Free Cupcakes at Georgetown Cupcake

Who doesn't love free cupcakes??

Anybody? Anybody?

I didn't think so.

So what if I told you getting free cupcakes was as simple as following a company on Twitter? And not just one free cupcake and you're done. A free cupcake EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. And a different flavor everyday too.

This is real life, people!

Thank God I don't live closer and I work during the day or this would be a serious problem.

So I'll stop the suspense. It's Georgetown Cupcakes.

As many of you probably know already, they recently opened up a shop on Newbury St. And there was a line of like 10,000 people to get free cupcakes for their grand opening a few weekends ago. A line so long that even I just gave up and bought some overprices roasted cashews in Copley Square instead. I passed up free cupcakes!! It was a really long line.

But fear not! Because now they post the day's "secret cupcake" on Twitter everyday. And all you have to do is go in and ask for the cupcake by name and you get it for FREE. Simple. You just have to pray that you got there early enough to get one because they only do 100 per location and 1 per customer. But I imagine they last awhile, especially on weekdays. At least until more people start finding out about it. I got there at 12:30 yesterday (they open at 10am) and there were still some left.

Yesterday's secret flavor was Blueberry Cheesecake. Now I looked on their menu and it said that the blueberry cheesecake cupcake was a blueberry mascarpone cupcake with vanilla icing and I got super excited because I LOVE mascarpone cheese! But alas, maybe it was just different because it was the secret flavor, but it was just an actual little mini cheesecake. Which is not to say that that's not okay, because it was still very delicious!

It had a graham cracker crust that was more of a crumble than a crust because it kind of just fell apart, but that's totally okay with me! And then a thick layer of cheesecake with blueberries throughout. It wasn't the best thing I've ever tasted, but it was definitely quite delicious!

And free.

Did I mention it was free?

But I guess it's a good thing that I got suckered into actually buying a cupcake too so I could get a taste of what their actual cupcakes were like. All in the name of research. Just for you fine readers. You're welcome.

So I went with the Vanilla Birthday Cake. Obviously.

I suppose for only $2.75, it's not a bad deal at all. About $3 with tax. A very standard cupcake price. I was pretty surprised at how small these cupcakes were though. Not that I'm complaining. All the more reason to go get free cupcakes everyday of the week because everyone knows that calories don't count in miniature things. Duh.

Even still, I was planning on saving the birthday cake one for the next day because I couldn't justify eating two cupcakes in one day. Even though I did walk ALL the way from work to Newbury St. just to get said cupcake! But in the end, I couldn't have a perfectly delicious-looking cupcake sitting there, looking at me, without eating it. And plus...I needed to evaluate it's flavor on the same day so I could judge it's freshness. Like I said...just for you guys!

I did manage to pawn off half of it onto my smiling roommate though. So I don't really feel guilty at all.

I really liked this cupcake. It wasn't phenomonal. I don't think it lives up to all the hype, but it was a very yummy cupcakes. And I think most of that hype just comes from the fact that they have a TV show (which you should never watch because it's really stupid and blatantly staged! Cupcake Wars all the way, baby!).

The frosting to cupcake ratio was pretty good with maybe a little too much frosting. But the flavors of both were very good. I don't know where this Madagascar vanilla stuff came from, but I've been seeing it in cupcakes everywhere lately and it is freakin good! Also the cake was pretty moist. I didn't really like the sprinkles though. They had a weird, tart flavor to them that didn't go with the rest of the cupcake.

So overall, I'd give it an A-.

I like how many different flavors they have! And they have different ones for everyday of the week. And different months have different featured cupcakes. The cupcakes all look pretty plain though. Which I guess isn't a bad thing, it just struck me as odd compared to say Crumbs or Sweet.

The store itself was pretty adorable! I liked the set up a lot. I took a gajillion pictures on my phone, but I got a new phone yesterday afternoon (the story of THAT hell is to come in a future blog post) and my memory card won't work in my new phone. So until I can go to the Verizon store and get that all sorted out, I am in desperate withdrawal of all my pictures.

So have you followed them yet??

Do it.

Free. Cupcakes.

Cupcake Week: Crumbs Bake Shop

Happy Friday!!! Usually this would be an excellent thing, but unfortunately this also marks the end of Cupcake Week.

And it marks the end of normal eating for me. Me and my roommate have decided to be crazy and go vegan for a week while also cutting out all processed food. Yeah, I'm not looking forward to it. But honestly, the only two things I think I will truly miss are bread and peanut butter. And pork. It's going to be awful.

I could go to Whole Foods and grind up my own peanuts into butter, but let's be honest...I am way to cheap for that! So it looks like I'll be living off fruits, veggies, beans, almonds, hummus, and oatmeal. Yum! What more could you need?? Besides, you know, a big cheeseburger or a milkshake or a peanut butter sandwich or CUPCAKES!!!

Okay, clearly I'm too upset for this conversation right now. Let's just talk about cupcakes. And how much I have enjoyed them on my last day of freedom.

So the winner of my Best Cupcake in Boston (so far) (I definitely intend to do a LOT more "research" on this subject matter, especially after my week from hell) is...Crumbs Bake Shop!!!

Now this is a national chain...which made me hesitant to pick it as the best in Boston. But it is in Boston...and it is truly the freaking best I've ever had thus far. So good in fact that I have gone there TWICE in one week!! Me! Spent money! Twice! On giant calorie-laden cupcakes! (I actually read somewhere that their vanilla cupcake has 700 calories. I hope to God that this isn't true, but it would not surprise me one bit. And it would not [and did not] deter me from going back and shoving another one down my throat).

So for real, if you knew me, you would know that a cupcake must be pretty damn good for me to keep eating them after finding out they have over 700 calories a piece. And these are good! And I know why they have 700 calories...they are pure butter!

For real, look at that cake!!! It was so moist and amazing! I could've eaten just the cake plain without the frosting or filling! So good!

First time I went, I got this one. It's called the Good Guy. Funfetti cake with a buttercream filling, cream cheese frosting and a CRAP TON of sprinkles and awesomeness on top! It was amazing. Like I said...the cake was so moist and fresh and delicious! The frosting was also really good. I couldn't really taste the cream cheeseyness of the frosting because there were some many sprinkles, but it was still really good! They didn't even need the filling because the cake was so good on its own and there was plenty of frosting.

They had a coupon on their website for their first two weeks being opening for buy one get one free. So I grabbed my friend Vic (the girl giving me thumbs up in front of the shop) to come with me and she got the Brownie cupcake: chocolate cake with chocolate fudge frosting and filling and a chunk of brownie on top.

I'm not a chocolate cake person, but she devoured hers as quickly as I devoured mine so it must have been equally fantabulous!

Now today was the last day for that coupon so yesterday I printed out another one and took a trip downtown to get TWO MORE of these awesome amazingnesses! All so that I could give you a more accurate review...I hope you all realize how much I truly sacrifice for your food knowledge. You're welcome.

This time I went with the Toasted Coconut.

Yum yum yum yum yum! Now...I make a mean coconut cake! And that will be to come on a future blog post, but trust me when I say it's the best coconut cake you'll ever have. But this cupcake came pretty darn close. It wasn't quite as moist as the other one I had last week. I don't know if this is because it's a different kind or it just hadn't been made as recently or what, but it was still really good.

It was vanilla cake with vanilla cream cheese frosting, some kind of coconut flavored pudding or custard stuff (technical terms) filling, and toasted coconut on top. Yum!

I also got a Mudslide cupcake for Vic, but I don't know how good it is because I'm going to bring it to her this afternoon while she's busy at work. I know, I'm an awesome friend!

Chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream filling, coffee cream cheese frosting, and chocolate chips and Oreos on top.

These cupcakes are $4 a piece, which may seem like a lot, but they are a lot bigger than your standard cupcake. Perfect for splitting with someone or cutting in half to have it two days in a row (that is, if you're strong enough to stop eating it halfway through).

The service here was also phenomenal! They were all really friendly and helped you decide which flavor to choose (because seriously, there are AT LEAST 25 different flavors! even more reason to keep going back again and again to try them all).

Overall, I was clearly very impressed! Check this place out! And you can see where all the food trucks hang out outside South Station from the bakery. Head downtown for some lunch and pop in here for dessert!

Rating Breakdown (out of 5):

Frosting: 5
Cake: 20
Number of Flavor Options: 55
Price: 3.5
Overall Taste: 5

Cupcake Week: Party Favors

It kills me to put this place as a runner up for best cupcake in Boston, because until a week ago..they were my absolute favorite. And it's such a small, hole-in-the-wall, unassuming place that you would never expect there to be a bakery inside...let alone a bakery with amazing cupcakes! But instead I am placing them in second place to some chain bakery (which should tell you how absolutely amazing tomorrow's cupcakes are going to be). But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First runner up goes to...Party Favors in Coolidge Corner.

Doesn't sound like a cupcake place, does it? Well, you are welcome for letting you in on this little secret. This is actually a pretty adorable shop. Half of it is party favors and has some pretty neat stuff, especially around the holidays. Me and a friend came here for Halloween (to get cupcakes) but we did look around at all the costumes and Halloween decorations and they had some cool stuff!

The other half is a bakery/candy shop. I guess that's how you'd describe it. They have chocolates/candies/fudge on one side and then cakes/cupcakes/tarts/etc on the other side.

They make wedding and special occasion cakes too, but they always have a good selection of individual cupcakes in the fridge. And did I mention they are always adorable?

I mean, come on! Almost too cute to eat. ...almost.

These were the standard-sized cupcakes and I'm pretty sure they were around $2.50 each. I remember looking at the price and going "wow that's very reasonable" so it must have been in that range.

I love these cupcakes. They manage to have really good frosting AND really good cake that could stand on its own. They also have a perfect ratio of frosting to cake (for me, at least).

So cute!

These are probably the best bang for your buck cupcakes that you will get in Boston. Because they aren't exclusively cupcake place, they don't have a wide variety of flavors. Their pastry cooler has a few more like red velvet and such, but they're bigger and more expensive. The ones that you can get in the half dozens or dozens (or one if you want) are limited to chocolate and vanilla. But I am completely fine with that!

Some of them have delicious cream fillings in the middle and some don't. It's like a treasure hunt! So my tip to you....buy a dozen so you're sure to get some with the filling.

They also have mini cupcakes and bigger ones.

I know it's hard to see how big it is there, but this easily fed two of us and look how pretty it is!! (Way too much frosting for me though...good thing I have a mother who loves it). And I think all of these big size ones have cream fillings. Yum!

You'll probably have to Google Maps this place, but it's right on Beacon St. in Coolidge Corner. You should check it out and tell all your friends!

Rating Breakdown (out of 5):

Frosting: 5
Cake: 4.5
Number of Flavor Options: 2
Price: 5
Overall Taste: 5

Cupcake Week: The Cupcakory

Happy Wednesday! You did it...you made it halfway through the week...it's practically Saturday! (Although I'm not sure if this is a good thing seeing as this is CUPCAKE WEEK! And who wants a week like that to go by quickly? Not I.)

So as I said yesterday...it was very difficult for me to choose between this cupcake place and SWEET cupcakes because they were very close. But they both have the complete opposite problems. SWEET has good cake with mediocre frosting, whereas the second runner up for my best cupcake in Boston has AMAZING frosting and mediocre cake.

Without further ado...The Cupcakory food truck!

One thing I will definitely criticize this truck for though is how boring it is! I mean, come on!!! You're a cupcake food truck! Plain white with green letters is not NEARLY as exciting as it should be.

My mom and I came here the other week when we went to Roxy's at the SoWa Winter Market. We had to wait awhile for them to show up, I mean come on...people totally start eating cupcakes at 11 in the morning! But luckily for them, and for us, and for cupcake week they pulled in just as we started walking to our car. So we waited for them to get set up and were happy to be their first customers.

I was very disappointed with the selection available on the truck. Now I know I just got done saying I was a vanilla kind of girl, but not everyone is. And if you're going to claim that you will have 5-6 rotating flavors available at a time on the truck on your website, then you should have at least 5. At least!

But alas...they only had double vanilla, double chocolate, salted carmel, and Guinness and chocolate. So this limited me to only one option seeing as I don't like chocolate cake. Not good Cupcakory, not good.

Okay, now I'm done complaining. Let's talk about how they tasted!! As I said earlier, the cake was just mediocre. Not the kind of cake that I could eat plain. I needed all the frosting that was available to make sure I had enough in every bite to cover up the blandness of the cake.

Now let's talk about that frosting!! On the menu it is described as a Madagascar Bourbon vanilla buttercream. What is Madagascar vanilla??? And where can I get some? Seriously...I will marry this vanilla bean! This was the best frosting (flavor-wise) that I think I have ever tasted. I'm not sure if it was a buttercream though. My mom didn't like it because it had more of a whipped cream consistency. It wasn't THAT bad, but it was very light (which I don't think is a bad thing, but my mom didn't like it).

I put my cupcake in the fridge for a few hours before I ate it though, and when I took it out the frosting had thickened up a little and was more frostingy (is that a word? I thought so) and ohmygod was it good! I'm not a huge frosting lover. I only like as much as I need to complete the cupcake and then I usually leave the rest behind. I can't just eat gallons of frosting anymore like when I was a kid (okay, maybe last year...) But regardless, I hope I never encounter a giant batch of this frosting because there is not enough willpower in the world to prevent me from inhaling it all!

So yeah...I suppose I can only say so much about how delicious a frosting is so I will stop boring you now. Oh yeah...and they were $3 a piece...pretty standard for their size. Here's the breakdown...


Rating Breakdown (out of 5):

Frosting: 15
Cake: 3
Number of Flavor Options: 2.5
Price: 4
Overall Taste: 4

Cupcake Week: SWEET Cupcakes

Well after a weekend filled with a BU hockey loss and a SU basketball loss, I was pretty depressed. But luckily I rebound quickly and was shouting at my TV during a Bruins game in no time and now I've bounced into NHL playoffs mode and the sports-lover in me is all happy and excited again!

Andddd I found out I can officially stay in Boston for the summer playing in the band!!! Which means I will be able to try every single restaurant/cafe/cupcake/slice of pizza/crepe/sushi place in Boston!! (Well, you can bet I'm going to try).

One last thing before I launch into Day 2 of CUPCAKE WEEK...I have a new obsession. Apparently my picture-taking obsession goes beyond just food. Lately, I've been sitting at my desk doing homework every night and keep getting mesmerized by the sunset and have the sudden dying urge to take a picture of it. So since my computer is now overloaded with millions of sunset pictures from the last week, I figured I would share them with you.

I love Boston! Well, now that I've gotten that off my chest, it's time for cupcakes!! SWEET cupcakes to be exact.

Now I'll admit, I had a LOT of trouble picking between these next two cupcake places to decide which one was better than the other. They both have their pros and cons so this was serious work. And let's face it, all cupcakes are delicious...choosing one as more your favorite than another is just a cruel task to place upon yourself. But fear not, I finally made a decision!

And third runner-up for best cupcake I've had in Boston so far is....SWEET cupcakes on Mass Ave. They have four locations in Boston, but this is the only one I've been to. I'm sure they taste the same though. Also bear in mind that I came here a year ago right before I went home for summer, so it's possible that they've improved (or gotten worse, for that matter) since then.

These cupcakes weren't bad by any means, but I would say they are just average. And for $3.50 for a standard-sized cupcake, I don't think just average is good enough. This is the box that we got (I can't remember which one of us couldn't wait to eat theirs before the picture was taken.)

This was during playoff season. So Bruins...you're welcome. I'm sure my family eating these cupcakes early in the playoffs is what led you to win the Stanley Cup. I suppose I'll have to go back here again before going home to ensure the same outcome. But anyway...yeah see those little paper, INEDIBLE circles? 50 cents extra each! Really Sweet Cupcakes, really??

But I guess $1.50 was worth the Stanley Cup.

We stuck to plain vanilla because I guess that's just the kind of people we are. And that's the best way to tell if a cupcake is really good...if they're delicious without all that fancy stuff. These unfortunately didn't knock my socks off. It was called "The Sweet Cake" and described as creamy Madagascar vanilla bean cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. (Side note: I'm not sure what Madagascar vanilla is, but you'll see it again tomorrow so apparently it goes good with cupcakes.)

The cakes were pretty good, not super moist, but had a lot of flavor (must be that Madagascar vanilla). But the frosting was kind of just eh. And I really like frosting...not a lot of frosting (unless the cake is bad and the frosting has to cover it up) but I do really like frosting. This was just kind of like regular old vanilla buttercream. Which isn't bad!! But come on...I'm picking the best cupcake in Boston here, people!

They did carry a lot of different flavor options though, so maybe if I wasn't a boring vanilla kind of gal I would have really enjoyed some of the other flavors. I guess you'll just have to try it out for yourself!


Rating Breakdown (out of 5):
Frosting: 3
Cake: 4
Number of Flavor Options: 5
Price: 3
Overall Taste: 4


One last side note: GO BRUINS!!

CUPCAKE WEEK!!!! Kickass Cupcakes

So I guess summer's over? That was fast. So than does that make this real spring now, or have we skipped right into fall? Oh it's supposed to be 70s again next week? Spring it is! But lucky for all of you, I have just the thing to get you through these next five 40 degree days.....

CUPCAKE WEEK! CUPCAKE WEEK!

So remember that time I agreed to find the best pizza in Boston for you? Well, I'm still working on it, but Pizzeria Regina is still massively in the lead.

I have also taken another challenge on...the best cupcake in Boston. Side note: This does not mean that you cannot go out and try every single one of them for yourself. But make sure you let me know how they are, or better yet...bring me along!

So anywho, this week I will review 5 prominent cupcake bakeries (or food trucks) in Boston in order of least favorite to most favorite.

First up: Kickass Cupcakes Food Truck

Now, just because this is first on my list doesn't by any means mean that it was a bad cupcake, it just wasn't the best. The frosting was really good, but the cake part of their cupcakes are really dry and flavorless.

The frosting and fillings of their cupcakes tend to offset this. I got a Cookie Dough cupcake when I went and the giant chunk of cookie dough in the middle definitely made it infinitely better. But in order to be called Boston's best cupcake, you need to be able to eat the cake part without any frosting or fancy fillings.

Cupcakes are $3 a piece on the truck which is pretty standard in the city. They stopped coming to BU last fall, so I haven't seen them in awhile and I've never been to their store in Somerville.

Rating Breakdown (out of 5):
Frosting: 4.5
Cake: 2.5
Number of Flavor Options: 4.5
Price: 4
Overall Taste: 4