Guest Post: My Delight Cupcakery Review

Today's Guest Post is brought to you by my friend and fellow blogger, Liliana Plemons! We've known each other since high school and recently reconnected to run our website, Chronicles of a Foodie! She's a fellow foodie and was my guest at Cupcake Challenge LA back in February. We recently interviewed My Delight Cupcakery on here on CTTC but here is Lili's review on My Delight Cupcakery's treats! Her original post can be found on our website here.

When I picked up this mini cupcake from my box, I took a moment to appreciate the beauty and simplicity that went into designing a dessert that lived up to its flavor. The picture I took mostly captured the frosting and toppings, which in my opinion made My Delight one of my top three picks for best bakery.

The first bite wasn’t even about the red velvet; it was the frosting that highlighted the whole flavor experience and party in my mouth! The frosting had the classic cream cheese taste but was swirled with visible little black dots that came from the fresh vanilla bean the bakers used. However, what really captured the cheesecake-like theme were the crunchy golden graham cracker crumbs that covered the entire surface of the creamy and decadent frosting. These elements alone would have sold me and given me enough reason to decide that this cupcake was glorious and the brilliant artists behind it deserved praise, but the awe wasn’t over yet. There was a middle ingredient I wasn’t aware of at first, between the frosting and the red velvet cake. They had been glued them together with a slightly tart raspberry jam that oozed out from under the frosting after each bite. The fruit with the vanilla and the cocoa from the cake was the trifecta that all cupcakes should strive to achieve. 

On a side note, I hope this wasn’t too biased of me but a few days after the LA Cupcake Challenge I discovered that My Delight had a food truck and they were going to be in my area. I thought it would be well worth it travel to them and try out some of their other flavors in full-sized form, and man was I glad I did.

Pictured above from left to right are the vegan cookies and cream, the snickerdoodle, and finally their flavor of the week the chocolate covered strawberry. Unfortunately the snickerdoodle flavor was not for me so I have no input on it other than its appearance made my mouth water. Anyways, as I’ve said in my ‘about me’ section of this blog, I will try anything vegan if it is available on the menu because I’m curious to see how vegan recipes can evolve and how creative chefs can get with them. This vegan dessert was outstanding and by no means did it shine any less in flavor compared to their dairy-filled options. It was creamy, light and crunchy and the frosting was an exact replication of the cream filling in a Nabisco Oreo. I was impressed and now have a whole new level of respect for their craft but that wasn’t the star of my night. The chocolate covered strawberry cupcake was fantastic and damn near evil. The chocolate cake and strawberry frosting met my high expectations of indulgent flavor, but the surprise was the fresh strawberries that hid so neatly and unexpectedly in the middle of the cake. Everything was a combination of juicy, soft and a little bit messy but I’m sold on these bakers and their ideas and in the future I will be going out of my way to stalk their truck when it drives through my town.

Interview: My Delight Cupcakery

Can you please tell me a little about yourselves?

Melinda Moreno, age: 50, co-owner of My Delight Cupcakery, administrative assistant for Praise Chapel Ontario; hobbies- spending time with family, hiking with my dogs. (right in photo)

Naomi Moreno, age: 30, co-owner of My Delight Cupcakery, Executive Pastry Chef. Hobbies: experiencing new and authentic cuisine, creating and enjoying art of all kinds. (left in photo)

What inspired your love of cupcakes?
Naomi: I’ve always had a passion for cooking and baking along with a creative eye. I started out with an easy bake oven, followed by the oven in my mom’s kitchen, and then the professional type at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts school. Before I had my own business, I made hundreds of custom cakes for family, friends, and friends of friends. I enjoyed experimenting with different flavor creations as well as making the cake visually beautiful. However, these cakes are very time consuming and limit a baker to pleasing one customer (or group) at a time. Cupcakes offered me a way to continue being inventive with flavors and artistic in their presentation, but with the added ability to share my creations with thousands of people each week.

How did your company begin? (catering, home kitchen, storefront)
Naomi: Like mentioned above, I began by baking cakes for family parties, then friends started to ask for their special occasions. Once I went to culinary school,  I knew I wanted to open my own cupcakery. When we began looking into opening a storefront, there were no cupcake-only bakeries in the Inland Empire and we knew the people needed one! It was not smooth sailing, but with the help of family and friends, we were able to open our doors to a group of enthusiasts lined up around the building on December 5, 2009.

Dulce De Leche 

What fuels your creativity for such unique flavor combinations?
Naomi:  I am constantly trying new foods.  I like to go out and experience current trendy foods.

I attended the LA Cupcake Challenge and your raspberry red velvet cheesecake cupcake was one of the greatest things I have ever tasted in my life! How did you feel about winning best bakery for the 3^rd year in a row?
Thank you! That’s flattering, especially coming from someone who has tried a lot of great cupcakes!
Winning LA Cupcake Challenge this year  was a huge honor! Since this year they did away with the “most original” “best traditional” and “best overall” categories and instead just did a “Best Bakery,” we knew it would be a harder win... an all or nothing set up. There were a lot of unique flavors this year, so we weren’t sure how it would go, but thankfully our 2 flavors stood out enough to grab the votes. Winning once is exciting, but winning three years in a row is just amazing! We’re just so thankful for all the love & support the public has shown us.

Red Velvet Raspberry Cheesecake @ Cupcake Challenge LA 2012 

What has winning at all these different Cupcake Events done for your bakery?
Winning these different cupcake events has helped grow our fan base, and also affirmed that we are doing something right! There is always the pressure to cut corners to cut costs, but we refuse to sacrifice quality. We only use the highest quality, REAL ingredients and we only sell cupcakes baked fresh that morning. It’s a difference you can taste, and the public has confirmed that by voting us #1 in every contest we have entered.

I went to your bakery a couple weeks ago to grab a cupcake on my lunch break and the line was out the door and in the parking lot! Is that the daily norm at the shop?
Yes, more often than not. Of course, there are lulls now and then, but business is steady most of the day and at times it goes from steady to crazy in the blink of an eye. When we have special menus (like for holidays) we definitely see an influx of customers coming in.

Thin Mint & Breakfast Cake

After successfully building such a fantastic bakery, what advice would you give new small business owners that you wish someone would have given to you?
Melinda: Be prepared for delays and whatever you think the cost will be, double it!  
Naomi: Follow your bliss! If you’re passionate about what you do, the trials are worth it.
What is your personal favorite cupcake flavor to eat and what is your favorite to make?
Naomi:  Eat - Pistachio; Make - Coconut Lemon

What is your favorite thing about cupcakes?
Their endless flavor possibilities!

My Delight Cupcakery
1520 N. Mountain Avenue
Ontario, CA

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