Cupcake Quest: Joans on Third

You may recall a prior post about some cupcakes from Starbucks that disappointed me- or should I say fell short of my expectations. I've now embarked on what I am calling the Cupcake Quest, a search for the best cupcakes. Like my friend Bee, I love cake. In my case, cupcakes are the subject of my fascination. It goes back to childhood when I used to buy those Hostess chocolate cupcakes with the white swirls on the top that sort of looked like the cursive letter "e" written multiple times. In fact I always called them "e's" instead of Hostess Cupcakes. Well anyway the point is that was where my love affair began with cupcakes. As I matured I discovered that wholesome, home-made baked goods were better than mass-produced junk with artificial ingredients, and suddenly those e's didn't taste good anymore. Add to that the growing popularity of "gourmet cupcakes" in many cities, and voila! my interest in finding delicious cupcakes was intensified. A few years back I was in Los Angeles and discovered a wonderful little bakery/cafe/deli restaurant called Joan's on Third. I saw their bakery case of cupcakes and decided I must have found Heaven on Earth. Being a chocolate fiend, I sampled the varieties with chocolate anything. They have always been on my mind, so whenever I have the opportunity I go back and treat myself. This one in the photo above top left is called "Cloud". It is dreamy.

above: I tore into the "Cloud" cupcake and remembered to take this photo to show you what was inside the pointy swirl, resting on top of the rich chocolate cupcake. The white stuff is an delicious marshmallow egg-white fluffy something or other. It is incredible!

above: I decided I needed to buy some to take home. Here is the bunch I bought. Mind you, they make lots of other flavors, but if it isn't chocolate I'm not interested.

above: another view of the pedestal cake dish I have at home. It enables me to "worship" them and drool while I decide which one to enjoy next. From this perspective you can see that the one with the white vanilla buttercream frosting is actually a chocolate cake, so it meets my chocolate criteria. So I'd say that Joan's cupcakes do meet my Cupcake Quest quality standard, but the true Quest goes on...I shall continue to seek out the best cupcakes and feature them here. As a reminder, this is not a paid post, just me writing about what I love...
-Rick Rockhill