Cupcakes Across America! The Cupcake Tree Santa Clarita, CA

And let's go back to California shall we?  Am I ever in the same time zone for more than a week at a time?  Well no - apparently not.  This trip back to CA was all over the place.  An hour before I had to go to my client's site, I found myself in Santa Clarita.  A quick google search on the iPhone found me The Cupcake Tree, and unassuming small cupcakery in a strip mall.  So often, I find myself in fancy schmancy places that if there's not a doorman saying hello, I'm prone to raising an eyebrown.  I'm judgemental - it's part of my charm.  And it assists in my snarkiness.   So when I see a tiny little shop with a nothing-fancy sign, I get a little worried.

Since I was there sortof near Easter, I was greeted by this cute little Peep cake:

And then I noticed their adorable cakepop selection:

And then finally, I notice their good selection of cupcakes:

They looked pretty good and there was a decent selection for what looked like a very small shop.  They had the standards:  Vanilla with vanilla buttercream which they cutely call "the blond" and red velvet with cream cheese frosting which they call "the southerner".  So cute names - I get it.  And a few other interesting flavors:  Vanilla Root Beer - vanilla cake with root beer buttercream,  Sweetart - a lemon cake with a lime frosting.  Then I noticed one called "Samoa".  Wait - like the girl scout cookies?  Turns out - YEAH!  This cupcake was amazing.  A coconut "infused" cake with caramel in the middle, topped with chocolate buttercream, caramel drizzle and a few coconut flakes.  This tasted JUST LIKE the famous and somewhat dangerous cookie.  And the cake was sooo moist and delicious.  And the balance between cupcake and frosting was perfect. 

So the lesson here is don't let a strip mall small shop turn you off.  This was one of the best cupcakes I've had.  Not an original flavor combination but done so well that you don't even mind. 

One other note about this shop - their website has a link they call "SVC Supporter".  A click on this link brings you to a page where they explain that they support the business of the Valley of Santa Clarita, using local businesses to help support the community.  And even playing music from local musicians.  What this shop lacks in size, they make up for in quality and class.  Get thee to Santa Clarita for the Cupcake Tree.