Last October I blogged about Chicago's More Cupcakes, and how I wasn't super impressed. Well, my friend Mariann got me a gift card to More for Christmas, so we decided to give it another go. And I'm glad we did! Not only was I much happier with the cupcakes we tasted this time, but the employees at the storefront seemed a lot friendlier (less pretentious!). The shop's owner, Patty Rothman, was there giving out samples and talking about all the daily flavors. She was super nice, enthusiastic and definitely made the experience that much better.
My fave cupcake of the day was, surprisingly, the Chocolate Vanilla Cream. Normally I prefer non-chocolate flavors, in fact I think this was Ginny's cupcake! Basically, it was like the best Oreo ever in the shape of a cupcake. I've never had an Oreo Cakester, but I imagine this cupcake would be like the homemade, preservative free, version. The chocolate cake was moist, rich and completely delicious. There was a perfect vanilla buttercream on top plus a more custardy cream inside, fantastic.
My other top cupcake was the Jalapeno Cupcake with Mango Buttercream and Cilantro Sugar. I guess I should mention that I'm a cilantro hater. I wish I wasn't, it would make life a lot easier. But no matter how many times I try cilantro, it still tastes like soap to me. So, after a tiny taste, I was expecting to have to eat around the cilantro sugar on the cupcake. Luckily I found myself actually liking it! The sugar tasted herby and refreshing, with none of the soapy taste that turns me off. The cake itself was cornbready with a spicy and distinctively jalapeno flavor. The fruity mango buttercream was perfect the perfect complement to the spicy cake. I'm not sure I'd consider this quite a savory cupcake, but it wasn't exactly dessert-like either. Either way it was delicious.
The cupcake I was most excited to try, the Salted Caramel, was also the one I was most disappointed with. I normally like the combo of salt and caramel (I had a fantastic Salted Caramel Sundae in Bloomington just a few weeks ago) but I think the balance in this cupcake was off. It was just a bit too salty. There was also a bit too much caramel, leaving the cupcake rather soggy inside. It was almost good, I could taste the potential, so it wasn't a complete fail, but we didn't eat much of it.
The savory cupcake we bought, White Cheddar Truffle, got mixed reactions. It was very rich, very cheesy and definitely savory. I liked it a lot, but probably wouldn't be able to finish one all on my own. The cheese was sharp and a bit salty, and along with the truffle buttercream and muffin-y cake, it was pretty decadent. I think it would actually taste delicious in miniature, warmed up and served as an appetizer.
Among the five of us we also bought the Passionfruit Meringue, Strawberry Rhubarb, Cinnamon Cream Cheese, S'more, and More Signature cupcakes. The Passionfruit Meringue and Strawberry Rhubarb cupcakes were similar, light and fruity insides with a meringue like topping. Both were tasty but I think our group preferred the Passionfruit. We felt the Cinnamon Cream Cheese was pretty good, but a little boring. We would have liked a bit more cinnamon-y flavor. I didn't get the try the S'more or More cupcakes because Ella and Katy completely scarfed them down before I finished photographing the rest of the cupcakes! But, apparently they were quite good, judging from how quickly they disappeared.
I will definitely visit More Cupcakes again if I'm in the neighborhood. The website is always listing intriguing new seasonal flavors that I want to try. I wish the site had a bit more content, but there is an order form where you can see a list of their cupcake offerings. Of course what they have in the store rotates, there's not guarantee that they will always have exactly the cupcake you want.
More Cupcakes1 E Delaware Pl, Chicago, IL 60611
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