The popular new trends for your sweet tastebuds are cupcakes, just a few bites of sweetness to satisfy your sweet tooth. On a diet? You can have your cake and eat it too—sooth your guilt by having a cupcake in lieu of sitting down to a whole cake or a really large slice of cake.

There are two new bakeries in town if you don’t feel inclined to bake your own. I paid a visit to Sara Sara Cupcakes and Cuppies & Joe to see what the buzz was about. My daughter Mandy visited Sara Sara Cupcakes with me. This business was started in memory of Sara Branson who enjoyed baking cupcakes with her aunt and died at age 18, two years ago.

On the day we visited there were some patrons enjoying their cupcakes out on the front porch, but there is plenty of indoor seating to be found. They were out of the bacon, egg, and cheese cupcake and the tomato basil cupcake (which sounds more like muffins than cupcakes to me), but those might be nice breakfast options for those who favor the savory.

Even though Mandy is 21, she was excited to pick some flavors with wide eyes and anticipation, proving the rule that there is a young child in all of us. We chose to take our treats to go, bringing them home to share with my husband Joe.

We chose a crimson and cream, of course, (a red velvet cake with white cream icing), chocolate (chocolate brownie-like cake with chocolate icing), cherries jubilee (white cake and buttercream frosting topped with brandied cherries), and the Judge Joe Cannon (banana cupcake with butter cream frosting and a snickers bar chunk on top).

Mandy and I agreed the crimson and cream was good but we thought that the others were somewhat dry and bland. The chocolate did not have a strong chocolate flavor and Joe couldn’t find the banana in the Judge Joe Cannon.

We tried to go to Cuppies & Joe the same day but they were closed. Before you set out in your car, you may want to double check the hours. I tried again with my cousin Dani who has been several times. Cuppies is closed Sunday and Monday and opens at noon.

Cuppies & Joe is a cute, refurbished house offering a variety of areas to sit and enjoy your sweets, one being the main room with a leather sofa and fireplace, very cozy to curl up and visit over your coffee.

The varieties can vary during the day. Sadly, they did not offer the Sass-a-frass (red velvet cuppie with buttercream) so that I could compare but Dani has had it on a previous visit and declared it yummy. We did try several from their menu: the Vanilla Sky, Ebony & Ivory, Bangarang, the Don, Neverland, Mary Poppins (who could resist a name like that), the Huxtable, and Sunrise Sunset.

The Huxtable (chocolate cuppie with chocolate buttercream, caramel, and heath candy) was rather sweet for me. The Bangarang (chocolate cuppie with mocha icing) was excellent; the icing had a nice hint of coffee. The Neverland is a peanut butter cupcake w/chocolate glaze and a Hershey kiss hiding inside. They warm it for 10 seconds when they serve it to soften the kiss. What a tasty combination.

This is a good time to get the family and make a trip for a sweet treat or treat Dad to dessert for Father’s Day.

2 of 4 forks
Sara Sara Cupcakes
7 NW 9th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
405-600-9494
Hours: Monday-Friday: 7:30am-10pm; Saturday: 9am-10pm; Sunday: 11am-6pm
Prices: $3.25 each or $36 per dozen

4 of 4 forks
Cuppies & Joes
727 NW 23rd Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73103
405-528-2122
Hours: Tuesday-Thursday: noon-9pm, Friday-Saturday: noon-11pm             
Prices: $2 each or $22 per dozen