If a place sells only cupcakes, is it really a restaurant? Is the cupcake craze really over? Or just reaching critical mass? Should a cupcake really cost $3.50? These are the questions I was asking myself as I entered Sprinkles of Beverly Hills' Dallas location with Kristina and Gab.
And by entered, I mean waited outside to get in the door. Seriously, there was a line out the door and the people were three deep inside. All waiting to get these gorgeous, supposedly sublime cupcakes. I had seen the proprietress of Sprinkles of Beverly Hills (I mean the name says it all, right?) last year on the Martha Stewart Show during cupcake week. And there were raves, from Martha and the audience. But could they be any better than any other cupcake?
I doubted it. The store itself is incredibly chic and well-branded, with light pink and browns covering the walls, and a very modern wood counter and display. At Sprinkles, they sell: cupcakes; drinks to go with cupcakes; t-shirts that talk about cupcakes; stands to put their cupcakes on; and their own brand of cupcakes mixes. That's it.
But was this 'experience,' this highly stylized store built to deliver the simplest of childhood treats, worth the cost? I wondered if the people standing there were all fools, and I with them, to stand in like for cupcakes and pay such a price for them. You can buy a pretty good cupcake at Central Market for $.50 and Whole Foods has some pretty fancy ones that cost a little more. But the ingredients are simple and the delivery basic. How can you make that better?And then I tasted the dark chocolate cupcake. It was unbelievable: The crumb was moist and you basically need a fork to eat these little guys, and I should clarify that this $3.50 cupcake is no larger than a regular cupcake. The frosting was perfect, an absolute balance of chocolate and sweetness and creamy delight.
But, how?
Gab & Kristina Ogle the Cupcakes When I bake, I use good chocolate, organic sugars, the best cocoa, good butter and free range eggs! I am pretty good at technique and know how long to beat things and what batter should look like. What could you possibly do to make a cupcake THAT much better? That divine?
I tasted the red velvet and the experience was similar. The banana chocolate, I think I could top. I could try and top anyway, but the addition of banana to batter lends a heaviness to the crumb that is impossible to combat. Yet, part of the charm.
You can find her strawberry cupcake recipe here. Notice anything out of the ordinary? Thought not.
I imagine she is leaving out some secret ingredient: MSG? Crack? Heroin? Something delicious and addictive. I don't know, but I do know that I want more and I would shell out $3.50 without a whimper, without a second thought. After a taste, you would too. Hold your breath, because Sprinkles could be coming to a town near you very soon...The candy dots on top of the cupcakes distinguish flavors that might look similar, as in the variety of chocolate frosted cupcakes they sell. Here's the codes and the day on which each are available. I wanted to try lemon, so next time I'm going to try and hit them on a lemon day.