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Frostings makes me feel like a cheater
July 2nd, 2009, 4:47 pm · 28 Comments · posted by Niyaz Pirani
I feel dirty.
Dirty because I cheated and I liked it. No, not on Fiancee Nadia. I’ve cheated on my third love, Sprinkles red velvet cupcakes. (Beef, by the way, is my second love).
So I went down to Frostings, Lake Forest’s newest cupcakery, for a taste of the newest goodies in the ’hood (peep the whole Frostings 
story by reporter Erika Ritchie here).
They were out of most everything because apparently everybody had a massive cupcake craving … at lunch.
I was fine with that because they had just enough red velvet treats to feed myself and the party people in my office.
We got six cupcakes - three red velvet, one banana, one java and one vanilla - for $20. Not too bad for a fancy cupcake shop. Flavors include: Key Lime, Boredeaux, 14 Karrot, Lemon Drop, Harvest Pumpkin, Coconut Citrus, German Chocolate, Birthday Cake, Sweet Strawberry, Angel Kiss, Lemon Drop, Banana, Banana Maple, Lime n’ Coconut,
Opinion was positive around the office, but the biggest uproar was over those red velvets. This cake was moister than Sprinkles and the cream cheese frosting was sweeter, and not as dry too. If anything, I thought the frosting was a little grainy, but nobody else felt that way.
I used to be bummed that Sprinkles wasn’t in my area, but now … not so much.
Friday update: Tried a chocolate cupcake, thought it was a bit dry compared to the red velvet. Has anybody tried the vanilla cake? How was it?
Frostings
23624 El Toro Road, Suite D
Lake Forest
949-458-1337
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28 Comments
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i had a red velvet cupcake at sprinkles in newport. did not even think it was worth the money.
nothing compares with http://www.wonderlandbakery.com
We were there today as well and by 2:00 they were just about sold out. They did have more in the oven. We tried a vanilla coconut, chocolate coconut, 24 carrot, and german chocolate. My family loved them and that is no small feat since we chase cupcakes (my husband has a serious vanilla coconut cupcake addiction), He loved them more than Sprinkles and Susicakes. The cake was very moist and decadent. The frosting was just sweet enough for all and we loved the texture. The cream cheese frosting was perfect and the chocolate was amazing.
We will be back soon, in fact I may have to make sure my husband finds a new way home from work and no more Jalapeños for yummy mexican food at lunch, because I know what he will need desert.
Looks like somebody at this cupcake place has a relative working at the OCR…
What next -
“BREAKING NEWS!!! Buy-one-get-one-free Cupcake Now Offered at Frostings”
And 20 bucks for 6 cupcakes??? Yah, that’ll go over really well in this economy.
OOOps I found out that the information your posting is incorrect.. Who do you work for????
I went to Frostings this evening. They were even more out of things but I got two cupcakes - a black and white (dark chocolate cake with buttercream icing) and a Mocha Java ( I think that’s what it’s called). I’m saving the mocha for tomorrow but I have already removed the Black and White from the planet… and it was delicious.
I’m a fan of SusieCakes. Sprinkles, not so much. But this compared favorably to both. The cake was really flavorful and the icing was very sweet, buttery and delicious with enough that I felt satisfied but not so much that the sugar got to me before I finished. The top was also covered with little white chocolate sprinkles that were fine but I could have lived without them - they tend to fall off when you bite the cupcake and make a bit of a mess.
Overall, it was a really good cupcake and I’m looking forward to the mocha tomorrow. And then all the rest of the flavors, one by one…
These type of places don’t make good cupcakes. They are often dry and dense and taste terrible.
How do you know if you haven’t even tried one? You must be related to fstedie
$20 for six fat filled cupcakes? Ouf of shape O.C. - please skip the sugar cakes, drop another $20 and get a membership to a gym lazy azzes!
Come on, another copycat fancy cupcake shop? $3.50 for a cupcake that tastes no better than average? No thanks. I give them 6 months, 9 tops.
Really can you honestly predict and Judge without even walking into the place? Dosn’t quite seen fair does it? And the prices are not $ 3.50 so to be fair and honest I would highly recommend at least viewing the place and trying one, if it is out of your budget maybe they will give you a sample.
in moderation, i dont think its bad.. I took my kid to sprinkles and bought 2 cupcakes that we ate after a day of beach fun… They were delicious!! it was a cool special treat.. We will probably stop by again in a month or two…
You have BabyCakes, Divine Desserts, SweetSpot Bakery, BlackForest Bakery (Who recently started offering $4.50 premium cupcakes), Cinderella Cakes, and more places to compete with in the area These guys better have come up with some really good cupcakes to get people to drive down from north county.
Sprinkles does well, because, IMO the disposable income of the people in that area are through the roof. If Daddy is a neurosurgeon, wifey can take the kiddies every day for cupcakes. Not so much if Daddy is a plumber or landscaper.
Ridiculous price for cupcakes!…. I don’t care how good they taste. People love to blow their money on over priced things that they really don’t need. If people stop paying those outrages prices, then the store will have to lower their prices. Do you have any idea how much it actually costs them to make cupcakes?! I can make a whole batch of cupcakes in my kitchen for less than $5.oo and they always taste great.
Maybe you don’t run a business, or know first hand about the overhead and employee expenses involved? But yes I agree if you used a store bought cake mix and added only water and a can of premade frosting (store bought) you could make around 24 small cupcakes. But alot of the cupcake stores are using top quality ingredients and making them from scratch. Plus overhead, but???
Seems to me that they better keep up with the stock of cupcakes before they go out of biz.
lori, i agree with you on that. but they were apparently slammed all day and couldn’t keep up with demand. i didn’t mind waiting for them to get something together (as in the case w/ the vanilla cake) because it was still fresh. if i wouldn’t have had to wait because they made a bunch more in advance, but they weren’t as fresh as what we got, i may have come away with a different opinion altogether.
I’m all for entreprenuership. I’d NEVER pay $3.50 for a cupcake. If others wish to, that’s their choice. Hey, look how many imbeciles voted for Obama. PT Barnum was right.
Ever buy a beer at a bar, Dave?
People like SoCoDave, have nothing better to do then linking cupcakes with politics - get a life. Maybe some people want to be part of this economic recovery rather than sitting on the sideline waiting for some Right Wing Extremist Revolution.
Now I was at the Frosting cupcake shop tonight and they seem to be sold out of almost everything. I personally think these treats are a special occasion things and that makes them worth it. I applaud and will try to support any small time business person that takes a chance in today’s’ economy. It takes allot of guts and that sure beats those people who sit at home and think they are morally superior than the rest - by criticizing those who try. I do have a recommendation for my favorite cupcake. Starbucks sells these cupcakes only twice a year, once around Valentines and another part of the year, I can’t recall right now. They are incredible and only cost $1.75
And that goes the same for TC too. Blah! Blah! Blah! about how you can make better cupcakes at home. First thing, these cupcakes are made with the finest ingredients and I think realistically you would have a tough time making them at home that cheap. Maybe you skimp by going with margarine instead of butter, artificial vanilla rather than real Madagascar vanilla, or you generic cocoa. That is all fine and dandy but maybe some people don’t mind paying for better quality. Maybe some people who enjoy cupcakes don’t have the time you do to sit around and make them. And most important point. Maybe people like you are just jealous that some Americans take the chance and open up small businesses that you yourself can’t open. These are the people who are working hard to make themselves and America prosper, so HUMBUG to you.
Wow! This place opened yesterday and it is already slammed with business. I hope the red velvets are as good as you are claiming. Hopefully they will be open tomorrow so I can check them out!
Went to Crumbs in Beverly hills which is down the street from sprinkles. The choc. and white cupcake was kinda dry and the brownie i had wasn’t very tastie so i hoping to go to Frosting here in Lake Forest.and hope it’s a hit….
Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix…$1.00
Eggs are cheap on sale or at Trader Joes
Philadelpha Cream Cheese…$1.00
Confectioners Sugar…$1.00
Dab real butter…hardly cost anything
This is proof 24 cupcakes can be made with quality ingredients for approx. $5.00
Eliz, if you call a cake mix out of a box as quality ingredients then you must do alot of “box” cooking. If you look at the ingredient listing on the side of the Duncan Hines Red Velvet box you’ll see:
Sugar, Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour (Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Vegetable Oil Shortening (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Propylene Glycol Mono- and Diesters of Fats, Mono- and Diglycerides), Cocoa Powder Processed with Alkali, Colored with (Red 40 with Invert Sugar), Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate). Contains 2% or Less of: Wheat Starch, Salt, Polyglycerol Esters of Fatty Acids, Dextrose, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Cellulose Gum, Xanthan Gum.
Whereas if you make it from scratch: All-purpose Flour, sugar, baking soda, slat, cocoa powder (essential for REAL red velvet), vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla extract, food coloring for the red (unless you’re a pure traditionalist and use beet juice) and cream cheese.
I’m sorry but if I had to choose, I’ll leave the Di-that and Mono-this out of it and bake them the way they were meant to.
Yes, convenience lends a hand and that’s why box mixes are available, but with major savings, comes a cost of real flavor and satisfaction of making it from scratch with quality ingredients
To my fellow blogger, Cupcake Activist, I hope you enjoyed your Red Velvet cupcake! I hope you got a chance to try the Citrus Coconut.
We tried Frostings on July 4th, and all six of us absolutely loved it! We tried the Red Velvet, Mocha Joe, Simply Vanilla, Lemon Drop, and 14 Karat.
I had the Lemon Drop, which was a light lemony cake with lemon frosting, and a great surprise inside: a dollop of lemon curd under the frosting. It was the best! Everyone loved the Simply Vanilla too. (I heard them say that the Chocolate Ganache also has a surprise inside: vanilla buttercream.)
The cupcakes were all very moist, and the frosting wasn’t too sweet on any of them. We had 2 Simply Vanilla that they had decorated for July 4th - beautiful! I had called ahead to place my order. (Of course they will sell out! They are brand new, delicious, and everyone is trying them! But they keep baking throughout the day.) Many people came in while I was there, saying they had read about it in the newspaper (same as me) and were coming to check it out. I had to wait about 5 minutes because they decorated my 2 patriotic ones while I waited.
We will definitely be returning. The cupcakes are $3.25 a piece and are very filling. If you go to a restaurant, you’ll pay that much or more for a nice dessert. I could have eaten my cupcake in two servings. You should definitely check it out!
PS. Those with negative comments that haven’t even tried the place yet (and can’t even quote the correct price) shouldn’t say anything until they have tried it.
ummmmmm. well i work in the back and honestly i think we have alot of potential as a cupcakery. for those who say its a fad. it is very similar to the frozen yogurt fad, boba fad, and smoothie fad. we all fall into the temptations of our sweet tooth. its just one of lifes guilty pleasures that we must allow ourselves to indulge. we put alot of hard work into making our cupcakes. and we expect absolute perfection. any minor mistake and that batch will not be sold to the customer. the wait can sometimes be long, but in the end, we only look out for the customer. yes you can make a big batch at home for whatever price. but ive worked in a 4 star restaurant. with a $150 dollar minimum per person. honestly. people pay for fine dining experiences. just consider this a fine dining cupcake experience. you can make a red velvet cupcake at home. but a recipe that can top ours……i dare say i dont think ive seen one. thank you to those who support us. and look forward to many more sweet delights. please dont reply to my post. i just felt compelled to speak my opinion.
I agree that Susiecakes is great, but it is a proper sweets bakery with waaaay more than just cupcakes (whoopie pies being my favorite). I haven’t been to Frostings, but I am kind if irked by the name since there is a cupcake shop in Long Beach called Frosted.
I don’t really understand all the bitching about prices. If it’s too expensive for you, don’t buy them…? Seems easy enough.