In review:
Davis Creamery
2191 Cowell Blvd.
Hours: Sunday through Thursday noon to 10 p.m., Friday through Saturday noon to 11 p.m.
Price: $$$ out of $$$$
Ambience: 2 stars
Food: 4 stars
Service: 4 stars
There is no way to describe the strange noise that came out of my mouth when I walked past the Davis Creamery a month ago and noticed a gourmet cupcake advertisement. This food combination was like if Disneyland had fused with Sea World – kind of random but still a really good idea.
The Davis Creamery makes and sells chocolate, vanilla, coffee, peppermint, chocolate mint, strawberry, salted caramel, cheesecake, cupcake and lemon custard ice cream on a regular basis. It’s currently offering three new fruit sorbet flavors, including Very Berry, Pomegranate Raspberry and Mango.
In true Davis style, the store also offers 100 percent organic banana and honey ice cream as well. I’m a simple gal and stick to the standard strawberry on my ice cream runs. Do not underestimate the basics though, because while I highly recommend the strawberry, good old fashioned chocolate and vanilla will not disappoint you either. Beyond the ice cream case is another glass display case that is just as colorful and tempting.
I saw rows of cupcakes that had chocolate frosting with caramel drizzled over top, while another row had cream cheese frosting with dark chocolate monkey faces pressed in the center. There were a total of nineteen different varieties offered, and I was determined to try every single one.
Davis Creamery receives these fresh baked cupcakes daily from the Sacramento based Cupcake Craving store. Cupcake Craving was started by three friends in Sacramento in 2007. According to their website, word of their product spread rapidly over the past two years enabling them to sell their cupcakes at three different locations.
The Davis Creamery is the most recent location added by Cupcake Craving, and has sold their product since February 2009.
Being a self-proclaimed cream cheese frosting fan, I evaluated those frosting options on my first trip. There was Red Velvet Rescue, Monkey Mania and two different carrot cake options among this category that I could see.
My decision came down between the 24K Craving and the 10K Craving cupcake, both carrot cake choices. An employee explained to me that the 24K had nuts and raisins, so I opted for the 10K and was not disappointed.
Actually, I became stuck in a rut and continued to get the 10K Craving my next two trips (because yes, I have been there more than three times now).
It was on my fourth trip that I decided to break out of my comfort zone and switch things up. I failed to veer away from the cream cheese frosting variety, but settled on Monkey Mania.
If the title sounds bizarre, that’s because it is. Monkey Mania is cream cheese frosting on top of banana cake which also happens to be filled with caramel. To top it off, there is a dark chocolate monkey face pressed into the frosting.
While I doubt anyone would be disappointed with Monkey Mania, I personally still hold a soft spot for the 10K.
Finally, on my most recent Davis Creamery stop I decided to take one for the chocoholics. Chocolate Fix, Black Forest and S’more Galore were all considerations but I finally settled on Caramel Comfort.
Caramel Comfort is caramel drizzled chocolate frosting, on top of caramel-filled chocolate cake. What bad can be said about that? I had no complaints, and would probably order it again … in addition to my 10K Craving.
Other options that looked interesting include the Champagne cupcake, the Italian Rum Delight and Koo-Koo for Macaroons. I imagine I will probably make my way through all of them eventually; the price I pay for living across the street.
In regards to the price of the cupcakes, the traditional Vanilla Bliss and Chocolate Fix cupcakes go for $2 a piece. The other varieties are sold at $2.50 each, and there are also sugar-free options for $3. In addition, there is the option of purchasing a dozen mini gourmet cupcakes for $15 or a standard sized dozen for $27.50.
All in all, I give the Davis Creamery a big frosting covered thumbs up for offering this new aspect to their store. The cupcake quality is great, the price affordable, and the product definitely upholds their motto of being “udderly delicious.“
AMANDA HARDWICK can be reached at features@theaggie.org.
