Frost Me Gourmet Cupcakes is the newest cupcake shop to pop up in San Diego. I was recently invited to go down to Seaport Village and check out the new shop and stuff my face with cupcakes. Was I up to the task? OH YEAH!
The shop is owned by Audrey Hermes and her boyfriend Jon, who were incredibly welcoming and friendly. They’ve been on Cupcake Wars twice! The first time they didn’t win but the second time they took home the prize!
When you enter Frost Me Gourmet Cupcakes (which is just around the corner from Ben & Jerry’s, next to the carousel) you immediately get a “boutique” feel to the shop. It feels like you’re in a display kitchen in one of those brand new model homes. It’s gorgeous and pristine with the drop crystal mini chandelier lights, the big display of fresh flowers and the other chic little touches.
The cupcakes each have their own unique display stand with cute little mini frames describing what each cupcake is. Each one looks like a fancy window display. Should I be touching anything in here?
In the back of the shop is this really creative and cute setup for the milks and sugars for your coffee. Not only do they offer the prettiest cupcakes, but they also offer fancy coffee (Mostra!).
And also: they make cold brew! HELL YEAH! Look at this crazy fancy very tall cold brew extractor set up! It looks like a science experiment!
Naturally I had to try it. I had it with a little milk and a little bit of sugar and it was extremely delicious. It also tasted good in contrast to the cupcakes.
Audrey put together a pretty box of cupcakes for Jake, T and I to sample. I love that the boxes they use have the clear top so you can actually see the pretty cupcakes.
[vanilla bean mousse]
This is a vanilla bean cake. I forgot to take an “innards” photo but there is also vanilla mousse inside the cupcake and it’s topped with vanilla bean buttercream and a little filo chip. I love that you can see the specks of vanilla bean in the frosting! The cake was good and had a nice crumb. The mousse filling was delicious and a nice addition to a “plain old” vanilla cupcake. The buttercream was also excellent – not too sweet and it had that decadent butter flavor in the background.
[toasted coconut]
Coconut! This cupcake is all happy and tropical with coconut infused throughout it. I liked the toasty semi-crunchy coconut flakes on the outside. The cake has coconut flavor and so does the frosting – but it’s not overwhelming, if that makes any sense. It’s a nice balance of coconut flavor.
[caramel cashew]
This is one of the cupcakes that they created for their win on Cupcake Wars. The cake is a caramel orange zest cake with a caramel frosting that’s topped with a little orange zest and plenty of roasted cashews. The orange is subtle but really pops and makes the other flavors shine with that hint of citrus. I loved the cashews on this, making for a crunchy bite! Really yummy cupcake!
[vanilla chai]
The vanilla chai smells heavenly before you even take a bite. The cake has chai flavoring and it’s topped with chai flavored frosting AND they make their own gingersnaps to put on top of the cupcakes. They crumble a little on top and then stick part of a cookie in. The flavors of chai (cinnamon, cloves, ginger, etc) shine through – it tastes a lot like a cross between a spice cake and a carrot cake. The cookie reinforces the ginger flavor that peeks through and it also a tasty addition to the cupcake.
Now onto the chocolate flavors!
[espresso chocolate cherry]
This is another one of the winning cupcakes from Cupcake Wars. It’s a chocolate cake filled with Luxardo soaked cherries. Directly on top of the cake is an espresso ganache and that’s topped off by chocolate buttercream frosting.
Hi, cherries!
The cherries were a nice contrast to the chocolate and Jake actually enjoyed this one (non-chocolate fan that he is). I really enjoyed the layer of espresso ganache which enhanced the deep, chocolatey flavor of the cake. I’m not a huge fan of cherries but I still enjoyed this.
[classic chocolate ganache]
To “step up” the chocolate cupcake game, they add a layer of chocolate ganache on top of the chocolate cupcake and then top it with chocolate buttercream. YUM. It was a slightly intense, uber chocolatey experience and I knew from the first tasty bite that Jake wouldn’t like it (I was right). If you’re a chocolate lover you’ll definitely appreciate the simplicity of this cupcake and all of the layers of delicious chocolate. It’s intense but also not too sweet.
[chocolate peanut butter]
This wasn’t in the box that Audrey curated for us but I asked to try it since chocolate and peanut butter is my favorite combination in life. LOOK AT ALL THE PEANUTS! I love that peanuts are all over this thing for the taste and the texture! There’s also a peanut butter filling in there (yum) and more of their luscious chocolate buttercream. I think I still loved the Chai the most but this would be my next favorite.
[red velvet]
Jake requested to try the red velvet, which is his favorite cupcake flavor ever. Funny since it’s like a “chocolate lite” cupcake. This one has a cream cheese frosting. I loved those cute little pearls on top! Since we ate like a gazillion red velvet cupcakes earlier this year I’m surprised we’re not all sick of this flavor. This had a very light chocolate flavor and the cream cheese frosting still had that nice “tang” to it that you get from the cream cheese. Not my most favorite of the bunch, but a pretty decent red velvet.
In case you need instructions. I don’t. STUFF INTO FACE. That’s all I need to know.
Audrey was wearing the “are you staring at my cupcakes” shirt which made me chuckle. Jake liked the one below!
And since I know you’re wondering, here are the prices for the cupcakes.
And the coffee.
They bake cupcakes throughout the day, changing out the flavors as the day goes on. Every time you visit there will probably be something different offered! They also offer gluten-free versions of their cupcakes, you just need to ask for them.
A second location is opening up on September 22nd in UTC near the food court. I thought they were opening on Monday and I tried to visit this past Tuesday but sadly they weren’t open yet (probably due to that awful awful heat wave). It’s a little kiosk in UTC, like ‘Lette Macarons, and all of the cupcakes will be baked at the Seaport Village location. Look for them in UTC, too!
We had a great time sampling the cupcakes and chatting with Audrey and Jon. I’ll definitely be swinging by the UTC location on a lunch break to pick up more cupcakes!
Disclaimer: I was invited to Frost Me Cupcakes on behalf of The i.d.e.a. Brand. Our cupcakes and drinks were complimentary. All opinions stated here are my own and I was not further compensated for this review.
Frost Me Gourmet Cupcakes
859 W Harbor Drive, Suite B
San Diego, CA 92101
Hours: Everyday 10am to 9pm
Beautiful! The first picture totally looks like someone’s beautiful home kitchen. I thought hmm…was this invitation at the home of the cupcake shop owners?
Jelly of your invite. Cute cupcake boutiques have a tendency to lure me in. They all look so god, especially the chocolate ones. I am a total chocolate lover.
And btw I am craving Genghis after reading your post on it, even though you said it wasn’t that spectacular. It’s been a long time. I just don’t know where to go to find good Genghis these days.
Hi Miss Kim – Yeah! When I was looking at my photos I thought it looked like a home kitchen, too, with the pretty white cabinets. Everything is so pretty in there, they did a nice job with the interior (and of course the cupcakes are so pretty).
Oh man, I’m sure there is some fabulous Mongolian grill place in LA! Fallback, you can always try and find one at the mall, haha. Yelp is your friend! Just have to take those reviews with a grain of salt.
At first glance, the “how-to” instructions on the blackboard looked like “unwrap liver”. It made me think it was a gastropub at first.
The kitchen definitely gives it that homemade ambiance and appeal. It reminds me of my kitchen, except I have a smaller sink, 1 cabinet, no counter, no “home sweet home” memorabilia, dated shag-carpet era lighting, no stools or chairs and yellow wallpaper. Alice from The Brady Bunch would feel right at home. Other than that, it’s a spitting image of my kitchen.
Haha, it does kind of look like “unwrap liver”! Sounds like this kitchen is a spitting image of yours! I’m sure you were wondering how I got into your kitchen to take photos 😉
Mary, if you only knew how small my kitchen was, you’d never be able to take any distance shots. A close up of my faucet might be interesting, for all you vintage plumbing buffs. I’m loving the cute tank top so I might just combine my clothes shopping with my dessert shopping.
I like the tank top, too! Uber cute 🙂
This used to be another cupcake shop before. Forgot the name. Cafe Motor in Barrio Logan also has that crazy coffee contraption. U would love their Sweetie V 12 2 towered iced coffee.
Oooo, I bet I would like it! Sounds like my kind of place, I’ll have to check it out sometime!
Cafe Moto, damn auto correct.
I wonder how I could get my hands on one of those shirts without going all the way there! My friend would absolutely love it!
Hi Van – I think the only way to get one right now is to go there. Maybe they’ll have an online store soon! 🙂
Drooling over here at the caramel cashew, espresso chocolate cherry, and vanilla chai. Holy cow, those flavor combinations sound incredible! And gorgeous decor, wow, elegant and simply stunning looking. So chic! Fancy coffee? Count me in!! I need to get on the cupcake train beyond Pure Cupcakes.
Hi Lauren – I’ve been to many cupcake shops in town, Pure Cupcakes is pretty good though. I’ve only been to the shop once, and they didn’t have much left. Been meaning to revisit to try their more exotic flavors. You must go cupcake exploring! 🙂
A) Love that the vanilla one has mousse inside it, I always find vanilla a little too boring and skip over it so that adds a nice extra something to it
B) Huge fan of cherries and Luxardo maraschino cherries, that chocolate cherry one would be my choice for sureee
C) So nice meeting you for a second at the Thrillist event! And have to give it to you, the Greengo grilled cheese with pork belly was delicioussss 😉
Hi J.S.!
A) Yesssss. I loved that extra bit, it made the vanilla cake much more special!
B) You’d love the cherry one then. Minion had it this past weekend and he loved it.
c) YAY I was so happy to have finally met you, thanks for saying hi!! Oh my god I want to eat that grilled cheese again. I hope it’s an offering at their truck now…. I wish, I wish, I wish! 🙂
I remember when they had a pop-up shop inside UTC. I’m happy to hear it will be a permanent kiosk soon. I am really curious to try out the cupcakes. Their name keeps reminding me of the movie How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days when they came up with that theme “frost yourself”
Hi Kirbie – I laughed out loud when I read your comment about “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days!” So funny! I read on their FB page that the kiosk should be open this week. It did look at set up and ready to go last week when I visited so hopefully next time it will actually be open. They told me about a strawberry cupcake with freeze dried strawberries that sounded really good to me.