Pumpkin Passion

Name: Pumpkin Cupcake
Purchased At: Sprinkles Cupcakes
Price: approx $3.25
Availability: Year Round

I had NO idea! Absolutely NO idea!!! Did you know that some people will stand in line for over 40 minutes to get themselves a CUPCAKE? Yeah, I said cupcake!

It all started on a Southwest flight from LAX to Nashville. For some strange reason . . . . . actually it’s probably out of boredom . . . . . I enjoy reading their in-flight magazine “Spirit.” During this particular trip, I think it was sometime in either February or March of last year, they did an article on cupcake bakeries. It all just seemed so cute, fluffy little pieces of cake in paper wrappers can’t help but remind me of childhood birthday parties at school. I noticed that one of them was in Los Angeles, so I tore the article out (it’s okay to do that right?) and saved it.

On a particularly BORING day I looked up the website, which is super cute, and saw that they have pumpkin cupcakes on Wednesdays and Fridays all year round! During lunch on a quiet Friday, I headed over to Sprinkles Cupcakes, located at 9635 Little Santa Monica Blvd, in Beverly Hills.

While I knew that I might be a few minutes late getting back to work, I was not at all prepared to take a 2 hour lunch break. The line to get purchase a cupcake spilled out the door and down the street. I felt foolish and embarrassed to be standing in line for a cupcake. People stared and then they realized what we were in line for and they cracked jokes and laughed! In an effort to bring you the most up-to-date information on pumpkin products I continued to wait over a half an hour until it was my turn. However, my resentment turned into heightened expectations. These had better be some DAMN good cupcakes.

I even waited until I was home to eat them so that I could take pictures of these cutie patootie cupcakes. FINNALY it was time to taste them! I took a bite and slowly words start coming to mind: pumpkinlicious, tasty, moist, good . . . . . and familiar. Somehow they tasted familiar. I asked my friends to taste the pumpkin cupcake. They agreed that the frosting was great (it’s not pumpkin flavored frosting—more of a vanilla) and the cake was good. I took another bite and then it struck me. It tastes exactly like your everyday pumpkin muffin, just with more frosting! It had some good pumpkin and pumpkin spice flavoring but it wasn’t particularly impressive. It certainly didn’t stand out.

After all that, I wouldn’t go back for them again—even if there was no line and even if it didn’t cost $3.25 each. It just wasn’t anything to write home about; jeez, it’s barely something to blog about!

Word of Warning!!! Those cute colorful dots on top of the cupcake should be taken off and thrown in the trash! I’m not entirely sure if they were supposed to be eaten but I ate them anyway. They have the consistency and taste of a thin piece of plastic. I thought they would taste like Necco Wafers but NOPE.

I also purchased a red velvet and chai latte cupcake. The red velvet was almost worth the wait!

Rating: 7 out of 10

Name: Pumpkin Loaf
Purchased At: Peet’s Coffee & Tea
Price: appx $3.99
Availability: Year Round

A while back I had an unexpected pumpkin day. I started the day in Sacramento, drove to Berkeley for a meeting and then drove back to Sacramento to catch a plane home.

While I was in Berkeley, we went for lunch at the Thai Noodle House. Someone ordered the red curry and when it came she couldn’t identify a vegetable buried within the sauce. She asked the waitress what the vegetable was and it turns out it was PUMPKIN. I didn’t taste it, so I’ll have to go back and try it later.

This started a conversation about pumpkin and someone gave me the heads up on a pumpkin loaf at Peet’s Coffee & Tea that she said was particularly good. On my way back to Sacramento, I spotted a Peet’s along I-80 in a town I didn’t, and still don’t, know exists. This picture is a little overexposed because it was taken in my rental car, which was a convertible, and I needed light so I put the top down. People that walked by looked terrified. Maybe they thought I was crazy or a health inspector, or someone out to do an expose on rotten bakery items but I needed pictures!

Anyway, she was right! This loaf is really good. The creamcheese swirls mixes up the texture: one bite is cream creamy and the next is a little firmer. There is a good pumpkin flavor that seems naturally light with a few spices added to give it a mild ZING. The size is fairly large and it might be a little too much for an afternoon snack but as a quick breakfast it would keep you full until lunch. I enjoyed it and I can even enjoy it all year long.

Thanks Peet’s Coffee & Tea for getting it right!

Rating: 10 out of 10

Name: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin
Purchased At: Starbucks
Price: $3.00 approx.
Availability: Seasonal

I have a confession . . . . . Currently, when the “Availability” says “Seasonal” I’ve written the posts either months ago during Pumpkin-Eaten Season (the start of October through the end of December) or I’m writing them after-the-fact from hurriedly written phrases found on pieces of scrap paper with words like “strong pump taste,” “artificial,” “yuck,” or “spicy.” Now that the blog is up and running and when Pumpkin-Eaten Season starts again, I’ll be timelier about getting these posts up. This post, however, is written mostly from memory.

Starbucks’ Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin was the first pumpkin product I saw in 2005. During the last week of September, I walked to the Starbucks by my work because I had once again woken up MUCH TOO LATE to make myself some breakfast. The temperature was climbing from moderately warm to hot. I was thrilled to see something pumpkin in their pastry case, not only because I love pumpkin, but also because it was a reminder that the Fall season would soon arrive and the heat would soon dissipate, at least by a little. Kudos to Starbucks! My San Francisco hippie friends will surely kick my ass for that last comment but too bad. Yes, I think their coffee sucks but their pastries are always pretty damn good.

Anyway, the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin was new this year. Last year they only had the Pumpkin Scone, which occasionally made sporadic appearances this season too (review to come later). I loved this muffin: it was yummy, it was spicy, it was always moist, and the pumpkin seeds on top were a nice crunchy addition. I hope they bring this back next season.

If it does return, I have some ideas on how to make it even better. First, I was looking on the internet for the official name of the muffin and I came across a website that lists the nutritional value. OH MY GOD, the thing has 470 calories and 220 of these are from fat. Maybe it’s a really good thing that it’s only seasonal. Second, the cream cheese-like blob on top tastes artificial/chemically. The muffin is amazing enough on its own, even without creamy blobs of stuff, and it may save on the calorie/fat content if they got rid of it. It’s just a thought.

All in all, it’s amazing but a little too sinful for my liking.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Name: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake
Purchased At: Silverlake Farmer’s Market
Price: $3.00
Availability: Seasonal

I remember having had this item last season. I’m not sure why I was only moderately excited when I saw it again at the Silverlake Farmer’s Market. Maybe they’ve improved the recipe or this time I purchased it on particularly fresh day but DAMN it was good.

It could almost be a muffin except for the density. This little cake is solid but somehow it’s still moist. The pumpkin flavor is noticeable but not overwhelming in an artificial way. This is an excellent little cake to share for breakfast while drinking a strong cup of coffee or as a mid-afternoon snack.

It’s just plain yummy and besides it’s even kind of pretty with all those cream cheese swirls. I’ll be more excited when I see the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake at the farmer’s market next season.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Name: Pumpkin Nut Loaf
Purchased At: Trader Joe’s
Price: $?
Availability: Year Round

Trader Joe’s was a big disappointment this year with hardly any pumpkin flavored treats. Besides the pumpkin ale (to be reviewed later), I could only find the Pumpkin Nut Loaf, which I’m fairly sure is available year round. Last year I remember there being some kind of pumpkin spiced caramels but so far they are a no show.

Back to the Pumpkin Nut Loaf, it’s been over a year since I last purchased this item. I had stopped purchasing the pumpkin loaf because I kept biting into raisin stems. I don’t dislike raisins in general but I’ve found that Trader Joe’s has a hard time desteming some of their fruit. Their frozen blueberries also tend to have a lot of stems left behind. This time, the raisins were a deal breaker for another reason: the raisins have seeds in them. Why?!?! Call me picky but I don’t like pieces of wood in my food. Not all of the raisins have seeds but enough of them did to make me throw it out. The raisins are also abundant and they are all extremely mushy. YUCK!

Why am I talking so much about raisins and walnuts in a blog about pumpkin? The reason is, I have nothing to say about the pumpkin taste because there is NO pumpkin taste to the loaf at all. I can’t even smell any cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, or spice of any kind. Pumpkin is listed second on the ingredient list behind sugar. I can’t see how this can be true given that the loaf has the texture of a very dry brick.

I have one more complaint, it’s called Pumpkin NUT Loaf but besides the no pumpkin flavor there are hardly any nuts. I did find two halves of a walnut stuck on top of the loaf and only a few small pieces inside. It makes no sense.

To Mr. Joe, bulk up the PUMPKIN taste and replace the raisins with more walnuts. If not, change the name to “Mushy Raisin With Seeds Loaf” to let people know what they’re getting.

Rating: 0 out of 10