Finally, the official Sprinkles Cupcakes post. I had no idea what a big deal Sprinkles is until I went. I tried to go last Saturday for the invitation-only (sounds more exclusive than it was) party, and encountered a crazy line. No thanks. Tried again on their third official day of business at lunchtime, and found a line of probably 25 people out the door. Oy. Finally I went back at about 4:30, sucked it up and waited in line (shorter than earlier that day), and got my prize.
I'm sure a big part of why it's been so busy is because it just opened, but also because it's a big Hollywood celebrity thing which I was not aware of. While you wait in line outside they have three little tvs in the wall showing clips the owner (I'm guessing?) of Sprinkles making tv appearances, and clips of celebrities mentioning Sprinkles on late night shows, MTV Cribs, the Oprah show, etc.
The line outside Magnolia on Bleecker Street can be attributed to one quick scene in Sex and the City (and of course because the cupcakes are great), but Sprinkles seems to have its own little media empire.
Once I finally got in the door I started studying the menu. They have a big menu on the wall of every flavor and a quick description, but with a little trademark Sprinkles dot next to the flavor if it's actually being served that day. Decisions, decisions.
I chose cinnamon sugar - lightly spiced buttermilk cake dusted with cinnamon sugar, and key lime - tangy key lime cake with key lime-vanilla frosting flecked with zest. It's kind of assembly line style, you walk in right in front of the cases, place your order, move down and wait for your name to be called.
Everyone working there was so happy! I guess I would be really happy if I got to make cupcakes all day, too. Really happy and really plump. This was the line by the time I left.
I brought my spoils home for an after dinner treat. Cinnamon sugar on the left, key lime on the right.
Time to break it all down. These cupcakes were...well, pretty perfect. Very fresh, soft cake and not a lot of icing. If you're an icing fan, these might not be your favorite. Here's my beef with NYC cupcakes from Magnolia, Billy's, etc: way too much icing. A veritable mountain of icing. I always have to scrape some off, especially if it's vanilla buttercream icing because there's just too darn much and it's very sugary. Even though that key lime cupcake looks like it's got a pile of icing on top, it's really mostly cake under there. Exhibit A:
I can't wait to go back and try the carrot and chocolate peanut butter. And all the other flavors.
And now, I must say goodbye. No, not forever! Just for a week. Actually, a little over a week. Come on, a girl's gotta take a vacation once in awhile! I'm going to a very exotic place called Massachusetts. So yes, I am taking a brief hiatus from writing...but not from eating delicious food. So don't worry, there will be lots of things for me to share when I get back.
I fall on the other side of the icing debate. In fact, I like to eat the bottom half of the cupcake first so that the top half has an even higher, and thus more enjoyable, ratio of icing to cake. But I guess our differences are what makes the world go round (and makes me generally round).
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