Seattle cupcake Tour, Part 3

For the third part of my cupcake journey I popped down the road a bit to Ballard. I still can't believe how much Ballard has "grown up" since we moved to Seattle nine years ago. You can imagine my surprise when it took me twenty minutes to park down near the main drag on a weeknight. I can remember when it was no difficulty at all to park right on Market on a Friday or Saturday night... but enough of that, it is time to talk cake.

At Cupcake Royale I sampled two cupcakes, the Ballerina and the Lavender

I'm going to start first with the Lavender, a choocolate cake with lavender flavored frosting decorated with purple and white sprinkles:

• The Cake - The chocolate cake was more cocoa-y in flavor than a rich fudgy flavor. It was a bit dry for me but still acceptable.


• The Icing - The icing was creamy and has a strong lavender scent which enhances the flavor (so much of taste is scent) which keeps the icing from being overwhelmed by the cake. Lavender is probabbly not a flavor that is commonly enjoyed but I have always liked it. the way the floral scent/flavor plays across your tongue is something I find intriguing.

The Ballerina - A vanilla cake with buttercream frosting decorated by a small candy flower.

• The Cake - A wonderful yellow cake with just the right amount of richness. It was a bit denser than I normally like; I like a moist but light cake, not to dry but with fairly large air pockets. This cake was not too moist (I'd guess that overcooking the cake even the teeniest bit could send it into the dry side but luckily the bakers pulled the cake in time and so it remained yummy) and had very tiny air pockets which create the denseness that is sometimes created through moisture. Does this make sense, I'm having a hard time describing it which is why I'm not a food critic I guess...


• The Icing - One word: YUM. This is how I like my buttercream, buttery and sweet but not cloying. Good texture and mouth feel. Creamy, not grainy, to balance the ever so slight dryness of the cake.

Overall Impression: I enjoyed the Lavender but will be the first to admit that this flavor may not appeal to everyone ("you want me to eat flowers?"). I urge you to give it try however. Cupcake Royale does a good job of balancing the flavor of the chocolate with the flavor of the lavender icing so that neither is overpowering. You don't lose the lavender in the chocolate and you don't get too much floral. Cupcake Royal also offers a yellow cake with lavender icing.

The Ballerina is the best vanilla cupcake I have tasted thus far and is almost perfect in my book.

By the way, if you try the Lavender and find you like the chocolate-lavender combination, or if you already know you like the two together, let me suggest the Lavender-Honey Caramel from Moonstruck Chocolate Company in Portland. It is quite tasty (as are all of the company's luscious looking offerings that I have sampled). The truffle is part of the English Garden Collection (unfortunately only available from April thru September, I'd like to nibble on these all year long). Luckily, you can order Moonstruck's chocolate online which is good for me since I no longer frequently travel down 405 to Portland now that I am a stay at home mom. Be sure to check out their absolutely adorable Spring Collection - what knitter wouldn't want an Extra Bittersweet Lamb?

So there you go, two cupcakes and a bonus truffle!