Kara's Cupcakes - Walnut Creek

I've had Kara's before when I went to a street festival with SK and they had the Kara-van there, so when I heard that they were opening a location in Walnut Creek (only 20 minutes from me) I had to check it out.  That, combined with the fact that they sell a pretty decent gluten free chocolate (which is what I had at the street festival) which is great for Than, meant that it had to happen before the end of the semester.  So off SK, Than and I went.  I bought two (and one for Than) and by adding the other one he bought himself to my total I was able to get this super cute reusable tote.



 On to the cupcake review:

First up is the Fleur de Sel:

From the menu: chocolate cupcake with caramel filling, ganache frosting and fleur
de sel

cross-section.. look how moist that is! Did not cut easily though thanks to the frosting.

It was a very moist cake but you really don't taste any caramel. The frosting is very thick (have never had ganache before, so maybe that's to be expected) and whatever was flavoring it - maybe the fleur de sel?) was not to my liking. The whole is very heavy feeling; not overly sweet, just makes me feel fuller after eating half than I did after the banana caramel. Eating the other half today (Sunday) I had a different opinion, possibly because I ate it before the Banana instead of after. I definitely tasted the salt and, while still not a fan of very rich and thick frosting, I can appreciate the cake portion more. Not one I'd get again, but not a waste either.
***NOTE: Fleur de Sel, which I had to look up, is "("Flower of salt" in French) is a hand-harvested sea salt"


Speaking of which, the Banana Caramel....

From the menu: banana cupcake with caramel filling and silky cream cheese frosting

cross-section. The oozy caramel makes me so happy.

...smells amazing. The banana cake has a dense texture reminiscent of banana bread. Also hints of a few spices I can't identify.  The cream cheese frosting was not over powering either and the caramel just added to the whole. Definitely my favorite so far. And I can state for the record that it is still my favorite the next day when I ate the other half. The smell, the mix of flavors... yeah... I want this cupcake again!

***There are no pictures of this cupcake sadly as SK started eating it before I could get a picture, though it looks like the Gluten Free Chocolate***
Chocolate Velvet - I had only a tiny bite, but I found it very tasty with a creamy frosting and the cake was so moist and delicious. Again, not very sweet (something I appreciate from Kara's). SK: "It's divine. Very moist and despite falling a part when I tried picking it up, it isn't sweet and is just a perfect combination. The icing is almost like a mousse."

Gluten Free Chocolate - Than: all I can say is that it is mind meltingly delicious

Gluten Free Vanilla ***Again, no pictures because this cupcake was eaten before we even left the bakery, but it is a white version of the chocolate*** - Than: The consistency is good. As it is made from rice flour, it has a much higher sugar content and the frosting doesn't help to balance it out as it too is very sweet. The vanilla flavoring was very nice though."