday, we hit the road and headed downtown to check out Chocolate Pink.
This was truly an adventure, as neither of us had visited the shop before. We found the shop relatively easily, however, in finding a parking spot, we were not so fortunate! After several laps around the store's surrounding streets, we settled in a parking spot about three blocks away...five miles uphill both ways in the snow for cupcakes, anyone?
We decided to wear our matching lime green cupcake shirts which got us quite a few stares and double takes!
Once inside this cupcake haven, our upset about parking subsided. We were taken aback by the cuteness of this shop. Everything about it was amazing, from the pink-padded booth seating to the silver beads garnishing the columns, and not to mention the cupcakes!
(A view from the entrance of the shop (Left) and a view of the entrance from our table (Right)).
We were astonished by their selection and variety of cupcakes; they also had other dessert choices, like cakes or miniature cheesecakes. There was something for everyone. This shop had the most unique flavors of the three we have visited so far, which made it tough for each of us to decide which ones we should try!
(So many cute cupcakes!!!)
After a few minutes of debate, Lizzie settled on the flavor of the month, Watermelon, and Sarah opted for the classy Raspberry Champagne cupcake. We placed our order and spoke with the nicest employee about our blog. We were surprised when she looked us up on the spot and began checking out the blog!
Lizzie ordered a coffee as well, and we settled into a nearby booth to wait for our scrumptious cupcakes to be delivered. The cupcakes were brought out to us on china plates, perfectly garnished with a raspberry drizzle. We were also given a fork and knife to eat them with, how sophisticated!
SO ready to dig into the cupcakes!
We both tried each others cupcakes first (sharing is caring!) and then we dug into our own.
(The watermelon cupcake (above))
Even though it was good, the watermelon cupcake was not Lizzie's favorite. It had a butter-cream frosting that felt a little too much like butter and the watermelon flavor was really artificial. The cupcake tasted like Bubblicious Bubble Gum, which isn't a bad thing if you're regressing, but I wish I had tasted something different. I definitely enjoyed visiting the shop though! It is a really cute place and I can see why it is so popular! The coffee I ordered was really good.
(The Raspberry Champagne Cupcake (Below))
Using the fork (how proper), Sarah took the first bite into hers and a smile crept onto her face. It was so tasty! My love for both champagne and raspberries was combined into this tiny delicacy and was absolutely amazing. The cake was moist, the icing was creamy, and the presentation was gorgeous. I was impressed, to say the least! As I continued to consume the cupcake, I discovered a pleasant surprise in the middle; underneath all the icing, there was a fresh raspberry filling! This was my favorite part of the cupcake.
Raspberry Surprise!
Yet again, another amazing cupcake experience! A new place, exotic flavors, and a great vibe made this cupcake escapade a success! We totally recommend Chocolate Pink for all your cupcake needs, whether you are looking for a girl's night out or catering a birthday party, they are your cupcake professionals!
Our second cupcake shop visit was a piece of cake to complete...literally!
Right down the road from Agnes Scott, where we attend school is a tiny little bakery called Piece of Cake. This itty bitty nook is always a temptation for students crossing back and forth between campus and the student apartments down the road. Last Saturday, we chose to walk down to this joint to try ourselves a piece of cake and let you know our thoughts!
Walking into this tiny store, we were surprised at the amount of business being conducted for such a small place! We waited patiently in line for our turn to order, eyeing the cupcake variety and attempting to choose which ones would be our victims. Piece of Cake is unique in that they have two sizes of cupcakes, that are not your typical sizes. They have a small, which is about the size of your average one-in-a-dozen cupcake, as well as a large cupcake, which is, well....large!
While we waited, we concluded that we would order three small cupcakes in order to try several of the flavors available. However, our plans changed when we reached the front of the line. They were unfortunately out of the caramel cupcake, one of the three we were hoping to try, so we decided to take a different route and just take two cupcakes.
Sarah ordered one of the weekly flavors, Peanut Butter. Through the glass cupcake container, it seemed a promising choice to both a cupcake and a peanut butter lover. Although nothing special stylistically, the cupcake was appealing in taste. Lizzie had a Strawberry cupcake, which was adorably pink and pretty good!
The woman at the counter packaged the cupcakes and we took them back with us to campus to enjoy, as there is no seating available in the store. We cozied up under the shade of the trees in the Agnes Scott Alumnae Garden and unpacked our cupcake feast.
Sarah took a full bite first to get the full experience of cake and icing. Delicious! The cake was extremely moist and light. Not only edible, but extremely enjoyable! The icing, however, was slightly disappointing. The icing was supposed to be the peanut butter part of the deal; however, it tasted only slightly of peanut butter. It was a nice icing, don't get me wrong, just not completely peanut-buttery! Overall, the experience with my piece of cake was quite enjoyable, although next time I would like to see a bit more flavor in the icing.
Lizzie had the Strawberry, which was good! The cake part was wonderfully moist and the icing was a good cream-cheese based frosting. The flavor didn't taste too artificial, which is a problem that many fruit based cupcakes can run into. I too wished that the flavor of the cupcake overall could be a little stronger.
Our recommendation: try it out! This place is for sure worthwhile. They are reasonably priced, have a range of sizes and flavors, and have multiple locations in the Atlanta area for convenience. We can promise you that we will be going back to have our piece of cake (and eat it too!).
Most people in Atlanta know about the Atlanta Cupcake Factory. There was recently some major distress in the city when the store closed down for a bit after a fire in their store. Thankfully, everyone was safe and the store reopened quickly to much rejoicing. Known around Atlanta and the nation for their stellar sweets, we knew that the Atlanta Cupcake Factory had to be the first review on our blog.
When our schedules all miraculously aligned on Sunday afternoon, Sarah, me, and Maggie, our mutual friend, set off to North Highland Ave to mack on some cupcakes. The Atlanta Cupcake Factory is located in a small strip of shops. Their store is actually pretty tiny for the amount of business that happens there so it was no surprise to find that we had to wait outside for the line to go down before we could go in and feast our eyes on their delicious cupcakes. The store is really adorable and the people that work there are really friendly! They can recommend flavors and speedily get you your chosen cupcake victim. The cupcakes are the perfect size. Not too big and not too small. The amount of icing varies by the flavor. I choose the Sugar Cookie Salted Caramel, Sarah had the Sugar Nutella and Maggie got the Cookies and Cream cupcake.
The Sugar Cookie Salted Carmel cupcake was amazing! It sounds like a really unusual combination of flavors, but it is actually the Atlanta Cupcake Factory's bestselling flavor. I can see why! The cake was the sugar cookie part and though it was good, it was the icing that really made this flavor (and that's not just my icing bias talking!). The salted caramel icing drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with salt was seriously to die for. There wasn't a lot of icing on the cupcake and there didn't need to be, the flavor was really strong. I liked that the icing wasn't very thick. It actually started running all over my cupcake when I got it out in the heat, so it was a little bit messy but so delicious! I highly recommend this cupcake.
A fascination with one of Europe's favorite sweet spreads, Nutella, led Sarah to indulge in the unique Sugar Nutella flavor. An attractive ensemble of vanilla cake topped with a large scoop of Nutella icing, this cupcake was a sweet surprise! While very much a chocolate sensation, one also detected a hint of caramel, thanks to a hidden drizzle of the sweet substance lacing the Nutella frosting. Although biting into this cupcake was difficult and awkward due to its height, the experience was made worthwhile the instant your teeth sunk into it. I enjoyed both licking the icing on its own and eating it along with the cake denominator. My only concern was that the icing was lacking a bit of the true European Nutella flair. However, it was definitely a delicious creation one will surely not regret eating!
Our dear friend Maggie who accompanied us on this trip had the Cookies and Cream cupcake. Cookies and Cream is a classic when it comes to cupcake flavors and Maggie said that what really set this one apart was the yummy cream cheese icing. It was adorably decorated with a mini oreo resting on top of a generous scoop of icing.
I had an unexpected encounter with a truffle at the Atlanta Cupcake Factory. They make cupcake truffles! I had the Strawberry Lemon flavor. It was an inch sized ball of the magical cupcake truffle substance coated in sugar sprinkles. It is definitely not like a chocolate truffle, but it's not like a cupcake either. It's actually really hard to describe what it was, but imagine if icing and cake had a baby... that's what a cupcake truffle would be! Trying one should definitely be on your bucket list.
Overall, a visit to the Atlanta Cupcake Shop is a necessary experience whether you are visiting Atlanta or if you live here. They have cutely decorated, delicious cupcakes that are perfectly portioned and reasonably priced. And they definitely know what they're doing! At their shop or catering, they are pros. What are you waiting for...hop on over to N. Highland and pick one up!
What: Great cupcakes of course! And the mysterious cupcake truffle. They cater too! (I've heard from more than one person that they do a really good job at catering weddings!)
