Hop Into My Mouth

From what you’ve all told us since last month, your favourite post was the one where we suffered the most. We’re discussing the potential of some moderate suffering later, but we’re going to disappoint you this week. We’re sorry, but Cupcake Royale had just one flavour of the month. Just one. And, actually, we’re not sorry.

The Grasshopper Cupcake

Available March only – rich chocolate cake topped with Seely’s peppermint buttercream frosting, dunked in housemade chocolate and topped with green and white sprinkles and chocolate curls. Also available in Gluten Free.

Amber: Mounds of mint visible. I’m optimistic! And there’s something that excites me about a crisp chocolate shell (probably tied into a childhood fascination with liquid toppings that hardened into crisp chocolate shells on ice cream). My mouth tells me that they did this correctly. Perfect cool mint, the sort that makes the whole thing taste light in spite of the fact that this is a dense chocolate cake. And that chocolate…present enough to hold its own, but not overwhelming. The cake seems slightly less moist than last month’s cakes, but this isn’t a bad thing, as it means the cupcake is somehow reminding me of my mum’s non-cakey chocolate-mint brownies…though the cake isn’t fudgy, so don’t expect that, readers. (Dear Mum, these are tasty enough that surely they are available in Heaven. Please try one and see what a compliment this is for both you and Cupcake Royale.) Also, that crispy shell? Just the perfect thin layer for holding in the mint whilst it awaits your mouth. Hop in any time, grasshopper.

Cat: Well this is just lovely.  Anything with chocolate and mint equals heaven in my book, so even the slightest glance at the cool green peeking from beneath the smooth chocolate shell is enough to send my soul into spasms of joy.  First things first: the chocolate cupcake base.  Cupcake Royale knows how to do a basic chocolate (at least when it’s not a rich Valentine’s chocolate coming at the tail end of a sugar overload), with this great crust that’s somehow chewy and highlights the proper cake-iness of the cake.  I adore the mint frosting, which manages to be light without being too reminiscent of toothpaste, and the slight, the ever so slight, crunch of the chocolate coating.  When those are combined with the chewy crust, it’s a cookie-like sensation I treasure.  But better, since it’s a cake and there’s so much more than your basic flat cookie.  It’s got substance!  I’m absolutely savoring this cupcake.  It’s a culinary experience I don’t want to end.  I’m dragging it out as long as possible, then grasping at crumbs on the counter.