the first time i tried it was at Harrods; i figured i'd buy 2 mini-cupcakes and then decide if it's worth getting a bigger one next time. i purchased a red velvet cupcake and a banana cupcake, which turned out unsuccessful because they gave me a vanilla one instead :(
they package it in a little container for you, and let's just say small container + crazy tube ride = smushed cupcakes.
i went for the red velvet cupcake first; the frosting was absolutely delish - so good that i licked the container (don't judge me! haha).
the actual cake was...rather dry, actually. i'll cut them some slack, since it was 3 pm when i bought it, and it IS a mini cupcake. if you eat it with the frosting, it's better, though at £1.10 per cupcake i would expect more from them.
the second one looked so pretty! there were sparkles all over the top, and it had a nice star.
i took my first bite and realized that it wasn't even the right cupcake! it was a boring vanilla instead of my coveted banana.. the frosting was very, very boring - simple sugary stuff that i just scraped off and threw away. the cake was also something that i could've just baked easily at home. i'm assuming i paid for the presentation because i can't see why anyone would buy a vanilla cupcake like this one..
anyway. it took all but 2 days before i was back for more! i went to the Selfridges one on friday, and chose a normal sized banana cupcake (£2.25) and hoped for the best.
this time, it came in a nice little box & a proper cupcake stand inside, so i figured it'd make it home in good condition...nope.
the banana cupcake also has cream cheese frosting on it, so i knew i wasn't going to be disappointed. however, the actual cake part was amazing this time! soft, but not oily, and even better with the frosting.
10 minutes later, i was already contemplating which ones i'll be trying the next time i go .. i'm thinking it's a tie between peanut butter and coconut. they have a huge variety of different flavors that you can try, from coffee to rocky road, and creative ones like oreo too!
either way, i've learned my lesson: enunciate when you're ordering, and don't get the mini ones unless you think you won't like it much (in that case, why would you even bother ordering it?) because it won't be as satisfying or well made as the bigger ones.
they also make cupcake cakes - it's pretty amusing (: they're quite nice to look at, but i don't see myself ordering one anytime soon. even though i like their cream cheese frosting, i think a kg of that stuff would be a bit too much.
LOLA's Cupcakes
Harrods Ltd, Patisserie Counter
87-135 Brompton Road, SW1X 7XL
LOLA's Cupcake Bar
Selfridges Foodhall
400 Oxford Street, W1C 2BU
