When asked if I wanted to be part of a beta group try out one of the first deliveries of cupcakes from New York's Cupcake Stop, I said yes faster than a kid running from class to recess. The popular cupcake truck will soon offer nationwide shipping, and being that I live just about as far from New York as you can get in the US, I was prepared to open up the box of sweets and see how they made their way across the country overnight.

Packed ingeniously in multiple layers of protective and tiered packaging, the cupcakes arrived looking as if they were just picked up from a local shop. Lollipop sticks emerging from each cake prevent the packaging from collapsing onto the icing {hence the small holes in the icing above}. These mini cakes arrive frozen with instructions to let them defrost for the next few hours after opening. As hard as it was, I proceeded with my day, made to sure get in a workout {in preparation for the inevitable feast}, and came back hours later to find them ready for indulging.

Final thoughts…4 out of 5 happy ladies! These cupcakes should teach us all how to travel across country as they came looking fresh, untainted, and as pretty as I imagine them to look before they set sail to me in California. The cake was still moist and nicely dense, and the frosting had a great consistency–light, rich, and not too sweet. Overall, the cupcakes tasted like they had been baked the day before…not fresh out of the oven, but close…especially considering how far they had to come.

{photos by Oh Joy}*