Red Velvet Cupcake at Toast Bakery

I faced a sugary onslaught of red velvet cupcakes this week, from my office birthday treat (Goddess and Grocer, holla!) to this awesome RVC transported to Chicago by hand from Los Angeles-based Toast Bakery and Cafe. My friend Daphne, who’s constantly jet-setting between LA and Chicago, insisted I try one from the bustling cafe/bakery and kindly included me on the list of friends who get in on the stash she brings back to the Windy City after each trip. Four-hours at 35,000 feet and one and half days later, the RVC was still delicious with a cream cheese frosting that leaned more towards buttercream-sweet, and balanced perfectly with the moist, dense cake topped what I think were red velvet cake crumbs (the bakery does a red velvet cake that sells out daily and a blue velvet cupcake!). Neatly packed in a Chinese take-out box, it made it back with hardly a dent, thick generous spread of sweet frosting still in tact. From Cleveland’s A Cookie and a Cupcake to the RVC at the Milwaukee Public Market, hit me up if there’s another RVC anyone’s experienced in Chicago or beyond. Toast Bakery and Cafe, 8221 W. Third Street, Los Angeles, 323.655.5018