As we all watched this brilliant idea become a successful business, other entrepreneurs got the idea and in the past few years cupcake specialty stores have been popping up like daises. http://sprinkles.com/ shows off their cuppies and their wide range of decorative toppers. They also offer elegant cuppies for weddings (another growing trend) and organic pet friendly cupcakes with yogurt 'frosting'. Sprinkles advertises to be the worlds first cupcake store, and they have influenced many other stores to follow suit.
This week I was assigned to eat at two very different stores that serve cupcakes and was told to spot the differences in each store. Both stores were located in Oklahoma city and I had a great partner in crime...
When we pulled up to our first target, we were impressed. It was an attractive two story house that proudly displayed the business' name: Sara Sara Cupcakes.
The most impressive part of the store had to be the display wall hanging next to the service counter that showed off all of the cupcakes they make in small, clear boxes.
a few of their flavors that I found extra fun were strawberry shortcake, pineapple upside-down, and cherries jubilee. But alas! Kimmer and I chose none of those flavors..... our eyes were pulled to the fresh cupcakes on display behind the counter and deciding which ones we wanted was as dramatic as that scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where the Grail Knight says to Harrison Ford "choose wisely, for while the true Grail will bring you life, the false Grail will take it from you"
The grail knight from Indiana Jones.... He is my homeboy.
So. After Kimberly and I finally chose, confetti started falling, balloons appeared out of nowhere and a sign dropped from the sky that read 'YOU CHOSE WISELY!'
Just Kidding.
But wouldn't that be so cool???
Anyway, I chose the Cowboy Carrot cupcake with a toasted walnut on top and a frosty glass of milk. Kimberly was drawn to the Blueberry Honey cupcake with chamomile tea. We were dished out our cuppies and we walked away from th counter like we had just won the lottery!
my slice of heaven
frosted glasses for my leche.
The MILK BAR! (it took us about five minutes to figure out how to get the milk out)
Kimmers delicious cuppie
What compliments a cup cake better than tea??
oh thats right.... milk.
We quickly dug in and were truly blown away by the incredible flavors that met our tastebuds...
My sister loves her some cupcake.
the moment that I realized my true purpose in life....to eat.
We traded bites of one another's cupcake and compared notes. Here is what we came up with:
Cowboy Carrot-
Surprising. Many carrot cakes have the intense sweetness that allows you to only indulge in a few bites. But the cream cheese frosting on this was understated. Enough to allow the actual cake to shine. You could clearly taste the quality of the cake and it was delectable.
Blueberry Honey-
Unbelievable. It tasted almost like a sweet blueberry bread. Or possibly a very modest blueberry muffin. The buttercream frosting they used on top tasted like honey butter and tied everything together. It was nothing that we expected and was so good that I kept stealing bites from Kimberly every time she turned away. We both agreed that we could have this cupcake at any time of the day and would probably eat 14 more of them if we didn't need to go to a second shop.
Sara Sara Cupcakes exceeded our expectations as far as the food and drink went, but another thing that stuck with us was their story...
The chef that runs the cupcake store had a daughter named Sara Caroline Brinson. When she was only 18 years old, she died unexpectedly of sudden cardiac dysrhythmia on April 9, 2007. As the family grieved and reflected on their daughter's life, they remembered how she loved to bake cupcakes.
We spoke to her uncle, who was helping behind the counter and he gave me a brochure with Sara's picture on it. He spoke of how Sara always dreamed of opening her own bakery and so, in honor of her, the family did just that. They sell T-shirts and souvenirs in the shop and all proceeds from those sales will go to the Sara Caroline Brinson- Children's Heart Research Fund. A fund they created in her name to help other families keep the precious children in their lives. The brochure talked all about Sara and the fund. How to donate and how it will help others.
Sara Brinson
This truly was a remarkable store. Family owned and run that had a story that was close to their hearts. It truly showed in the cupcakes that we ate. They were baked with care and attention to detail. Overall, Kimberly and myself were very impressed and we will be returning there often.
The next store that we went to was in the Paseo Art District of Oklahoma City. It was a small building that had a parking lot in the rear and only a small sign in front welcoming customers inside. It is called 'Cuppies and Joe'
Walking inside this store was wonderful. Large, leather sofas were scattered around, and rustic dining tables were present to dine at. Instant warmth spread to our bones (It was 29 degrees outside with a wind chill of 18 degrees) and the smell of fresh coffee and pastries made our mouth water.
The cupcakes here were slightly smaller and we chose instantly. Kimberly opted for a fudgy brownie cupcake with chocolate frosting and I chose one named "the Boom-Boom Pow", a vanilla bean cupcake with chocolate frosting, a dollop of caramel and crushed sea salt sprinkled on top.
We got our coffees and cuppies and eagerly looked for a place to sit, possibly next to the fireplace, and finally found the ONLY open seat......
Outside.
CRAAAAAAAP! (did u remember that the wind chill was EIGHTEEN DEGREES???)
And because I am the worlds smartest person, I chose to get a FROZEN drink..... yeah..... cuz I am a genius.
Kimberly sat across from me and happily drank her steamy cup o' joe and kept asking me how I liked my drink (she is really very mean to me, as you can see).
And once we got past the initial shock of icy wind slicing through our clothes and causing an almost hypothermic state, we ate our cupakes.
They were both very very sweet. It was better that they were much smaller than our first cupcakes because we would have never been able to finish them. Kimberly's tasted like a double fudge brownie with chocolate icing and nuts. Mine reminded me of a chocolate covered pretzel. The salty and sweetness played well together. The drinks were superb (although I could only drink a small bit of mine while being turned into a Popsicle outside) and because the George girls are total wimps, we left before finishing because we were too damn cold.
When we went back inside to return our dishes we looked around a bit more and saw all of the fun art displayed by local artists. They had t-shirts for sale and even some very cute aprons that looked handmade. I really liked that they supported local artists so much, it reminded me of shops in Laguna.
My sister, the happiest soul on earth.
As we drove away fat and happy, there was no doubting that cupcake stores were hot right now. The second store was so popular that we had to sit outside! So if your thinking of making a career change and think that opening up a cupcake shop is for you, act fast, because we don't know how long this sensation will last. The only thing that I ask of you, dear readers, is that if you DO decide to open up a shop that serves these delicious treats.... make sure you have heated seats for your outdoor chairs. :)
Thank you, as always, for reading and I hope that if you walk away from anything from reading this post, it is that you are hungry!
Sara Sara Cupcakes
7 NW 9th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
(405) 600-9494
www.sarasaracupcakes.com
Sara Caroline Brinson- Children's Heart Research Fund
(405) 271-2300 for more information
Cuppies & Joe
727 NW 23rd Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
(405) 528-2122
www.cuppiesandjoe.com
Sprinkles.com
Sprinkles.com
