Happy Birthday, cupcake

 It was my birthday earlier this month and to celebrate my cousin and her two kids (my god kids) visited me in San Francisco. We decided on a trip to the San Francisco Botanical Garden. It was a sunny January day and some of the infamous pink Magnolias were already blooming high above us on otherwise bare branches. 

Cupcake from Whole Foods 
photo by Nikki DeMartini

Before we went exploring we made a pit stop for the birthday festivity of blowing out a candle on the cupcake my cousin got for me and making a birthday wish. Both of my god kids were very excited about this because my cousin had gotten them their own treats, too. It was so cute the way their eyes lit up when she opened up the cupcake box and lit a candle in it, you'd think it was their birthday.

 

exploring the San Francisco Botanical Garden

The cupcake was from Whole Foods and my thoughtful cousin picked a cupcake covered in frosting flowers. The flowers were light blue and green with a couple darker green leaves which reminded me of hydrangeas. 

 I mentioned to her that the cupcake was very fitting since we were celebrating at the Botanical Garden and she said that's why she got that one. She sure does know how to make a birthday girl feel special that cousin of mine.

 After singing me Happy Birthday, the kids had their treats and then burned off the sugar rush running around the park but I saved my cupcake for later. 

The frosting flowers got a little smooshed in transit but it still looked pretty and tasted yummy. All of those frosting flowers and leaves sure made for one very well frosted cupcake and I love frosting. It was classic vanilla frosting and I could see that the cake was chocolate. To my delighted surprise, the chocolate cake was rich and chocolatey! I'm almost positive it was devils food cake based on it's deep brown color and how moist and flavorful it was. Chocolate cake under frosting flowers is like dirt that flowers grow in only way yummier, though my godson might disagree.Without one flavor outweighing the other, it was a perfect balance of vanilla vs. chocolate. 
Individual cupcakes from Whole Foods are bigger than standard cupcakes so there's more to love which is great news for cupcake lovers. I've never had a cupcake from Whole Foods that I didn't like, in fact they're the best cupcakes from a grocery store bakery I've had making this a perfect little birthday treat for me.
Keep these pretty and yummy cupcakes in mind for birthday celebrations as a gift for someone else or for yourself!

cupcake from Whole Foods 
photo by Nikki DeMartini