Trophy Cupcakes - Triple Chocolate and Peanut Butter & Jelly

Can I be honest and say that as much as I like Cupcake Royale, I've come to find them to be kind of boring after a while. They're tasty, I like swinging by there, but if you break down their cakes you'll find that a vast majority of them are vanilla or chocolate with a variety of frostings. There are a few seasonal varieties (carrot, pumpkin, etc) every six months or so, but otherwise what you see is what you get. As much as I love getting a Classic... it's been done. And that Chocolate Deathcake of theirs was a lot of fun, but after the first few bites with my girlfriend, it became a kind of a chore.

That's why I liked Grand Central for their peanut butters and their cranberries before they switched their menus. It's why I was thrilled to see Coco La Ti Da for their cream cheese stuffings and the coconut.

And it's why I've fallen for Trophy Cupcakes, newly opened in Wallingford. Yes, you've got your chocolates and vanillas and mixtures as well as a constant red velvet, but also coconut, green tea, lemon strawberry... and I'm in love. In love after a pretty heavy sugar crash (word to the wise: do not have two cupcakes at once!), but love nonetheless.

The triple chocolate is a regular cupcake, costs $2.75, and is worth every cent. The cake is moist devil food and mounded just over the top of the paper. And then, just to confound us all, it is topped with only a bare coating of rich chocolate frosting which is then encrusted with chocolate sprinkles. Does this sound boring? Let me assure you that it is anything but. This was a delight. Rich, creamy, dense and almost too chocolate for me. Almost. Not that I let that stop me, I assure you. The sacrifices I make.

Next we have one of their "special" cupcakes at $2.99, the peanut butter and jelly. If you look carefully at the frosting, you'll notice that it's not any one specific color but has more of a watercolor effect to it and with good reason: It's peanut butter and jelly butter cream frosting. It is light to the point of non-existence. Biting through it was simplicity, as opposed to some of the dense creations I've had lately. The cake is a vanilla, dense like a corn muffin with, to make this even better, a tiny dollop of peanut butter and strawberry jelly in the center. It's sweeter than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, of course, but that's not a complaint, I assure you.

Long story short: Get your butt out to Wallingford if you want a fine baked goods experience. You'll thank me.