Vanilla Ain’t So Vanilla Anymore

I love Starbucks. Lame, perhaps, but I can’t deny it. So imagine my delight when Starbucks started combining my love of coffee with my love of cupcakes.

The red velvet cupcakes really drew me in when I first saw them at the Starbucks on 114th and Broadway. The cherry-colored cake reminded me of the deliciousness of the red velvets at Magnolia’s, and I had been craving something sweet in the cupcake-starved Columbia area. Anyways, I stared at it day after day until I finally bit the bullet and tried it last week. It was good — much better than expected. The frosting was creamy but not tooth-achingly sweet, and the cake was moist but sturdy enough to handle the rich topping.

the vanilla bean cupcake

the red velvet cupcake

The taste stuck with me all weekend, and I finally succumbed to temptation and tried the vanilla bean cupcake yesterday afternoon. For whatever reason, the double chocolate cupcake hasn’t struck my fancy yet, even though anyone who knows me can attest that I’m a chocolate gal all the way.

Another success for le ‘Bucks! The vanilla bean was full of flavor — surprise, I know — neither over- nor underwhelming. It was a tasty and much-needed post-class treat!