Oct. 18 is National Chocolate Cupcake Day and Westfield News staff sampled this assortment of chocolate cupcakes from local bakeries to help readers decide what to enjoy Friday. (Photo by Hope E. Tremblay)
WESTFIELD – Oct. 18 is National Chocolate Cupcake Day. Yes, the decadently delicious dessert has its own special day and there are several local bakeries offering a variety of chocolate cupcakes to satisfy your celebratory cravings.
To help you mark the sweet occasion, The Westfield News staff took up the daunting task of tasting some of the chocolate cupcakes offered by bakeries in the city. It was a tough assignment, but we rose to the occasion, just for our readers.
We admit there really wasn’t a bad cupcake in the bunch. Each flavor offered its own delicious nod to chocolate, but the staff agreed that the best overall cupcake was J.P.’s Totally Baked Goods’ Double Chocolate Cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting.
“This is what you expect from a chocolate cupcake,” said Lorie Perry, director of advertising production.
Office Assistant Melissa Hartman agreed.
“It’s moist and chocolatey,” she said. “The frosting isn’t too sweet, and neither is the cake.”
Reporter Peter Currier ranked this cupcake high as well.
Another cupcake that received rave reviews was the Peanut Butter Overload by Frosted Swirl Cupcakes. This was truly what you’d expect from the name – it packed a lot of peanut butter in the smooth, rich frosting. The peanut butter did not overpower the chocolate cake, but instead enhanced it. Chopped peanut butter cups completed this delicious dessert, which received thumbs-up from everyone who tried it.
Westfield News employees Lorie Perry and Melissa Hartman discuss which cupcake to try next. (Photo by Hope E. Tremblay)
Mama Cakes’ Salted Caramel cupcake is Perry’s all-time favorite and was also enjoyed by staff. The deep chocolate of the cake was balanced by the sweet caramel frosting and the hint of salt brought it all together.
The Hot Chocolate Cupcake, also by Frosted Swirl, reminded all of us of a warm mug of hot chocolate on a winter night. This tasted so much like the real thing that we wondered if elves secretly baked it! The chocolate cake really tasted like hot chocolate and the marshmallow filling was fluffy. It was topped with chocolate frosting, mini marshmallows and dark chocolate shavings. Hartman said this was the one she would eat again and again.
It Takes Two’s chocolate cupcakes were super moist and had a light chocolate flavor. We tried cupcakes with vanilla buttercream as well as chocolate buttercream. Everyone agreed the chocolate buttercream took the cake, so to speak, and was a real winner.
Ken Morrow, sales representative, gave his top vote to the Frosted Swirl Tuxedo Cupcake. This one featured both white and dark chocolate mixed together – the best of both worlds for chocolate lovers!
And speaking of chocolate lovers, the die-hards on staff said the Mama Cakes’ Chocolate Dream cupcake delivered exactly what the name states. The cake was moist and spongey and the chocolate-on-chocolate flavor would exceed any “chocolate fix” expectations.
All in all, you can’t go wrong celebrating National Chocolate Cupcake Day with any of these decadent offerings.
We sampled the following:
It Takes Two Bakery
31 Elm St., Westfield
Open Tuesday-Saturday from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Chocolate with chocolate buttercream frosting
Chocolate with vanilla buttercream frosting
Frosted Swirl Cupcakes
Home-based business. Email [email protected] or call 413-557-8121.
Tuxedo
Peanut Butter Overload
Death by Chocolate
Hot Chocolate
JP’s Totally Baked Goods
18 School St., Westfield
Open Wednesday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. – 2 a.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. – 2 a.m.
Double chocolate with buttercream frosting
Mama Cakes
40 Elm St., Westfield
Open Tuesday-Friday, 11:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Chocolate Dream
Chocolate Peanut Butter
Chocolate Salted Caramel
