Utah Loves Cupcakes

Editor’s note: Let’s give a warm welcome for a very special guest author, Chef Whitney Olsen. Whitney hails from Logan, Utah. I met her via Facebook when I was perousing the Facebook page she runs, Logan Foodies. As much as I’d like, I can’t make it up to every opening of each Utah cupcakery. So I’m especially happy to hear Whitney’s thoughts about Logan’s first cupcake bakery, Temptation Cupcake. Thanks, Whitney!

Decadent Temptations
A review of Logan, Utah’s Temptation Cupcake

My husband and I were some of the first customers to dash into Temptation Cupcake for their grand opening. It wasn’t just coincidence that we were there that day—we’d been stopping by their location every day for the previous two weeks, waiting for cupcakes to appear. We watched the counters with their clever (and cute) cupcake boxes go in, then the charming pink and brown tables, and a squashy brown couch. And then, at long last, Temptation Cupcake was open.

All cupcakes are not created equal. We’d had cupcakes from bakeries across the Wasatch Front, and we had high hopes for the one in Logan, where we live. We were not disappointed. We bought four cupcakes that first day: blueberry pie, cookies and cream, and two red velvet, (our wedding cake was red velvet). We started with the crimson-colored ones and each took a bite. We were in big trouble—this was good.

The pièces de résistance: Temptation cupcakes

Temptation Cupcake’s cake is moist and dense, but still fluffy, like the essence of an entire cake sits in the palm of your hand, like they have baked every ounce of cupcake that could possibly fit in their chocolate-brown paper baking cups. And instead of falling apart into tragic pieces when I take a bite, a Temptation cupcake drops just a crumb or two, as though to say, “Honestly? Come on, take a real bite!” The bakery often offers filled cupcakes, too, and the fillings only make the cake even more delightful. A smudge of raspberry filling, or key lime pie, or Bismark custard in every bite is a transcendent dessert experience.

And that’s just the cake. Temptation Cupcake’s frosting is a singular creation, whether in buttercream, cream cheese, or whipped cream. Temptation Cupcake’s frosting is fluffy. There is no other word for it. Piped into smooth spirals atop every cupcake, Temptation’s frosting is a whipped, airy confection—just the right amount of density, just the right amount of air.

The spot

So they make a remarkable cupcake. What about the location? Temptation Cupcake is nestled in a small strip mall at 1010 North Main Street and has plenty of parking. Walking inside, a stylish, contemporary divider guides customers towards the counters surrounded by glass panes. Behind the glass, about a half-dozen bubblegum-pink bins organize cupcakes by flavor. Their chic wood floors and use of contrast (whites, pinks, and dark browns) throughout the establishment is attractive, and yet not too girly for the guys to stop in. Temptation Cupcake’s front of house is contemporary, cute, and cozy. There is a toy table for parents stopping in with children.

Temptation Cupcake is owned and operated by a husband and wife duo, Derek and Taylor. Their two darling little boys are often at the bakery, rolling toy trucks across the floor in the play area, or helping to ring customers up. The cupcakes are creations by Derek, who Taylor says has a talent for cooking (Temptation Cupcake customers agree!), and who is the official cook in their household. (Though Taylor says she makes mean lasagna and tacos.) Derek bakes, and Taylor manages the storefront. Taylor knows her “regulars,” often by name, and can always tell customers which cupcakes are the regulars’ favorites. And boy, does she know her cupcakes. Every customer is treated to a full presentation of the flavors for that day—I feel like an honored guest at their decadent banquet every time I go in.

The menu

Every day, Temptation Cupcake serves…
Vanilla Squared (vanilla cake/vanilla buttercream)
Chocolate Squared (chocolate cake/chocolate buttercream)
Black ‘n’ White (chocolate cake/vanilla buttercream)
White ‘n’ Black (vanilla cake/chocolate buttercream)
Coconut (light coconut or chocolate cake/coconut buttercream/shredded coconut)
Red Velvet (light chocolate cake/cream cheese frosting/tiny candy heart)
Chocolate Ganache (chocolate cake/chocolate ganache)
and the brand-new Signature (vanilla or chocolate cake/cream cheese frosting/silver baubles and mini chocolate chips)

Past flavors include peach cobbler, s’more, blueberry pie, pina colada, cookies ‘n’ cream, key lime, candy bar, Bismark, (chocolate) peanut butter, raspberry cream, strawberry shortcake, cherry pie, chocolate mint, strawberry lemonade, and more! They also bake up great sugar cookies, and, if you’re lucky when you stop in, Cakesters, super-moist cylinders of cake dipped in Temptation’s signature chocolate ganache.

Temptation Cupcake is a decadent, lovely place to be, and has all the things a good establishment needs—fabulous ambiance, service, prices, food, and location. Don’t miss it on your next trip to Cache Valley, or better yet, make a trip up just for that tempting cake and fluffy frosting.

–M. Whitney Olsen, chef and instructor
Logan Foodies (Click here for Logan Foodies’ Facebook page)

About Whitney:
Whitney Olsen received her culinary degree from Johnson and Wales University in  2007, and works in the food industry as a research and development chef for a corporation headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is an instructor of English at Utah State University, and is working on her PhD in instructional technology and learning sciences. Her culinary passions include Chilean, Salvadoran, Italian, Thai, Chinese foods, and desserts (cupcakes included, of course), and her other loves are her husband, family, teaching, cooking, writing, camping, and traveling. She can be reached at whitney{dot}olsen{at}usu{dot}edu.