Sweet Avenue Bakeshop Cupcakes

Sweet Avenue Raspberry Swirl and Mocha Madness Cupcakes

RATING:YYYYY(5 out of 5 hearts!)

This place shares the name with my favorite Jets to Brazil song, so I knew that I would love it before I arrived. Located among victorian houses in the quaint town of Rutherford, New Jersey, Sweet Avenue bakeshop is one of the cutest places I have ever stepped in. Much of the store is pink and a case full of beautiful, colorful cupcakes are the first thing one sees when one walks in. Since it is close to Easter there is a domokun dressed in a bunny costume on top of the register... it's adorable.

What's interesting is that they don't sell themselves as a vegan place. There isn't a huge sign on the outside saying "HEY VEGAN HERE". It's more like, "AWESOME CUPCAKES HERE"... and oh, they happen to be vegan.

So this place has a rotating menu with different cupcakes each day and new ones on the spur of the moment. For example, they had Spumoni cupcakes last Friday that was available for the day. In addition they have a cupcake of the month, for April it is Cotton Candy. It's really fun to be surprised like that and for there to be such variety in the menu.

Here's what I tried:

Raspberry Swirl, which is a chocolate cake with raspberry frosting filled with Raspberry Preserves. This would be perfect so someone who likes very sweet cupcakes because it is super sugary.

Mocha Madness, which is a chocolate cake with mocha frosting topped with a chocolate covered espresso bean. OMG it was heaven. I love coffee flavored things so it might be biased but it was a strong, rich taste.

Cinnamon Sticky Bun, which is a cinnamon cake with a creamy glaze. This was my favorite. It tasted like a cinnamon sticky bun - need I say more!

Lavender Lemon, is a lemon cake filled with lemon curd and topped with lavender frosting (and flowers too!). It tasted like lavendar flowers! It was kind of weird at first but still really good. I liked the lemon curd in the middle.

Lemon Raspberry, is a lemon cake filled with raspberry preserves topped with lemon frosting and a raspberry. This one was also sweet but not overpowering. I loved the lemon flavor.

Snowball, is a chocolate cake topped with coconut frosting and shredded coconut. I love me some shredded coconut so this "classic" cupcake on the menu was very enjoyable.

The most amazing thing about these cupcakes is that the frosting does not melt!! This is the best vegan frosting I have ever had. I am in awe of it's consistency. It's what frosting should be - whipped, creamy yet hardened on the outside, and super sugary. I didn't have to refrigerate these! I put them on my kitchen counter and the frosting stayed exactly the same! This makes me so happy.

The second most amazing thing is the cake itself - it's moist and light and fluffy! sigh... I want more.

These cupcakes were so good. It makes me sad that I can't try a different one every day. If I lived in Jersey I would be there all the time. I guess I'll have to make it a trip I reward myself with. Sweet Avenue - distribute in New York City!!