Kara's Cupcakes and Sift Cupcake and Dessert Bar

For one of our family trips this year we traveled to Northern California. We drove to San Francisco and spent a couple of days, then headed north up the coast to Eureka and toured Redwood National Forest, and then we went to Napa to spend the last couple of days. It was such an amazing trip. During our travels I was lucky enough to visit two cupcakeries that have both made appearances on Cupcake Wars - Kara's Cupcakes and Sift Cupcake and Dessert Bar. 

First cupcake stop - Kara's Cupcakes. They have six locations in California with two of those locations in the heart of San Francisco. We went to the Marina location (inside of store shown above). It was a small store with a beautiful display of cupcakes. I was so excited to try them because I had heard so many good things about them. To put it simply, they were delicious. Very moist cake, rich flavors, and perfect frosting. My favorite was the Raspberry Dazzle. I will definitely visit again.

 Kara's Cupcakes

Second cupcake stop - Sift Cupcake and Dessert Bar. They were winners on Cupcake Wars and ever since their appearance I have been excited to visit.  They are located in the heart of the wine country (Napa Valley). Again, the cupcakes did not disappoint. They were delicious. Especially the Almond Cupcake with Blueberry Tequila Filling (click for recipe). The Acai Berry Cream Cheese frosting was one of the best tasting frostings I have ever had. I seriously could eat it out of a bowl with a spoon. Also, when I bought the cupcake I didn't really know (or remember) that the center was a tequila filling. I bit into the cupcake and it was definitely the taste of tequila. It just caught me a little off guard and actually made me feel a little warm inside - like how you feel after taking a shot. I will definitely want to visit them again as well.

If you would like other recipes from Sift on Cupcake Wars, click here.

Sift Cupcake and Dessert Bar

Georgetown Cupcake on Dr. Oz

Photo from www.doctoroz.com

Did you happen to catch Katherine and Sophie from Georgetown Cupcake on Dr. Oz? They shared their recipe for Georgetown Cupcake 50-Calorie Mini Carrot Cupcakes (click for the recipe). They are delicious and healthy mini cupcakes with a low-fat cream cheese frosting. Also, the DC Cupcake sisters announced that you can enter in a contest on Dr. Oz's website to win a trip to Washington DC for a personal baking lesson with them. To enter, click here.

For another healthy cupcake recipe by Georgetown Cupcake, click here.