Welcome Lindsay D. with a guest review of a seasonal cupcake from the Contempo Cafe! Thanks Lindsay for sharing this festive cupcake with us!
As a self-appointed Walt Disney World tour reviewer, I spend a lot of time on property checking out both official and unofficial tours. I’m often accompanied by my reluctant sister. I’ve learned from experience that the best way to convince her to tour with me is with bribes – of the sweet variety.
A Dole Whip or Carrot Cake Cookie can keep her eye rolls and silent sighs at bay for a good 3-4 hours of touring.
Thankfully, when I found myself on the wrong end of an evil stare on our self-guided tour of holiday decorations, we were already at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Contempo Café cupcakes to the rescue! I had already given her the run down of confectionary options on our tour path, so she knew what to expect. What neither of us expected, however, were seasonal cupcakes.
Despite the immediate need for a frosting-covered bribe, we didn’t actually eat our cupcake until much later, when we split it for dinner. Classy. (This isn’t vacation dining, mind you – we live here. And eat cupcakes for dinner.)
Pro-tip: The Contempo Café has cupcake-sized take-out containers behind the counter, just ask.
Even after 7 hours in my trunk (the weather was chilly), the cupcake was the image of perfection. The peppermint buttercream frosting and zebra-chocolate swirl sticks were intact. Our favorite detail was the candy-cane shaped sprinkles around the edge of the frosting.
I’m not a food writer (more of a rambler), so I’ll cut to the chase. The cupcake was good. Moist chocolate cake covered in just the right amount of peppermint buttercream, which was very comparable to a candy cane in taste. And those adorable candy cane-shaped sprinkles? They actually taste like candy canes. Amazing!
Like other Contempo Café cupcakes, this one was more than meets the eye. A cross-section revealed another thin layer of buttercream and a significant pool of chocolate syrup.
The only slight criticism we have concerns the chocolate syrup center. It was garden-variety chocolate syrup, whereas we would’ve preferred more of a fudge sauce. A thicker center would have been both tastier and less likely to surprise unsuspecting diners with a chocolate waterfall. However, when eaten with the cupcake, the syrup just added to the moistness.
Overall, it was the perfect balance of peppermint and chocolate. It is certainly worth checking out if you’re planning a trip over the holidays. I doubt we’ll get another chance to snag one this year, but that’s only because I’ll be lobbying for the Spiced Apple cupcake the next time around.
Lindsay D. is on a mission to do every tour at Walt Disney World. Her tour reviews as well as Disney tour information from all over the web can be found at DisneyTourReviews.com. Between tours, she spends her time trying to recruit enough friends and a time machine in order to attempt Disney Food Blog’s Cupcake Crawl as a single day tour.
Lisa says
Love the review! Gotta get myself to WDW at Christmas sometime!
Btw, Wilton are the manufacturer of those candy cane coloured/shaped/ flavoured sprinkles. I have some in my cupboard right now and they’re so cute!
AJ says
Thanks for the info, Lisa! I can’t wait to try the spiced apple cupcake this weekend!
Heather says
I leave tomorrow, I think I’m going to have to get this cupcake 🙂
melissa sue says
I usually hate peppermint and chocolate together, but even I have to admit, that looks REALLY yummy!
Mark says
Wonderful review! I will definitely be trying this cupcake on my next trip to the Comtemporary.
Tracy Antonioli says
I LOVE peppermint and chocolate together! And this cupcake looks so much better than my sad little soy milk hot chocolate with half a shot of peppermint syrup (which honestly isn’t bad–it’s just not a buttercream frosted chocolate filled cupcake!)
I also super love the candy cane sprinkles!!! Yum. Yet another reason I’m sad that I won’t be in WDW this holiday season. Sigh…
Lindsay says
Thanks, Lisa! Now that I know where to score my own supply of candy cane sprinkles, I can woo my sister into participating in a variety of other painful activities – like going to the spa or playing with puppies. I mean, who has to be bribed to go to Disney? Seriously.
William Wells says
I am like a lot of other people. I like Cupcakes. But sad to say, I have never been to WDW around Xhristmas time. So I do not get to have one of these jewels. Sigh.