I have a love hate relationship with cupcakes. Everyone around me loves them so for years now I have tried my best to go along with this trend because any resistance is met with “what the hell is wrong with you, how can you not love cupcakes” comments. (Cupcake fans can be a bit die hard and aggressive.) Believe me, I’ve tried my fair share, all from the finest bakeries in New York and lately, Manila. They’re all the same to me— overpriced, overly sweet and overrated. They look better than they taste. I’ve been let down oh so many times.
I will come clean now, I was never a cupcake fan. I honestly think cupcakes are wannabe cakes. Big deal, they’re cakes in a itty bitty cup. I never understood why people pay so much money for sad excuses for cakes.
This is me: prior to eating, I cringe inwardly and steel myself for a strong wave of sugar and artificial flavor. During eating (usually nibbles), I’ll resist the urge to crinkle my nose in dislike and try not to glare at the offending cupcake. I seriously have yet to meet a cupcake that doesn’t invoke such an averse reaction. In short, I haven’t met a cupcake that I liked.
Before you cupcake fanatics hunt me down with pitchforks, let me explain. Many blog entries share how much they adore something (cupcakes/pastries/desserts) so it’s hard to be objective when they adore cupcakes. So, in my case, I prefaced my entry with my dislike to give my readers perspective and to realize the value of what I’m about to write here.. I have found The One. The one cupcake that I actually enjoyed and will crave in the future. The one cupcake that is so special I must blog about it.
It’s not just any cupcake, it is a BLEU CHEESE AND HONEY Cupcake from Bella Cupcakes.
I’ll admit the first bite is confusing. The bleu cheese flavor comes on strong and is followed by a subtle sweetness that balances out the bleu cheese. The frosting is soft (not buttercream nor fondant), which I liked and I was lucky to find chunks of bleu cheese in mine. The cake part also has bleu cheese baked in to guarantee awesomeness in every bite. Yes it is sweet and somewhat rich but by no means artificial. The flavors are there and the ingredients are quality. Hindi tipid. I relished every bite. I was in food heaven. I would recommend this cupcake to everyone who likes Bleu Cheese. It is incredible.
*Disclaimer! For those that may not be familiar with Bleu Cheese, this may be an acquired taste. You will probably not have the same mind blowing, “straight to food heaven” experience I had.
The story behind this is, I needed a gift for my friend Golda’s birthday. She loves red velvet. A quick Google search led me to Bella Cupcakes by Vannee San Juan. I ordered Golda a dozen cupcakes consisting of 6 Red Velvet (Php 60), 3 Tequila Rose(Php 70) and 3 Kahlua Brownie (Php 70). Vannee was really sweet and accommodating since she agreed to make a small batch of the liquor flavored ones for me. Surfing her Facebook page led me to her latest creation, the Bleu Cheese Cupcake. I love Bleu Cheese so I was instantly intrigued. I ordered one for myself. It was the most pricey cupcake at Php85. This further proves I have expensive taste, even when it comes to cupcakes.
Here I am getting a foot spa while enjoying my cupcake.
I didn’t get to try the other flavors because I gave those away as a birthday present. But the Bleu Cheese cupcake is a game changer. It makes me want to give cupcakes another chance.
I will start with Bella’s Cupcakes because she has some unique and interesting flavors. If they’re anything like the Bleu Cheese, they’re bound to be good. One of these days I will order an assorted batch. (I have an idea forming for my cupcake adventure.) Vannee seems to be one of the more thoughtful cupcake creators, putting careful thought and consideration into her food. This makes all the difference. Other cupcake places out there just churn out product that looks good but quite frankly tastes like sugary crap in cute packaging. That’s not good, obviously.
Thank you Vannee and Bella Cupcakes for my first real positive experience with cupcakes.
Stay tuned, readers. I will be venturing into cupcake tasting soon and of course I’ll give you my no BS thoughts.
Bella Cupcakes Manila
178 Kaimitoville, Kaimito Street, Valle Verde 2
Tel: 2151800
Look for Vannee San Juan
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VanneeOcampo
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Juls! Another thing we have in common is that I too dislike cupcakes and till this day have not found the one. Lol will love to try that blue cheese in a cupcake. Hopefully soon! I miss you!
Let’s try cupcakes when you get here. Baka these will change your mind 😀 Miss you!!!