I spent most of my summer in Houston, Texas. From various business trips, family get togethers and spontaneous weekend getaways, summer 2015 was all about Houston! Even though I have spent a good chunk of my life in Houston, this summer I really wanted to explore many of the local eats and re-explore all the sights and sounds I have always loved.
For years I have heard nothing but good things about Crave Cupcakes and have always wanted to put this Houston favorite to the ultimate taste test… my taste buds! 🙂 So this summer, when I was staying near one of their three Houston area locations, I took the opportunity to try this hot little cupcake shop.
I had the chance to visit their newest location, The Woodlands, a few times over the summer and was smitten with this adorable, modern bakery and coffee shop. The staff was super friendly and courteous. I loved the amount of light that was shining through the big windows at the front of the store, the clear glass displays, antique mixers and the large, bright “COFFEE” marquee completed the shop. There is one long booth with number of tables (with outlets below), outdoor seating and high top counters.
The Woodlands location not only serves an assortment of Crave cupcakes (traditional and mini) and coffee drinks, but this location also serves assorted baked goods and breakfast items (like muffins, scones, etc.). All locations offer a daily rotating cupcake menu, which consists not only of classics like Red Velvet, Chocolate and Vanilla, but specialty cupcakes like Gluten Free Chocolate, Vegan Red Velvet and Sugar Free Vanilla and seasonal cupcakes like Peach Cobbler and PB&J.
And let me tell you, these cupcakes were worth the hype!! They are baked fresh multiple times a day (even saw several bakers working feverishly spreading and piping and delicately placing toppings every time we went), use premium ingredients and are made without preservatives or hydrogenated oils. These cupcakes were moist and flavorful (even the ones we took to go and enjoyed over a few days) and the thick layer of frosting was the perfect finishing layer of sweet (but not overly sweet) flavor to sink your teeth into. Oh, and then there are the adorable hand crafted toppers and complimenting garnishes.
We enjoyed the traditional Red Velvet (traditional Texas red cocoa cake with sweet cream cheese frosting), Strawberry (strawberry cake studded with fresh strawberries and topped with a fresh strawberry frosting), Banana (banana cake with sweet cream cheese frosting and walnut topping), and Peach Cobbler (peach cobbler filling in a vanilla cupcake with a cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla frosting and a hand crafted peach flavored fondant shaped peach). My favorites, hand down, were the Peach Cobbler (pure genius I tell you!) and Strawberry. If we ever get a chance to visit again, I hope to try some of the breakfast items and Hummingbird, German Chocolate and Dulce de Leche cupcakes! (Maybe a shipment is in order??)
My only disappointments was that the frappe I ordered was a just a tiny bit too sweet (well at least paired with the cupcake, maybe just milk or a cappuccino next time and the frappe on it’s own?) for my liking (not that didn’t keep me from drinking the whole thing). And one of the days we went almost two hours before closing and the cupcakes were pretty picked over, only a few traditional flavors left and just a handful of cupcakes per flavor. I guess you have to get there early enough or special order the cupcakes in advance to secure your desired flavor.
Locations:
Houston:
1151-06 Uptown Park Blvd.
Houston, TX 77056
5600 Kirby Drive
Houston, TX 77005
Houston Store Hours:
Monday – Friday 8AM – 8PM
Saturday 9AM – 8PM
Sunday 10AM – 7PM
The Woodlands
2501 Research Forest Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77381
The Woodlands Store Hours:
Monday – Friday 6:30AM – 8PM
Saturday and Sunday 7AM – 8PM
Phone (for all locations): 1-713-62-CRAVE (27283)
For more information, visit Crave Cupcakes online, like them on Facebook and follow on Twitter.
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