Babycakes Downtown Disney

I have one final food-related post from my trip to Florida a few weeks ago.  As you recall, my friends and I sampled butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, then got our eat on raw and vegan-style at The Present Moment Cafe in St. Augustine.

Fast forward to our last day in Orlando.

Katie found out that Babycakes (yes, the vegan, gluten-free bakery in NYC and LA) has a location in Downtown Disney!  I didn’t even know what Downtown Disney was, but soon found out it was a place made up of tons of shops and restaurants.  We were having the hardest time finding Babycakes, so when I saw a lady toting a pink bakery box, I asked her where it was.  It turns out that it’s in this place called Fresh A-Peel which is basically a mini food court with healthier options.  We had walked past it a few times…go figure!

Even though their shop was more like a kiosk, they had plenty of treats to choose from!  In the left case, there were donuts, quick breads, and bites (brownie and apple-cranberry).  I was thisclose to getting a donut, but was lured in by the other side.

The right was full of all sorts of cute cupcakes and some sandwich cookies.  I’ve always associated this bakery with cupcakes (babycakes, eh?), so I felt like that was what I needed to try.   As for flavors, I thought about getting strawberry or lemon, but then I saw banana with chocolate frosting.

It was decided.

I really am a tough critic when it comes to purchased baked goods (especially cupcakes) because I feel like no matter what, homemade always tastes better. This little vegan, gluten-free cupcake beat the pants off of any butter-laden, glutinous cupcake I’ve had from any other bakery.  It was moist with a perfect texture, and not too sweet.  The frosting is what really won me over, though.  It was so smooth and almost had a pleasant chew to it that I’m not quite sure how to describe.  Also, it didn’t equal the size of the cupcake.  I hate when places do that.  Next time I’m at a book store, I’m going to have to check out their cookbook some more!

I don’t think I’m going to go vegan or gluten-free, but this trip really opened my eyes to foods that fit both diets!  Have any of you been to Babycakes or tried any of their recipes?