Trophy Cupcakes University Village

I hadn't had Trophy cupcakes since I was a kid, but the other day I suddenly craved some. My usual go-to spot (New York Cupcakes) was closed, so I decided to try Trophy. Unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations. My partner and I found the cupcakes to be crumbly, dry, and overwhelmingly sweet. The frosting was excessively thick, towering over the cupcake itself, and instead of being enjoyable, it tasted like pure sugar and chemicals. We ended up tossing the leftovers. Some things are perhaps better left as fond memories. The second star is for the friendly employee, though.

I recently visited U Village for the first time in quite a while and noticed a sign advertising cupcakes. I decided to check out this charming little shop and ordered a soft serve ice cream in a cone, along with a gluten-free salted caramel cupcake. The staff were decent but not particularly warm or accommodating, unless prompted with questions. The soft serve reminded me of McDonald's ice cream, just served in a waffle cone. I didn't customize the ice cream, as I wanted to keep it simple. However, the cupcake was absolutely delicious! It's been ages since I had such a tasty gluten-free cupcake. It was moist and soft, although it might have had a bit too much frosting. Overall, it was really enjoyable!

If they have the lemon meringue cupcake, definitely give it a try—especially if you enjoy lemon! The lemon macaron was also delightful. I really liked the strawberry cheesecake as well. Another standout was the hummingbird cupcake; being from the South, I appreciated the wonderful fruit combination in the cake. It was very well made! I’ll likely return to sample another flavor before I fly out. This is a lovely spot for a sweet treat, whether it's before or after dinner!

I was disappointed this time around because the cupcakes were pretty dry. For the price, in my opinion, they need to be a lot better. Maybe it was just a bad day usually they aren't so dry. The employee working was very fast and it took like 1 minute to order and pay! Since the pandemic and days of online shopping with no lines, speedy in person service is awesome!

If you want a quick treat I recommend the salted caramel and the carrot walnut cupcake. Both were moist and tasty. My only complaint is it seemed like the cupcake was more frosting than cake.Wasn't a huge fan of the vanilla. The cake was a little dry but I appreciate how dense it was.