Cupcakes, Crêpes and Cream

I was recently in Denver for a few days. It was my first visit to Colorado. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see much of the city other than the 16th Street Mall ^[1] area … I didn’t have a car. But fortunately, I had the 16th Street Mall to keep me entertained … since I didn’t have a car. If you’ve been to downtown Denver then you know what I’m talking about. Shops and restaurants and restaurants and restaurants.

I managed to eat at many of them.

And I even stumbled on a few treats.

Stop 1: Mermaids Bakery and Pie House ^[2]

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Such a cute logo. The shop is quite small, but neat because you have a view of all the action behind the counter right from the street. Not that you can tell any of that by this picture. Sorry, I was sidetracked by the logo.

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I ordered a small box of four cupcakes. You know. A snack.

Three chocolate variations and one vanilla.

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One vanilla with cinnamon that turned out to be the winner.

(Cinnamon Churro – vanilla cake flavored with pure Saigon Cinnamon, vanilla buttercream sprinkles with sugar glitter and more cinnamon)

I don’t know how that happened. Chocolate is such a favorite for me, but so many times I lean towards vanilla cupcakes.

I dunno.

I contemplated it while eating my next treat.

Stop 2: Crêpes ‘n Crêpes ^[6]

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Okay, this was so much fun. A friend and I sat at the counter for breakfast and watched crêpe after crêpe being made. It was really quite mesmerizing.

This is Logan. He made a ton of crêpes for our viewing pleasure.

Here, I’ll show you how…

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Drop some crêpe batter on a hot plate. : )

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Spread it around in a circular motion with a miniature windshield wiper thingamajig thingy.

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And keep spreading until it’s super thin.

Look at that steam.

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This is Jose. He made a bunch of crêpes, too. Non stop. It was almost like a sport with these guys. Lots of action and teamwork. They were really focused on what they were doing and what the person next to them was doing. Ready to jump in and fill or fold or move them to another plate at any moment.

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And if they couldn’t, someone else was ready to jump in at all times.

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There were several of these hot plates going at the same time and never any of them empty.

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When ready… lift it off the plate.

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Fill it. Fold it.

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And repeat. And repeat.

You can have them filled savory or sweet with anything from eggs and bacon to bananas and nutella.

I recommend the ratatouille crêpe for the savory. I even recommend it over something sweet. What’s the matter with me?

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It was kinda sad when our breakfast was ready, because it had been so fun watching all the action.

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And the staff was pretty entertaining, too.

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So, naturally we had to go back at night for dessert.

Stop 3: Lovely Confections Bakery ^[20]

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This cupcake shop is several minutes from the 16th Street Mall area, but I had to check it out based on a recommendation from Cupcake Julie ^[22].

So my friend and I took a quick cab ride to investigate.

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I love how the cupcakes are decorated with different sizes and colors of sprinkles.

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And I loooooove these chocolate sprinkles. I must acquire some immediately.

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All of the cupcakes were yummy with this chocolate one coming in third. Again, I don’t have an answer for myself.

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Second was this vanilla cupcake. The strawberry frosting was to die for and that’s saying a lot since fruit isn’t really my thing.

Also, hello … are these the sweetest baking cups or what.

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But this was my favorite. The Bees Knees.

No, for real. That’s it’s name, too. It was a lavendar cupcake with a honey lemon buttercream. Amazing!

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This is Porche. Lovely Confections is her shop. Thanks for making our cab ride so worth the drive.

Stop 4, 5, 6 and 7: Amore Gelato ^[29]

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Back on 16th street was this little gem. I wanted to pack this store up and bring it home in my suitcase.

I’m now completely in love with gelato.

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And I’m especially in love with Dulce de leche gelato. So thick. So creamy.

I don’t know if I can go back to regular ice cream anymore. Okay, you know that’s not true … but still. It was soooo goooooood.

I did find a brand since I’ve been back called Ciao Bella Gelato ^[32]. It has a dulce de leche gelato that’s delish.

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And like the store, it also carries sorbets, but I really couldn’t tell you much about that.

I guess it’s a good thing I wasn’t free to roam the city in search of more sweets.

But if I had been with car, do you know of any Denver sweet stops I’ll be sad I missed?