Cupcake Quest: Cake & Shake (NYC)

This is the third in a series of posts from a weekend trip to NYC. You can read the first post here (a general overview) and the second post here (a review of a small chain of Thai restaurants). The remaining posts will go up over the next several days.

Also, this post is part of the Cupcake Quest series on Fork it over, Boston!

As I planned out the weekend, it was a given that I'd have to embark on a quest to at least one cupcake place. (As it turns out, I tried three! Stay tuned for the other posts to go up over the next few days.) 

Due to my recent fascination with food trucks, I was hoping to check out Cupcake Stop, the first cupcake truck to turn up in my Google search. It frequents a Soho location convenient to Kim's apartment, so it seemed like a good choice. Well, circumstances prohibited us from getting over there, so instead, we decided to head to the (in)famous Magnolia Bakery, which is painfully adorable. More on that tomorrow.

As we walked along the edge of Washington Square en route to Magnolia, we saw something in the distance: an intriguing pastel blue truck. Could it be an ice cream truck? Maybe, but they're usually bright white and blasting obnoxious music. We got closer and read the logo: Cake & Shake! Yes! We decided to split a cupcake here and another at Magnolia so we could each try both without eating two cupcakes per person. There was a lot more eating to be done over the weekend.

A cupcake truck is the best thing to stumble upon.

We perused the daily flavors, marveled at the "cupcake for two" that looked like it was on steroids, and decided on Cup o' Joe. (Kim really likes coffee.) Why was the girl who was working in the truck so grumpy? Smile! You're surrounded by cupcakes! (Maybe she's not allowed to eat the cupcakes, guessed Kim.)

Cup o' Joe: Chocolate cake, dark chocolate mousse, chocolate mocha butter cream, bittersweet chocolate shavings

We grabbed a bench in Washington Square, enjoyed some great people-watching, and quickly devoured Joe. Deliciously creamy frosting. Spongy moist cake. Mocha nirvana.

The Verdict: This is a cupcake truck worth chasing. I'm guessing the shakes are delicious as well. Bonus: Cake & Shake bakes with organic milk, sugar, flour, and eggs, and all packaging is biodegradable and compostable. Follow Cake & Shake on Twitter to keep an eye on when and where to find the truck.

My NYC weekend miniseries continues with Part IV: Cupcake Quest - Magnolia Bakery, or you can jump ahead to Part V: Tio Pepe - A Taste of Spain and Mexico in the West Village or Part VI: A Farmers' Market on Wheels.