Saint Cupcake in Portland!

As I explored Portland last month, I found the cutest little cupcake shop in what's known as the Hawthorne District, called Saint Cupcake. The little shop's shabby-chicness was just as cute as the assortment of cupcakes they offer!

I really enjoyed their use of varied cake stands to showcase their cupcakes. It's not the traditional display that you see in most bakeries or cupcake shops: shelved in a display case. It's clean and open, inviting you to see the whole cupcake, not just the frosting. 

The first day I stopped by the shop, the Confetti cupcake caught the attention of my sweet tooth. 

Pillbury's classic Funfetti cake mix and the frosting that came with it had the yummiest chunky sprinkles mixed right in. It's been years since I've seen a cake or cupcake like that since Pillsbury changed it's Funfetti formula: the frosting's sprinkles are now packaged separately so you can add them and it's just not the same!

I decided I'd come back because my adventure around town had just begun that day but by the time I made it back the Confetti cupcakes were all sold-out! Determined to get one, I returned on the last day of my vacation and, wha-la! It's true what they say, the third time is the charm. It's easy to to see Saint Cupcake makes everything fresh from scratch:  All of the cupcakes  there are so cute in an almost artisan fashion.

I love that they call their mini-cupcakes dots and wound up leaving with FIVE dots.

Intrigued by the flat frosting on the seemingly classic Chocolate with Vanilla Buttercream flavor, I decided to get it. 

 Big Top is a vanilla cake with chocolate chips with vanilla cream-cheese frosting which is tinted with a different color each day depending on the mood of the shop and topped with rainbow sprinkles. There were a couple reasons why I decided to try this cupcake: 1. I never had a cupcake with chocolate chips in it, a muffin, yes but not a cupcake. 2. the days I went into Saint Cupcake the frosting on Big Top was seafoam, my favorite color!

The Confetti cupcake is vanilla cake with pastel colored sprinkles baked right in topped with a swirl of cream-cheese frosting with the same pastel sprinkles mixed in it.

Fat Elvis is such a creative flavor and name that I couldn't leave Portland without having had one! Banana cake with chocolate chips with a peanut butter fudge frosting garnished with a crispy banana chip....what?!?

The lemon curd on top of the Lemon Sparkle caught my eye. I really liked the name (who doesn't like a little sparkle?) and a dear friend who's the inspiration of the cupcake element of this blog, loved all cupcakes but lemon was one of her favorites. So, in honor of Robin, on impulse, Lemon Sparkle was the 5th dot I got.

I didn't eat them all at once but all of them did have that taste of freshness. You know the one: the cake is fluffy to the bite, it's butteriness dancing on your tongue, the creamy frosting isn't rough around the edges but silky smooth or rich and thick (depending on the cupcake). 

I liked them all but my favorites were the Fat Elvis and Big Top!

I didn't realize that Fat Elvis has chocolate chips in the banana cake when I bought it, so they were a delightful surprise! The banana flavor isn't too strong or too subtle. Compared to the super decadent peanut butter fudge frosting the cake is light.
This frosting might be the thickest frosting I've ever eaten and my new favorite! It's 80% peanut butter, 20% fudge and 110% percent delicious! A great representation of one of the King's favorite sandwiches in cupcake form. 

It's like it was meant to be, me trying this cupcake to review for my music and cupcakes blog!

I knew there was chocolate chips in the vanilla cake before  taking my first bite of the Big Top dot because I could see them!
The cake itself is super buttery and dare I say it...moist but it isn't dense like a lot of buttery cakes tend to be. The frosting is the creamiest cream-cheese frosting I've ever tasted! The little twists on this otherwise standard vanilla cupcake make it anything other than vanilla in a big way!

The vanilla cake of the Confetti cupcake isn't as buttery as the vanilla cake of the Big Top cupcake but it is more dense. It's cream-cheese frosting is thick and not too sweet or cheesy and the sprinkles aren't as sugary or waxy as the OG Pillsbury ones were. Aside from the pop of color throughout the cake and frosting, the Confetti Cupcake was rather plain tasting but still a lot of fun!







The last day of my Portland vacation was bitter sweet thanks to Saint Cupcakes' tasty little treats!

At $1.50 per dot the price was on point! If you make it to Portland and have a hankering for a cupcake, Saint Cupcake has you covered! They have a few different locations around town.