Cake Couture – Honolulu

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Considering the cupcake craze that has been sweeping the United States and even Europe in the last few years, it has taken me a while to get around to doing a post on a cupcake bakery. I love cupcakes for these reasons: they are pretty to look at, versatile, incredibly photogenic, and they have the big pro of being a whole cake in a guilt-free (almost) size. I am just not fond of frosting, especially buttercream. I find it too intense and a bit boring, and I can rarely handle much of it.

I love fresh whipped cream, however, and frostings made with that and mascarpone, but not buttercream. Not sure how that works, but we all have our little foibles, don’t we?

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It is therefore rare that I will swing by and pick up cupcakes for my own pleasure, though I will do it to bring them to a friend’s party or, apparently, for a blog post. On that day at Cake Couture I picked up four:  Cinnamon Toast, Pumpkin Spice, Chocolate Mocha and Red Velvet. I ate one, the Pumpkin Spice, as it was the one I cut into for photo styling, and you can’t exactly share it after that, can you? At least that is what I tell myself.

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Cake Couture has been taking care of Honolulu’s comfort cravings since 2007, even though Carmen Emerson-Bass, owner and talented cake designer and baker, has been whipping up goodies for years. The store on my route is located at the Aina Haina Shopping Center along the Kalaniana’ole Highway (I know, that is a mouthful to say, isn’t it?), but there is also one at Davies Pacific Center on Bishop Street, in Downtown Honolulu. The Aina Haina shop is small, but elegant with a touch of whimsy, which I love, and even though the display features only cupcakes, you can stop by to order celebration cakes, or beautiful and unique custom cupcakes for any event.

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The cupcakes at Cake Couture are always fresh, with nicely balanced and moist cake pods and smooth frostings. Or maybe I should just say that they are really, really, really good. The flavors offered vary depending on the day, and you can either let the daily assortment surprise you, or you can make sure to get your desired flavors by checking their menu and schedule. Just know that they usually sell out by the end of the day, so you do not want to be too late getting there.

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When I arrived home with my cupcakes, I was not quite sure how I was going to photograph them. In these types of situations, I usually go with the flow, and since I was very much in an autumn mood, I whipped out all my autumn props and included the Cake Couture box because it was just so pretty.

By the time I was done shooting, the frosting on the Pumpkin Spice cupcake was starting to look tired, which is why I set up a cut-in-and-show-the-inside shot. As you can see, it worked.

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Tell me, do you like cupcakes? If you do, what is it that you love about them? And which is (or are) your favorite(s)?
Or maybe you prefer other kinds of desserts… I am curious, so do tell!

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CAKE COUTURE

Aina Haina Shopping Center – 820 West Hind Drive #104, Honolulu, Hi   l   808-373-9750   l   map

Davies Pacific Center – 841 Bishop Street #151, Honolulu, Hi   l   808-585-9750   l   map

website   l   facebook   l   twitter

 

UPDATE of March 22 2023: Cake Couture has closed all their retail locations. However, their online shop is still open through their website. If you follow Carmen on her Instagram account @cakecouturehi she posts regularly when she is baking awesome goodies for sale. 

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And if you are looking for more good food while on O’ahu:

 

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