I Found Love In A Box

Last night, I drove 20 minutes out of my way for food. I know what you're thinking. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, J-Bird. I thought we were losing weight?". And you're right, we *are* trying to lose weight. But I'm grown and I do what I want, dammit! And what I wanted last night were great cupcakes. So, I went to Pink Moon.

They have short business hours but I managed to get there a half hour before close. And at first, I was so sad. There were all these beautiful cupcake plates and not. one. cupcake. None. They were all gone. I didn't want to ask but I think the look on my face said it all. The nice lady behind the counter promised me that they really did have cupcakes but they start frosting to order as they get closer to closing time.

There was one daily special left and it was the Dreamsicle cupcake. Now, in real life, I don't care for Dreamsicles at all. But I've never met a cupcake that I didn't like and I obviously was going to be part of an elite group so I bought it and two others. I drove home wanting to pack my mouth full of cupcakes during the ride but knowing that these cupcakes right here were special.

It was like Christmas in my kitchen

I'm gonna be real honest with you here. I touched my tongue to the sweet, tangy, soft, orange-y butter cream frosting and about lost my mind. That is why there aren't any photos to prove that the Dreamsicle cupcake exists. I ate it scarfed it while standing at my kitchen counter, rolling my eyes in the back of my head and moaning, "Mmmmmm...", "Oh my God" and "This is SO good!".

You make that much noise while eating a cupcake and people are bound to notice. So, when someone doesn't exactly asked you to share but definitely says that they look so good and that they'll have to remember to make it out there to the bakery. And when you know that they really want one of the other two cupcakes that you really should share because your mother raised you better. And after you've promised yourself that you will go back to Pink Moon and replace the cupcake you're going to give away. After you steel your emotions and talk yourself out of crying at the idea of giving away God's gift to baked goods. When you've done all of that, you offer them the chocolate chocolate cupcake - on the condition that you be allowed to take photos of the experience (and because giving them the Pumpkin Buttercream is completely out of the question).

Pumpkin Buttercream in the back; Chocolate-Chocolate in the front

Choc-Choc halved. There's a better pic but it won't upload

The thing about it is that no one (except maybe children) will agree to letting me put pictures of them on my blog. At least, not with a mouth full of cupcake (and a nose tip covered in frosting).

So, let me describe it for you in words.

The Pink Moon cupcake has to be broken down into it's succulent layers. The cake is a heavy, dense cake that is packed full of flavor. At first, you think it's too much because of the weight of the cupcake but as you can see from the sliced chocolate-chocolate cupcake, there's a good 1/2 inch of icing on there. When you bite into the cake it is moist and doesn't crumble but instead chunks. Yes, small bits of cake fall here and there. You will want to rescue them with a press of your index finger but (DON'T!) you'll only make it worse. The moisture in the cake requires that you use your index finger and thumb to retrieve the morsels. People will stare; you won't be sorry.

All cupcakes are frosted with a flavored butter cream frosting. It's soft and sweet and sticky. Pink Moon frosting is light and touched with just the right amount of flavor. The Dreamsicle frosting had an orange-y tang that took me back to the days of ice cream trucks and Saturday morning cartoons. It laid effortlessly atop the cupcake and moved easily when I pushed it around the cake to get coverage on the sides. The bit of chocolate frosting that I stole had hint of dark cacao and I'm sure paired perfectly with the dense chocolate cake.

At $3 a piece, I'd buy them again. Every day. For the rest of my life if I could afford it. Lucky for me, I thought ahead and have a Pumpkin Buttercream cupcake waiting for me when I get home tonight. If you're in Central Ohio and can make the time (and find the money), I recommend taking a short trip to Pink Moon Cupcake Bakery. It's totally worth it.