Cupcakes in California (Pt.1 of 3)

During Fall Break at work Glenn and I decided that it was the perfect time to take a trip to California. We had tickets to Game 5 of the NLCS (sorry Dodgers) and we wanted to check out Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios (awesome) and what California trip is complete without a stop at Disneyland? We had such a blast while we were there.

I also like to make a point to visit cupcake shops in any Non-Arizona place I visit. Since Halloween Horror Nights didn't start until 7:00pm, we decided to check out a couple new places, and one I have been to before. First stop, Yummy Cupcakes in Santa Monica.

I'm going to go ahead and say that Yummy Cupcakes has the best cupcakes in California. Yes, I have tried Sprinkles cupcakes and they taste like crap compared to YC. At YC you are given a huge selection of cupcakes, roughly 15 different flavors some of which alternate on a daily basis. As every cupcake shop should, each flavor is prepared in small batches to ensure the highest quality, and they sure do deliver. Glenn and I chose a total of 3 cupcakes: Fudge Yummy (Glenn), Red Velvet (me), and Peanut Butter Cup (me but shared by us).

The Red Velvet was wonderful. The cake itself was nice and moist with that wonderfully rich cake with just enough cocoa in it. Piled on top of the cake were lovely swirls of intensely good cream cheese frosting. The cream cheese was prevalent in the flavor of the frosting, adding the perfect "kick" to the cupcake. The frosting to cake proportion was definitely skewed on the frosting side, but that is exactly how I like mine. Overall, a wicked good tastebud experience.


The Fudge Yummy was positively reviewed by Glenn. He said the cake was nice and moist, but the flavor wasn't anything extraordinary. However, the lack of cake flavor was more than made up for in the frosting. As I was stuffing my face with Red Velvet, Glenn insisted I try his chocolate frosting covered in chocolate jimmies. Wow, they certainly know how to make a delightfully fluffy, smooth, chocolate frosting. Again, the frosting to cake proportion was skewed in favor of the decidedly decadent chocolate frosting. This time however, the cupcake had a tasty chocolate ganache center (maybe to make up for the not so fabulous cake). Definitely a flavor I would choose for myself next time, if only just for the frosting.



The Peanut Butter Cup unfortunately had to wait to be devoured by us until 2 and a half days later. Despite my efforts, I simply cannot eat more than 1 cupcake a day when I am carsick. Once I was feeling slightly better at home I opened my lovely cupcake box to see my cupcake upside down and a little mashed. Oh well. I split this one with Glenn this time. Both of us found the cake to have a bit of moistness left in it but only due to the fact it sat out for so long. The peanut butter frosting was wonderfully light with a smooth peanut butter flavor. The cupcake was centered with plain creamy peanut butter. Glenn found it to be a really nice complement to the cupcake overall while I found it a bit disgusting because I absolutely loathe SMOOTH peanut butter. I wish I had this cupcake the day I bought it because I am sure it was heavenly then.

If you want the best cupcakes in California, please head over to Yummy Cupcakes. They have 2 locations, one in Santa Monica, the other in Burbank. These cupcakes are so good that even the teeny tiny Hayden Pannetiere buys them. Seriously, just go and forget you ever heard of Sprinkles.