Hello out there! I realized recently that it had been a while since I made a stop on the NC Bakery Tour. Coincidentally, we had plans with our friends Sam and Ashley, the latter of whom loves desserts as much as I do.

I had never heard of Buttercream’s Bakeshop in Apex, but I was more than willing to give it a try. Side note: We went to Anna’s Pizzeria for lunch before dessert, and I’ve officially found my new favorite pizza place. Their ziti pizza was crazy good. (If you’ve never heard of ziti pizza, it’s exactly what it sounds like – carbs on carbs, aka heaven.)

After lunch and a bit of window shopping on the main street of downtown Apex, we made our way into the bakery. Out front, there was a sign that said, “If you’re looking for a sign that you should have a cookie, this is it!”

My first impression walking in was that it was cute. It’s a small place, whimsically decorated with pale yellow walls. There are a few small tables in front of the glass case filled with goodies. And there were so many different types of goodies that I didn’t know what to pick. Cupcakes, cookies, brownies, bars, and the most unique item – mini cakes the perfect size for two or three people. I should have taken a picture because those were adorable.

After much debate, I chose the bourbon chocolate pecan tart. When I realized how big it was I almost changed my mind, because I was still pretty full from pizza, but then I took a bite and it was pretty much perfect.

I’m always hesitant to try desserts that have alcohol in their name because I’m one of those people who doesn’t really like the taste of alcohol coming through in food. I also don’t like anything ruining my pecan pie, and that includes too much chocolate overpowering the pecans. I’m happy to report that this tart had the perfect pecan flavor with chocolate in the background and no hint (that I could detect) of alcohol.

The men went with cookies. On the right is a standard chocolate chip cookie and on the left is the white trash cookie. The white trash cookie contained chocolate chips, M&Ms, oats, coconut, and possibly other things that my husband can’t remember.

The cookies, unfortunately, were just cookies. Keith says that the texture was neither gooey nor crunchy, but somewhere in between. He was hoping for gooey but didn’t get it. So if it’s cookies you’re looking for, you’re better off going elsewhere. Ironic, considering the sign outside the bakery.

Ashley picked the chocolate raspberry cupcake, which was served in this little bowl. It was cute, but unfortunately it made the cupcake a bit hard to eat.

Presentation aside, the cupcake was delicious. The chocolate and raspberry played together nicely, without one flavor overpowering the other. The raspberry also retained its tartness, rather than becoming overly sweet as raspberry-flavored frosting is wont to do. The texture was good as well, although the top being a bit more firm than the bottom is what made it difficult to eat in a bowl.

Ashley, sticking with a theme, couldn’t resist this chocolate raspberry muffin, which she saved for breakfast the next morning. Since she’s a good friend, she sent me her review. Since she’s a baked goods connoisseur,  her review was excellent, so I’m not even going to change it.

“I definitely think that eating it fresh would make a difference but warming it about 15 seconds still made it good. It was like the cupcake with a bit of a crispy top and a softer bottom, but I like that in a muffin.

“The raspberry goo throughout made for a really nice, subtle flavor, and there was a little while chocolate. I would have liked to see a little more white chocolate for balance, but that’s probably a personal preference.

“And honestly, there was this beautiful chunk of chocolate, raspberry, and a bit of white chocolate in the middle that was amazing and wonderful. Definitely would eat another.”

So overall, if you go to Buttercream Bakeshop, which is not a bad idea, skip the cookies and go for the cakes and tarts. We plan to go back when the weather is a bit warmer so that we can take our goodies and walk around downtown Apex.