Trophy Cupcakes are Divine

'Oi, when will this cupcake craze end?', said Michael as we walked through all the fancy-pants shops at the Bravern in Bellevue last weekend. Trophy Cupcakes has finally decided to grace the Eastside (that would be the area just east of Seattle, to those of you not in the know) with their most recent location. Anyway, I suppose that my husband may have a point, to a degree. However, one could also argue that he is missing the boat altogether.

Cupcakes are lovely. I suppose we could go on and say that they are a marvelous guilt-laden indulgence, not to mention the fact that they are cheery and make people smile, they are yummy (when done right — otherwise they are downright depressing), and they are perfectly sized (in case you are worried about portion control, or something ridiculous like that). And if you are not content with just one cupcake, then you can sample sundry flavors, which is also very nice.

I have been to Trophy Cupcakes a few times (they also have two locations in Seattle) and I can easily say that my favorite is the Red Velvet. It is divine — it is a 'traditional southern buttermilk cake with a hint of cocoa' and a marvelous cream cheese frosting. I'm not sure what possessed me to try this one because I don't think I have ever regarded red velvet cake too highly. However, in all fairness, I'm not sure I had ever had it before. It has always reminded me of the groom's cake in Steel Magnolias. You know the cake — shaped like an armadillo with grey icing... appears to be bleeding as they 'hack into this poor animal', or something like that. Anyway, it is a far cry from Trophy's version, thank goodness.

The others I have sampled are the Chocolate & Vanilla, the Vanilla & Chocolate, and the Triple Chocolate. Next time I am getting the Lemon Coconut, but I'd also like to try the Chai Cardamom. As for Emilia, she is rather partial to their balloons, or 'bmm,bmm,bmm' as she calls them.

The cupcakes do not come cheap, they are 3 bucks a pop (or more if you get a more complicated concoction), but they are well worth it. And it isn't like you need six dozen for the car-ride home or anything. I've never gotten more than three at a time, although my sister just got a dozen yesterday... (Incidentally, they would be a wonderful thing to serve at a party or something. Although I can safely say that hers were not destined for any party.)

But really, as you walk past Jimmy Choo, Hérmes Paris, Wolford, Ferragamo, and the like — it is nice to feel like you, too, can have a little bit of luxury. And strangely enough, your friends still end up just as jealous — as if you've just told them that you decided to buy a gorgeous pair of Christian Louboutin shoes or something. Well, not quite, but you get my point. I suppose that ideally I'd be sauntering about in my fancy shoes holding a pretty little box of cupcakes at the same time. But alas, no. Those shoes are stinking expensive!