So I currently have a splitting headache because I drank a White Peppermint Mocha on an empty stomach, and I just realized that those Starbucks holiday drinks are basically lethal because they consist of caffeine + a ton of sugar OR a ton of sugar + more sugar... And when I came home, I had a Lean Pocket and cupcakes. ...I don't know.
All I can say is thank god tomorrow is Friday. And after tomorrow, only three and a half more days of school until winter break!!!! Which brings us back to the cupcakes - I knew this week was going to be pretty crappy, so I stopped by my favorite local place to get cupcakes on Tuesday - Jeseca Creations!
It's a small little shop in a shopping center that doesn't get much traffic, so it's usually empty when I go, but the cupcakes are easily the best bang for your buck you can get around here for $2 a cupcake. Once in awhile, I get a coupon in the male for buy 3 get 1 free, meaning 4 cupcakes for only $6! I always make sure I go when I have the coupon, but even without it, they're still the cheapest you can get from a bakery. They may even be the best in terms of quality because I was so blown away by the four cupcakes I picked up this week!
First, I'll start with the ones I got back in October that I never got around to blogging about. I didn't like them as much as the ones I got this week, but they were still good.
I don't remember what the one on the left was - some kind of coffee or hazelnut or a mixture of the two. It was good, but nothing too flavorful. The great thing about all of Jeseca's cupcakes is that they're not very sweet, and the frosting is super light. I love the ganache that covers the top of the frosting. Mmm, ganache. The one on the right was a Ferrero Rocher cupcake, which I was super excited to try. First of all, I just need to say that the chocolate cake part is
so good. I'm not the biggest fan of chocolate cake or frosting or ice cream, but oh my god, the cake is just so moist and chocolatey but not rich or sweet or dry... it's just heaven. But anyway, I always cut my cupcakes in quarters or halves so I can try different flavors, and I remember not being too impressed because the taste/presence of the Ferrero Rocher. But later on, I ate another piece which apparently had a much larger part of the candy, and I was surprised by the significant crunch - it just really took it to a whole new level.
The one on the left is a neapolitan cupcake, which ended up being my favorite because it was just very yummy right off the bat. The cake really was chocolate/vanilla/strawberry which was just really adorable even if there's no real point since it's not like I took the time trying to distinguish if the different colors really tasted different. I believe it was a vanilla buttercream frosting or something under the ganache, which had a really refreshing taste. I got the strawberry one thinking of my brothers, but they don't eat sweets often so I ended up polishing off this one too lol. I don't find any strawberry cakes particularly impressive, but it was good nonetheless.
The best part was finding this little strawberry inside! :) Not sure if you can see, but all of her cupcakes have a little pocket of cream/caramel in the center, which usually is a counter for dryness, but the cupcakes are all so moist that they aren't even necessary!
Oops, that was longer than I expected. Oh well, you can never get sick of pictures of cupcakes, right? Moving on to the 4 that I tried this week.
Salted Caramel. Oh my god. This one. I just. It's so good. The balance of flavors is just perfection and omg, I die. The cake is not very sweet so it lets the sweet caramel flavor shine through at full force and then - somewhere - you taste a distinct saltiness that isn't overwhelming and just harmonizes with the sweetness beautifully. So
this is what the salted caramel craze is all about. I think I've tried a few salted caramel-flavored things in the past year, but this is the first time I've actually
tasted salted caramel. So yummy.
Red Velvet. Lord. I usually try to stay away from this flavor because it's just so overdone, so I don't know if it's because I haven't had a decent red velvet cupcake in awhile, but this cupcake made me fall in love with the flavor. It's like the same as the chocolate cupcakes, but different... what is red velvet cake anyway? Chocolate cake with less cocoa and red food coloring? I don't really get it. This cupcake was soo amazing though.
Mint Chocolate Chip. I am in
love with this cupcake. I don't know what to do with myself because I have a minor obsession with everything mint chocolate, and this cupcake was bursting with mint chocolate yumminess. I really don't know how Jeseca does it - all of her cupcakes are so light yet each one bursts with a unique flavor. The mint candies on top look insignificant, but I swear they added the perfect little mint chocolate crunch to every bite. There is one thing I'd like to point out, though. I'm not sure if the cupcakes I got were just pulled out of the fridge or something but she definitely keeps her cupcakes chilled. This cupcake was so airy that the inside where the pocket of frosting was was icy! When I left it at room temperature and came back to it later, it was better, but the frosting was
really airy and thin, as if there had been ice in it too and melted into water? The taste was still magical; it was just something that I noticed.
The last one that I got was another Neapolitan. Isn't it the cutest?! It's funny though because what was my favorite from October ended up being my least favorite out of these four - only because the other three cupcakes were so scrumptious! You really can't go wrong with this cupcake, though.
All in all, Jeseca makes the only cupcakes that I will consistently keep buying! There are actually two new bakeries that just opened where I live that supposedly sell some awesome gourmet cupcakes, but honestly, I can't justify spending $3 to $3.50+ per cupcake because I can't limit myself to buying just one or two! I also can't justify buying the somewhat-cheap-but-not-really cupcakes from markets because Jeseca's pummel them in terms of taste and quality.
Aren't they just the loveliest things?
Jeseca Creations
2587 Chino Hills Pkwy, Unit G
Chino Hills, CA 91709
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