Sweet

I have to admit, I love this new "gourmet" cupcake fad that's recently made it's way to Boston. The idea just really appeals to me; it's a mixture of nostalgia and delicious goodness that only a cupcake can bring. So imagine my delight when this past weekend, our friend Adam said he wanted to try out cupcakes from the bakery "Sweet" in the Back Bay. I called up the day before (the website recommends this) to make sure I could get all the flavors Adam had wanted. I ended up ordering a dozen since the woman on the phone told me that, presently, the bakery was offering a dozen different flavors (minus the vegan cupcake, offered only on Mondays).

We picked up the box and the presentation was very nice. Unfortunately though, the mix of cupcakes inside was not exactly what I had asked for. There were no seasonal cupcake flavors (some of the seasonal ones sounded the best) and only the "Daily Sweet" flavors were given to us. There's only about 6 different daily flavors so we got some repeats. We were a bit disappointed but decided it gave us an excuse to go back if we enjoyed these.

As for the cupcakes themselves: The cupcakes are relatively small with a huge dollop of icing on them. They are pretty simple looking but pretty cute nonetheless. Most of our tasters said that they would like more cake and a bit less icing. The cake for most of the flavors was dense, almost like a wedding cake recipe and tasted fine (nothing special though). Almost everyone's favorite was the "Organic Karat". The cake was more moist and light and the icing, a cream cheese based icing, was lighter as well. Since I don't care too much for cream cheese icing, my favorite was the dark chocolate cupcake (the icing tasted the best to me). Most of the other cupcakes were nothing to write home about and all tasted relatively the same. We decided that for $3 a cupcake, Sweet just wasn't worth it. Many of us preferred the cupcakes from the South End Buttery instead. In all fairness, I think Sweet offers cupcakes that are decorated fancifully which might be more fun at a birthday party but taste wise, there was nothing gourmet about these cakes.

Sweet is located at 49 Mass Ave in between Marlborough and Comm. Ave. Sweet offers the following daily flavors:

THE DAILY SWEET
READY-TO-EAT

THE SWEET CAKE*
Creamy Madagascar vanilla bean cake
with buttercream frosting in vanilla or chocolate
DARK CHOCOLATE*
Rich chocolate cake baked with Dutch cocoa
topped with buttercream frosting in vanilla or chocolate

ORGANIC KARAT*
Moist carrot cake with shredded organic carrots and crushed pineapple
topped with classic cream cheese frosting and an edible gold leaf petal

CAPPUCCINO*
Delectable espresso flavored cake bakedwith Callebaut chocolate crowned with signature Sweet frosting
and a dusting of cinnamon

RED VELVET*
Gentle hint of Bensdorp Dutch cocoa, a classic shocking red hue
and Sweet's delectable cream cheese frosting
BOSTON CREAM PIE
Sweet chiffon cake filled with homemade pastry cream
topped with chocolate ganache and a frosting "cherry"

VEGAN CUPCAKE (MONDAYS ONLY)
Yummy chocolate cake and delectable frosting
that is 100% vegan (dairy and egg free) and cholesterol free