Seattle Cupcake Tour, Part 4

"Albatross" Rows Completed Since Last Post: 13, good.

And now onto the good stuff!

If you have read my previous cupcake posts, you know that I have adhered to a format for each cupcake where I broke down the cake and the icing and then gave you my overall impression. For this stop on the cake train I am abandoning the form, the goodies are so delish I have to just gush and gushing cannot be corralled into a strict composition. And, I have to apologize for the lack of photos, I mistakenly assumed I could get a couple photos off the website and ate most of my test subjects before I realized I needed to take my own pictures.

So here goes: If you live in the Seattle metropolitan area get your tushies to Trophy Cupcake & Party in Wallingford and treat yourself ASAP! Seriously, these are the best cupcakes I have had so far and it will be difficult to top them. Trophy offers a range of interesting and original flavors: Hummingbird, Strawberry Lemon, Green Tea and Peanut Butter & Jelly just to name a few. They have five standard flavors available every day: Vanilla Vanilla, Chocolate Vanilla, Vanilla Chocolate, Triple Chocolate, and Red Velvet. Then they have the fabulous flavors that rotate throughout the week - you can check their website to see what is offered on which day.

Cupcakes are available in the normal size for $2.25 and then mini versions of some of the flavors are also offered (sorry, I forgot to note the cost of the minis).

I loved all the flavors I tried and just for you, my loyal readers, I really pushed myself and samples four flavors (not all in one sitting thank you very much). The sacrifices I am willing to make for research. I started with the Vanilla Vanilla and let me just say the icing is amazing! I'm not sure how they do it (buttercream meringue??) but the icing literally melts in your mouth and is as light as air... like a cloud on your tongue (I could whip out a few more similes but I think you get the point). I bit into the cake and I could taste the icing but it was as if it had disappeared on contact. The cake itself was light but still dense, not fluffy and hole-y. A few sprinkles on top completed the masterpiece.

The Chocolate Vanilla was a divine chocolate cake version of the original. again, the icing melted away. The cake was rich and chocolately (according to their website they use Valrhona cocoa and Callebaut chocolate). MMMMMmmmmmmmm....

Next up was the Chai Cardamom, a specialty flavor available on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Deliciously spicy yet sweet, like a wonderful cup of the hot beverage on a chilly day. Both the cake and the icing are infused with the chai flavorings so there is not flavor let down depending on where you take a bite. the icing was not quite as light as the vanilla buttercream but I hardly want to quibble with so much deliciousness at hand.

Finally was my favorite: the Snickerdoodle Cupcake (Tuesdays and Thursdays only, sadly). It was mind blowing to bite into all that cupcake texture and taste the crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, slightly cinnamony sugar cookie goodness of my childhood. This was no cupcake masquerading as a Snickerdoodle flavor, this was a Snickerdoodle. The cake itself tastes of sugar cookie, awash in buttery sweet goodness. The icing is a cinnamon sugar concoction sure to please. And, what is that, sitting on the surface of the cake itself, visible at the edges where the icing doesn't quite reach? Why it is cinnamon sugar! Baked right onto the top of the cupcake, just as a real Snickerdoodle is rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking. This little touch really puts the cupcake over the edge. I'm sure the cake would be wonderful even sans icing (but really, no need to deny yourself).

While Trophy is a bit more expensive than my previous stops on tour, it is well worth it. A certain cupcake purveyor in Ballard better watch out or its status as top cake may well be threatened. A few other notes on Trophy: If you really like chocolate, try the European Hot Chocolate - it is like sipping a brownie (I suggest a small size, it's really too rich to drink much). The shop also carries adorable vintage party favors and cards and things that will put a smile on your face and take you down memory lane.

And so my friends, get thee to a cupcakery!