Buffalo Cupcake Round-Up

I haven't done a round-up of a city cupcake hunt in over two years. This is also by far the longest I've spent in one city since the inception of the blog.

Some Thoughts:

1. I could never have imagined that there would be at least 18 different cupcake bakeries in Buffalo when I first moved there two years ago. The city definitely surprised me with its cupcake enthusiasm.
2. However, 3 of those 18 bakeries have closed down.
3. My hunt expanded to Rochester, New York, having visited 3 great bakeries there.
4.The average cupcake price was much lower in Buffalo than in Houston. Cupcakes in Buffalo on average were $2.75 while Houston cupcakes were $3.25.
5. Cupcakes were much tastier in Buffalo than in Houston too!
6. Since I found out I was moving in early June, I visited 12 cupcake places this summer (5 were in different cities other than Buffalo).

Chung's Best Cupcakes in Buffalo Awards (also including Rochester): 

Most Unique Flavor:

Neopolitan from The Cupcake Orchard, which tasted just like the ice cream flavor: fresh strawberry frosting, vanilla and chocolate layers of cake. Totally delicious!

Weirdest Flavor:

Key Lime with Mango Cream Cheese Frosting from Butterwood Sweet and Savory was a weird combo of two fruits that didn't gel well together at all in this petite dessert.

Most Expensive Cupcake:

Key Lime with Mango Cream Cheese Frosting from Butterwood Sweet and Savory was the most expensive at $4.05. 

Cheapest Cupcake:

Strawberry from Pumpernick 'N Pastry Shoppe, which was a whopping $0.80!

Best Looking Cupcake:

Peppermint Case from Firefly Cupcakes was so beautifully decorated, complete with edible glitter. Sorry but this handsome cupcake just did not taste as good as it looked.

 Biggest Surprise:

The Original Buffalo Hot Wing Cake from Fairycakes Cupcakery. I wasn't sure what to expect based on the name of the cupcake but I'm so glad it was a spicy chocolate cake. The spice was a surprisingly fun bonus to a tasty cupcake.

Best Ambiance:

Sugar Mountain Bake Shoppe in Rochester. It was like a Victorian explosion, complete with a tea time dress-up area. I loved the decor, tea cup sets and costumes. 

Worst Cupcake:
Key Lime with Mango Cream Cheese Frosting from Butterwood Sweet and Savory, although Chocolate from Caffe Aroma was a close second. But since the Butterwood cupcake was also the priciest, it wins worst cupcake for quality and price.

Best Cupcake:
Girl Scout Cookie from Sassi Cakes was so perfectly moist, not too sweet, had the perfect amount of frosting and was so delicious. Yum!

Runners Up:

Pumpkin Cheesecake from Cheesy Eddies (Rochester). I decided to include this "cupcake" since it was so delicious and was one of only two 5-star rating cupcakes since consuming my all-time favorite cupcake in Seattle. 

Momma Bear from Dolce Cupcakery, also from Rochester, was a very close winner in my favorite cupcake in Western New York. Simple yet so delicious.

I was definitely impressed with the variety and quality of cupcakes throughout Western New York. Now I'm off to a sunnier and less snowy place, in search of more cupcakes (and am looking forward to a road trip down to Florida with cupcakes along the way!).