Birthday Cupcakes

On Wednesday afternoon, I set out in search of cupcakes for my one man birthday celebration.  And, I struck gold at not one but two local bakeries.  One of which was just featured on the Food Network show, Cupcake Wars, a few days before.

I had known of Vanilla Bean Biscotti and Pastry Boutique prior to their television appearance as they are located less than a mile from where I live.  Yet, I had never been in the shop.  So, what better day than my birthday to pay them a visit.  As a result of their TV exposure, ladies who own the shop were swamped with customers from far and wide.  Yet, they were gracious enough to pose for a photo once things had died down a bit.

And the cupcakes? Well, they were fantastic.  They were out of the cupcake that they made on the show, but they had plenty of other flavors from which to choose.  Simply Vanilla, Banana Split, and Campfire to name a few.

The Simply Vanilla is a vanilla cupcake garnished with vanilla buttercream.

The Banana Split is a banana cupcake with a trio of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate buttercream topped with a bright red cherry.

And the Campfire is a vanilla cupcake with a creamy vanilla center and a chocolate buttercream garnished with marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs.

I bought 2 of each for April and I to share later.  We both agreed that they were delicious.

I have to say that it was a pleasure meeting the ladies of Vanilla Bean, and I’m so happy to see a locally owned business benefiting from their time in the spot light.  I wish them well and I’ll definitely be a return customer.

I also made a stop at Yum-Mees Bakery on Wednesday.  Owner Terry Mee and his crew offer up a wide variety of sinfully delicious cupcakes.  Most of the cupcakes that I write about and post photos of come from this shop.  Like the Sweet Oinker, the delicious bacon cupcake I’ve shared before.  Sadly, that item is no longer on the menu, but there are plenty of others.

My selections that day?  Two of their Strawberry Blond cupcakes and two of their Tropical Holiday cupcakes.

The Strawberry Blond is a lemon cupcake with fresh strawberry and vanilla filling and it’s topped with a strawberry buttercream frosting.

The Tropical Holiday is a coconut cupcake filled with vanilla roasted pineapple and topped with a mango buttercream frosting.

Again, both were delicious.

Overall, my birthday was fairly decent.  I didn’t have to work, was able to enjoy the beautiful weather, enjoyed some great cupcakes, and spent an hour chatting with friends during the DSMA twitter chat.

And, to say I was overwhelmed by the number of birthday wishes I received on facebook and twitter on Wednesday would be an understatement.  There are far too many of you to mention separately, so I’d like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone for adding a little extra sunshine to my day.

Lots of love to you all.