Labor Day Crave

Several people had the same idea that I did hitting Crave Cupcakes today...on a rainy day.  The small store could have been chaotic, but the friendly staff at Crave was on the ball and kept the long line moving.  Although the place was packed, the atmosphere was peaceful and happy.  I love the clean lines and simple decor of Crave.  I love the open kitchen.  I contrast this with the new Sprinkles in Highland Village.  While I thought the cupcakes at Sprinkes could have been interchanged with Crave (the cupcakes are seemingly identical, including the price), the dark, small, uninteresting Sprinkles storefront leaves much for me to desire.

Now, the best part...the cupcakes!  Delish.  My tasters and I sampled three flavors this time.  First, we started with the Cake Donut.  This is a great breakfast cupcake (because, yes, a cupcake for breakfast is always appropriate).  It does indeed taste like the good, old fashioned cake doughnuts.  The cinnamon toping is a tad crunchy, which adds a nice texture to the moist, dense cupcake.  Next up, The Strawberry Cupcake.  How can one go wrong with a Pink Cupcake?  The icing reminded me of strawberry ice cream - smooth and strawberry-y, but not overly sweet.  The cake was moist and dense, as all Crave cupcakes are.  Bits of strawberry were perfectly mixed throughout the batter.  Finally, my favorite cake flavor anywhere -- Vanilla (i.e. White).  The cake was not too sweet and neither was the icing.  A mild vanilla.  Yum!  I, personally, love a little extra sweet "umph" to a white cupcake, but I will not complain about the Crave cupcake.  It was very tasty! I love the white sprinkles which made the cupcake fun, while still elegant.

I love Crave Cupcakes.  The perfect consistency.  The cupcakes do not crumble.  Always moist.  Dense, but not heavy.  The perfect sweetness where one feels satisfied but not left feeling yucky or blah.  Sprinkles also meets these criteria, but I'd pick the light, clean-lined atmosphere of Crave Cupcakes any day.  (P.S., the Crave Banana Cupcakes are a favorite, but sadly, they were not on the Crave Cupcake menu today...maybe next time).