MY STORY

Ok - I have had a few people in favor of this and a few, well, not so much. I work like crazy though and so, this is my own space to review, get feedback, and comment on cupcakes around the world.

My obsession/ passion / love for cupcakes began in New York City. When I lived in Manhattan, I used to shop at the Whole Foods in the Time Warner Building.  If any of you have ever been there, you know how long those lines get. In order for me to not think about it (this was before smart phones), I would choose a cupcake and savor it throughout the line. When I got to the register, I would hand them the plastic cup it came in with a smile and say, "I ate it." :) - and thus, it began......

It must have been about my sixth or seventh year living on the Upper West Side and as I was walking home, I saw it - Magnolia Bakery. I had watched the gals on "Sex and the City" enjoying Magnolia's cupcakes in one of the episodes and had heard about them as well - and so, there was another place for me to go.

The fact that I could charge a cupcake and coffee and get reward points for Disney was an added plus! They also have a VERY cute seating area. The regular flavors are very nice, but I must admit that I loved a special Lemon one that I got there once and, one with Mocha icing on top (pictured below.)

This was some type of insanely delicious chocolate mocha type situation! They don't make it often and every time I went back, it was never there - if they have it when you visit, I would say, "Yes to the Cupcake!"

The next time you are in NYC - be sure to check them out. They have one near Central Park, so you could always "walk it off."   http://www.magnoliabakery.com/  

One year, I decided to have an "Interesting Cupcake Party" for Valentine's Day (my husband just goes with the flow and likes to humor me) - and so, the instructions were to bring an interesting cupcake, of course.

NYC Whole Foods Creations!

 Well, it was then that I was introduced to VERY TINY mini cupcakes by Baked by Melissa. The flavors were so interesting for something so small. I really enjoyed them :) http://www.bakedbymelissa.com/checkout/index.aspx

Interesting Cupcake Party of 2010 - those little ones are the "Baked by Melissa" that I speak of above :)

As the years went on, a friend of mine brought me an AMAZING ONE from Molly's Cupcakes downtown. It was the "Cake Batter" flavor. It was a vanilla cupcake with cake batter inside - and it has this amazing blue frosting....to this date, it is still one of the best cupcakes I have ever had. This is one that I never want to share!!! http://www.mollyscupcakes.com/

Molly's Cupcakes - the Cake Batter one is in the back row - left

The insides of Molly's Cupcakes - descriptions on her website

Well, one day, I was flipping through the channels and saw a show called, Cupcake Wars! That was it - a show made for me. I mean, I certainly don't "cook" very much and so, I am never one to watch food shows, but this one was personal. :)  It became such a fun thing for me to watch - but not when there were no sweets in the house!  Still, I was a regular fan! http://www.foodnetwork.com/cupcake-wars/index.html

While in Manhattan, I was also introduced to the BEST Red Velvet that I think can be found anywhere! It is at Make My Cake in Harlem. NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE, does cream cheese frosting quite like they do!!!  It is a MUST if you are ever on West 116th! http://www.makemycake.com/

This leads me to the present. When I moved to NJ, I still shopped at Whole Foods, but the cupcakes there were not the same. This is not to say they are bad, but if I am going to put those kinds of calories in me, I really need to like it. I have been in NJ for a little over a year and during the year, I kept saying, "There are no good cupcake shops around here - not like in New York."  Well, last month (for me at least), that changed........

My sister's mother in-law was visiting and told me that there was a Cupcake Wars winner in a town not tooo far from me (Egg Harbor City). Well, on our 5th anniversary, we were driving home from the beach and I asked my husband to stop there. The place is called Simply Sweet Cupcakes - but it was "SIMPLY DIVINE / AWESOME / OUTSTANDING" - and the owners and employees are super nice!!!

I am going to make a separate entry just for them because their caramel apple with the cream cheese frosting needs its own entry (see pic below).

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Simply-Sweet-Cupcakes/121767197901245






 ...and so, this is my story - for now :)

Please give me any comments or feedback about experiences you have with amazing cupcakes so I can spread the word :)  Fondly - Suzy Cupcake :)