A few weeks ago I went to Seattle for a job interview. Not only did I get the job (that's for another post), but I also got to explore the city a bit. Being the cupcake connoisseur that I am I had an itching desire to go to Trophy Cupcakes, a very popular Seattle bakery. The owners had made an appearance on the Martha Stewart Show, and I had tried a recipe of theirs that turned out very well. Unfortunately, when you've been in a car for 3.5 hours and your stress level has been through the roof for the last 35 hours, you aren't thinking too clearly. In my case, I forgot the name of the bakery. We ended up going to Cupcake Royale instead. Oops! I guess I have so many cupcakeries ingrained in my head that they can easily get mixed up. All mistakes aside, here is my take on Cupcake Royale:
Although the special of the month was Lime & Coconut, my boyfriend and I opted for different flavors. I chose the Salted Caramel and Eric picked out Carrot Cake. The cashier offered us the carrot cake for free since she had a "less-than-perfect" version (the swirls of the frosting were not up to Royale par), so we got a red velvet cupcake as well.
We chose a seat in the back of the large room, which was very white but decorated with a lot of colorful paintings. A lot of people were there on their laptops, doing homework with coffees by their side. I didn't see any empty cupcake wrappers on their tables though...
So here are my problem with the cupcakes at Cupcake Royale. First, the tops fall off immediately upon trying to peel the liners off of the cake. That's a big no-no for me. I want to be able to taste the cake, the top of the cake and the frosting all in one bite. Next problem: the cake was so moist that it crumbled in my hands before I could get it to my mouth. Moist is good; too moist is not good. However, when I took a bite of the top of the cupcake I liked what I tasted. The frosting was a little sweet, but not too sweet like most powdered sugar-based recipes. I guess I'm used to a french buttercream or swiss meringue buttercream. Before I could taste Eric's cupcakes, they were gone. I asked them how he liked them, and he replied "they were okay". That certainly didn't stop him from eating them though!
I particularly liked the slogans on the plates:
After a quick peek at their apparel and a chuckle at this t-shirt, we headed out to our next adventure: beer!
Just up the street we spotted Elysian Brewing Company. We decided to grab a quick drink before we began the trek back home. The inside was very spacious, and there was a lot of seating. You could see the brewers working their magic behind the glass windows, which was exciting! There were also a lot of flags stating years they won 'Best Brewery in Seattle', legitimizing the place a little more.
I'm a porter/stout kind of girl, so I ordered the Perseus Porter. It was delicious! Eric got one of the IPA's, which he enjoyed as well. The service was a little slow, but considering we needed to hang out for awhile before driving it didn't bother us much.
What a great day in Seattle. A good interview followed by a cupcake and beer coma - and I didn't have to drive!
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