As you all know, I am perpetually on the hunt for the perfect cupcake. This weekend, I was introduced to Tart Pastry Boutique & Studio located at the Shops at Legacy. From the looks of the website, I really was expecting to walk into the Willy Wonka of bakeries. I wanted to experience sensory overload. I wanted a selection so vast, I’d have to stand there for an hour just to take it all in.
Instead, I discovered a simple counter with a decent, but very small selection. It took one minute to eye all the pastries. I decided to get only cupcakes: a box of red velvet, strawberry, and chocolate. The final verdict? Better than Society Bakery, but Sprinkles still holds the undefeated title.
Cupcakes, the most convenient, cute, and courteous of cakes, have been a favorite of mine for a long time. I even attempt to bake them myself every once in a while for both my own pleasure and putting smiles on others. Put this carefully-decorated, bite-size cake in front of a grump, and see that person instantly transform. Cupcakes make people happy.
For this reason, I am forever on the hunt for the perfect cupcake. Luckily for me, Sprinkles Cupcakes decided to grace Dallas with its store in 2007. I’ve been getting cupcakes there for a long time, and am rarely disappointed. Though the store is cramped and constantly crowded, it gives a feeling comprable to a kid waiting to open his presents Christmas morning. When I finally get my brown box of delight, I can’t wait to devour them. Red velvet continues to be my favorite. Beautiful and tasty.
Then I heard about Society Bakery and how it’s been a rival of Sprinkles since the history of Dallas cupcakes. “It’s the BEST cupcake in Dallas,” I would hear. I had to see for myself. The early closing time was the first disappointment, but I decided to come back and give the cupcakes a chance. I wasn’t impressed with the presentation, but decided to read the book before I judged it. I bought a box of eight to ensure a decent variety. When it comes down to the most important factor, taste, I regret to report, I was wholly disappointed. The frosting was light, more like a whipped cream than a thick frosting should be. The red velvet cake tasted a bit cinnamony. I don’t remember that being an ingredient. And I would’ve appreciated the novelty if it had worked, but it didn’t. The chocolate wasn’t so bad, but Sprinkles still has it beat there. The only one I do like better is the strawberry.
Both places charge about the same price (Sprinkles $3.25, Society Bakery $2.95), but if I’m going to pay anything for cupcakes, I’d like some that didn’t look and taste like I made them myself.
