Sprinkles Cupcakes in Scottsdale, Arizona - Worth the Trip

Normally, I would agree that home-baked is best. There's nothing quite like pulling a tin of brownies from the oven and NOT waiting the recommended thirty minutes before plunging a dull butter knife into the rectilinear goodness. Likewise with cakes and their cute little spawn: cupcakes. I was brought up to believe that cupcakes are best when made at home and served within the day, that it's best to eat them before the frosting forms a crust or the cake dries to a crunch. I would turn my nose up at bakery cupcakes and think, "they're probably not that good." But Sprinkles Cupcakes has given me pause.

Sprinkles originated in Los Angeles, but - thankfully - has spread to a handful of other major U.S. cities, with more to come. The cupcake phenomenon is in full swing, what with similarly-titled shops dotting most major towns, and cupcakes even usurping cakes as the sugary treat of choice at some weddings and cake-centric affairs. Sprinkles is often credited as the originator of this trend. The company has elevated what one usually envisions as a modest treat best suited to Tupperware and homeroom parties into a truly divine experience.

I have had the pleasure of tasting Sprinkles cupcakes from the Scottsdale, Arizona, location. Located across from the ritzy Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall, it is clear that this operation is not angling to establish itself as a humble, mom-n-pop joint. Sprinkles has a modern sheen, right down to the cupcake itself. Each cupcake is topped with just the right amount of smooth frosting and a unique candy dot that distinguishes one flavor from another (see flavor map on website for details).

I should preface the forthcoming praise by saying that I love most anything pumpkin-flavored....bread, muffins, pie, lattes, ice cream, and, yes, cupcakes. The pumpkin cupcake at Sprinkles could earn my seal of approval if only because it does not taste like potpourri, as spicy, autumn-infused flavors so often do. But it is the cream cheese frosting that is the clincher - smooth, creamy, thick, decadent. The frosting at Sprinkles is a true butter cream, and sits in perfect complement to the moist - but not oily - cake beneath it. Even two days after purchase, with only an unsealed plastic bag shielding it from the arid Arizona air, my pumpkin cupcake was still moist. The same can be said for the also-delicious red velvet, chocolate marshmallow, and dark chocolate. Likewise, I'm sure, for the number of other appealing flavors - banana, peanut butter chip, coconut, and cinnamon sugar, to name a few.

Forget aesthetically pleasing cupcakes with gelatinous frosting and dry, porous cake. Forget supermarket bakeries and their sugary sheet cakes. Forget Otis Spunkmeyer and his individually wrapped oil barrels. Sprinkles has set the bar for baked goods. Just $3.25 buys you a moment of bliss.