The Goshen Gourmet Welcomes The Cupcakery to Edwardsville IL

Can you smell the luscious cloud of sweet buttercream blanketing Edwardsville, IL? It's likely coming from the newest specialty shop in town -- The Cupcakery.

Located at 1057 Century Drive off 157 near Quiznos, the newly opened gourmet cupcake bakery is offering sinful selections today, including Confetti (Vanilla Buttercream on French Vanilla cake); Tuxedo (Vanilla Buttercream on Dark Chocolate cake); Peanut Butter Cup (Peanut Butter Buttercream on Dark Chocolate cake); and Red Velvet (Cream Cheese Icing on Red Velvet cake).

During my lunchtime visit I chose a Tuxedo and a Red Velvet for myself and my husband and complemented the two with a Pumpkin -- one of the bakery's changing seasonal offerings.

The taste? Magnificent -- deep and rich. Everything the beautifully decorated little cakes promise to the eye, they deliver to the mouth.

(However, in the spirit of full disclosure, a car pulled out in front of me as I was leaving the parking lot. My accident-avoidance maneuver knocked the Cupcakery box on the car's floor, merging the three flavors into something I am going to have to call "Con-Tux-Velvet" or "Red-Tux-Fetti." Delicious nontheless.)

You can mitigate a cupcake disaster like mine by eating your treat inside the lovely lounge area of the bakery. It's decorated with calming colors, hip modern fabrics and clean-lined furnishings. There's also a Party Room for larger groups. It would be a perfect dessert stop for the LWL (Ladies Who Lunch) crowd.

The Cupcakery in Edwardsville also serves a few additional sweet treats such as Frosted Sugar Cookies, a Cakewich filled with buttercream, and a Double Decker which is two oatmeal chocolate chip cookies filled with buttercream. Are you getting the "buttercream" theme?

Hot drinks on the menu give the bakery a coffee house feel with espresso, cappuccino, mocha, chai latte and hot cocoa available along with regular coffee, latte and hot tea. Cold drinks designed to complement a tasty cupcake include milk, organic chocolate milk, iced chai latte and, of course, juice, soda, tea and water.

If you'd like to place a large order, just give them 48 hours notice. The bakers can create up to 24 cupcakes in a same-day order if necessary. Individual cupcakes are $2,75 each, but well worth it when you compare the taste to the usual made-from-a-cardboard-box version found at my house.

The Cupcakery is open Monday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. until 9:30 p.m.; and it is closed on Sundays.

You can learn more on The Cupcakery's web site at www.CraveTheCup.com. The phone number is 618-656-2287.

Stop by and welcome The Cupcakery to Edwardsville. And don't forget to tell them that the Goshen Gourmet sent you.