Anything sweet related I put in the category of "sweet complete" because for me, personally, I love to have something sweet to complete every meal. However, let's face it, cupcakes are good at any point during the day!
I frequent Polka Dot bake shop. It isn't in the most convenient location (off of Park road) for me but the trip is always well worth the travel. Fortunately, I have meetings in that area once a month for work so I am at least guaranteed to make it there once a month!
There is just something clean and fresh about this bakery. I just feel happy as soon as I walk in. The cupcakes are always displayed so beautifully and they have great customer service. You are always guaranteed to be greeted by a friendly employee and very often one of the owners. I love the fact that this is a local bakery, not a chain. The two women that own polka dot were onto the "cupcake craze" right before it hit. They have been in business for about 5 years. I also love the fact that they have a daily menu with different cupcakes listed under each day. They have their "staple" cupcakes but then a few extra fun flavors and one "special of the day." And, yes, I DO check the menu weekly so I can see what fun flavors they are highlighting that week. They usually have a specific theme. For example, next week is "fun fall flavors" and they have flavors like pumpkin turtle, gingerbread, maple walnut, etc. But trust me, even their regular menu items are worth the trip....Key lime pie, peanut butter, honey almond, tuxedo, chocolate raspberry, etc. I have tried just about all of them but too bad I didn't have a blog at that time. Now, I have to start from scratch...I have to bite into each one again so I can give a very up-to-date, accurate account of the yummyness going on in my mouth. It would only be fair and ethical as a journalist...hahaha :)
So, today they had a coconut cream pie flavor and I am not a fan of coconut so I steered clear...but I didn't walk away empty-handed. I picked up two of their weekly flavors (every Friday)--Salted Caramel and Peanut Butter.
I really wish I could put into words the amazing flavor of these cupcakes but I just won't do it justice. I wanted to wait until I got home to take my first bite so I could really enjoy it in peace but I only made it to the first stop light and I was digging around in my bag.
The salted caramel cupcake is described as being a vanilla bean cupcake with a salted carmel buttercream, a caramel center and topped with cashews. I like to simply describe it as SCRUMPTIOUS!! Their vanilla bean cupcake is amazing just ALONE. We found out that they actually use fresh vanilla beans as one of their ingredients. They use pure ingredients (no transfat) and they bake them fresh daily. Trust me, you can tell! The buttercream on this particular icing is very smooth and creamy but a bit heavy. It is a looser frosting so it almost feels as if it is going to sink through the cupcake. This icing is very sweet and the caramel flavor is not overbearing. I guess the "salt" aspect balances out the caramel and the sweet factor so you really do get a perfect bite each time. The caramel drizzle on top and the caramel center are just bonuses. If you are not a caramel lover it won't really matter...the flavors are all evenly distributed and the vanilla cupake is very present in every bite. Be sure to include the cashews in a bite or two as they help to calm down the sweetness. The actual cake part is light and fluffy but flavorful. It doesn't crumble and it isn't as airy as angel food cake...it is very soft but not what I would describe as moist. It is a great fall flavor and would pair PERFECTLY with a caramel macchiato or any kind of coffee drink. Yummy!!
Next, I had the honor or trying their Peanut Butter Cup cupcake. Once again, yummy!! It isn't too strong or too rich. You can easily house one or two of these bad boys with no problem. This is a chocolate cupcake with a peanut butter buttercream and tiny reece's pieces on top. I personally would prefer reece's peanut butter cups sprinkled on top and I would have enjoyed a peanut butter center. There was no center in this cupcake. However, it will still royally satisfy any peanut butter lovers. The cupcake is once again not too dense, but VERY flavorful. It was more on the moist side of things as opposed to fluffy. It was perfect since it is not too heavy so it really doesn't make you feel as guilty when you eat it! You don't feel like you have a brick sitting in your stomach when it is all said and done! The buttercream was not too sweet but it was like a sweet peanut butter. It was a little less smooth and more on the crunchy side of icing, as I like to describe it. This is the kind of cupcake you just want to pair with milk.... Anything else would be too much. I personally love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate so I feel like a little more could be done with this particular cupcake. The peanut butter wasn't as present and the reece's pieces don't really do much to help that because they are a very sweet peanut butter candy. All in all it is a great cupcake but I don't think the peanut flavor balances the sweet factor.
There will be many more reviews on Polka Dot--so far, it is my favorite cupcake bakery in Charlotte. They are hoping to get on Cupcake Wars on the food network so they need support!
You can check out their flavors at http://polkadotbakeshop.com/dailymenu.html
More to come on this amazing bakery!
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