Mini cupcakes from Kingdom Cake

I swear it’s not that I go looking for cupcakes. The cupcakes find me. 

Well no, I guess that’s not entirely true. I’ve definitely gone in search of cupcakes on many a lunch break or a Friday after work or on any other number of random occasions. BUT several times it’s happened that I’m not even thinking about them or about food at all (yes, it happens that I sometimes think about other things), when all of a sudden I bump into some new place that I just have to stop at and check out.  Because as the old adage goes, don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today, right? (Ok, so maybe that’s not what it was referring to but I’m applying it here anyway.)

My friend and I were recently walking around North Beach, trekking up and down the area’s hilly streets, when out of nowhere (or so it seemed) there was a cupcake window nestled among the otherwise residential street. 

I saw it from across the street and couldn’t make out the name, but saw the only word I needed to see: cake. As in Kingdom Cake, San Francisco bakers of gourmet mini cupcakes. Deciding it was time for an afternoon snack, we picked up an assorted box of four cupcakes.

Lemon blueberry basil... an interesting and tasty combo

Our box included red velvet, peanut butter cream, chocolate and the specific recommendation from the girl sitting on the other side of the narrow counter, blueberry lemon basil. Each one was pretty good, with rich, moist cake underneath a small swirly mound of thick, creamy icing. The blueberry lemon basil was definitely the most original of the group, though. The lemon and basil played off each other well balancing the zesty citrus taste with a subtle herbal twist of the basil. Chunks of blueberry added a sweet fruitiness to it and a plump blueberry plopped on top of the icing was the perfect last touch.

All the cupcakes were dusted with a light sprinkle of edible glitter which made the mini treats not only tasty but sparkly and fun. “The glitter’s there to make you happy,” explained the girl behind the counter. Normally I might think this was a ploy to make up for lacking something in the taste department but in this case it wasn’t.

My only complaint was that a box of four small cupcakes (each one about 2 bites) cost a whopping eight bucks. Even in wildly expensive New York they don’t cost that much. But I’ll let it slide because they were good. Sparkly and yummy, I’m glad they found me.