Today I Wanted to Slap the Sh*t Outta My Mama

I know that a lot of y'all are foodies and have very diverse tastes so I'm sure I'll get a multitude of different answers to this question:

Have you ever, in your life, tasted a cake that was so unexpectedly decadent, so rich and moist, so heavenly that it seriously made you think 2 or 3 times about doing a seek-n-find mission to find yo' mama and slap the f*ck outta her for not making cake this good? Well, up until Wednesday, i hadn't either.
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Anyway, so the other day I'm strolling through Regency Mall when I wander through the food court. Since I haven't lived in Richmond in forever, I had no idea how it had changed. There's a little shop right beside Baskin Robbins that had some cute little cupcakes on display. Now, initially, i won't lie: i was looking for ice cream and just happened to run up on this bake shop first. I was NOT looking for cupcakes that day. In fact, I think I'm the only person, especially in DC, who never really got on the cupcake bandwagon. I just never saw what the big deal was.

On top of the display case was a picture I'd seen before:

Poised on the cover of Life & Style magazine with Niecy Nash is one of my childhood classmates, Raina (Taylor) Washington, owner of Sweet Kakes & Co, a 5 star custom cake boutique. I hadn't seen Raina since high school so I had no idea she had a bakery. I knew she'd gotten into cake making and decorating but I had no idea she'd blown up as a baker! I had to try one. 

The display case at this darling little bake shop was filled with beautifully decorated cupcakes in all colors and flavors but what jumped out at me first was the Strawberry on Strawberry cakes:

They were so pretty in the case but the idea of all that strawberry was a bit intimidating, so I went for something a bit more simple: Vanilla with white butter cream frosting and candy sprinkles.

Yeah, it sounds plain and boring but HUNNNY! When I TELL YOU that I bit into that little pocket of confection divinity, I stumbled for about 2 steps, looked around wild-eyed like I'd just been hit in the back of the head with a flash light, and promptly took the first seat I could find. Before I bit into it, my plan had been to enjoy my cupcake while wandering through the mall aimlessly since i had time to kill. I won't lie: I wasn't expecting much. to me, it was just another cupcake. Uhhh, ACTUALLY, NO ma'am. I parked it right in front of Charlotte Russe and proceeded to devour the entire thing in about 3.7 seconds. Towards the end of it, it began to morph into an ooey gooey combination of moist deliciousness that melted in my hands and had me licking all down between my fingers, smearing frosting all up onto my cheek. *smh* It was a happy, happy mess in the middle of the damn mall. I think my eyes rolled back in my head, my nostrils flared, and I was breathing a lot heavier than I was supposed to.

Oh, it was absolutely that serious. 

I *think* I saw Raina's mom in the back, baking, while paying at the cash register so the first thought I had IMMEDIATELY after was "damn, this cupcake makes me wanna slap my mama!" was 'Man, now I wanna slap HER damn mama! Did she make this??!!" (Raina, if you're reading this, I'm TOTALLY kidding!!!! LOL! You know I luvvvv yo mama! *Don't tell her I said that though. No, really. I'm serious. Don't tell her.*) I don't even really know if it was her mom I saw, I just know it was someone who looks just like Raina...and this lady did.

Run--DON'T WALK--to her website (www.sweetkakesandcompany.com) the next time you, yo' mama, yo' bestie's mama, my mama, or Jim Jones' mama needs a cake for anything. Wedding cakes, birthday cakes, cupcakes, cake pops, 'I just broke up with my raggedy boyfriend/girlfriend' cupcakes, 'I just got a new job in this recession' sheet cake...well, you get it. It's all sortsa fabulous deliciousness. She specializes in custom cakes a la The Cake Boss (no, really,  on her FB page there's a nurse's uniform cake) so I promise y'all, she's the real deal.

Congratulations Raina my dear, I wish you much continued success! I don't know what kinda crack cocaine you put into your cake, but I gotta stay away! It's gonna be a struggle, but I'ma have to. If I get addicted to your cupcakes, any remnants of this sexy voluptuousness I call my body is gonna pay the ultimate price! Cupcake belly is NOT a good look for my annual spring trip to Miami!


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