www.roanoke.com

Photos by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

A sign on Bubblecake's front door makes its purpose clear.

Bubblecake employee Stephanie Sowder takes cupcake orders from the bakery's lunch crowd.

Open the vibrant pink door at Bubblecake, a new neighborhood cupcake shop on Crystal Spring Avenue in Roanoke, and step into a world of sweet aromas.

Straight ahead in a pink-trimmed room, a raised glass display case shows off a variety of cupcakes on cupcake stands. Each cupcake is topped with a swirled crown of frosting, some decorated with sprinkles, others tinted a hue to denote flavor, such as blueberry. The Key Lime sports a cocktail umbrella.

Is this fun or what?

Located in the same white colonial house where several restaurants started their businesses but did not succeed, Bubblecake occupies only half of the downstairs space, which includes the entrance/display room, sunroom, kitchen and bathroom. The color pink dominates wherever you look, and other items, such as note cards, are for sale, too.

MEET THE OWNER

For Lisa Lusk, owning Bubblecake and painting most of the place pink fulfills the dream she has had for many years. A recent trip to Charlotte, N.C., where she saw the owner of a small neighborhood bakery having a great time making and selling loads of cupcakes, inspired her to create a business plan for her own shop. "It took a year and a half to put into action my ideas and to gather support for my shop," Lusk said. "People in the neighborhood thought it was a great idea and they welcomed it."

THE MENU

Bubblecake lists 24 different cupcakes and 16 icings on the menu. According to Lusk, "Everything is made from scratch, including the cupcakes and all of the icings."

For those who haven't read Bubblecake's menu, descriptive names tell the individual cupcake story: Vanilla Vanilla gives you a double shot of vanilla, both in the cake and the cream cheese frosting; Princess is berry cake with blueberry icing and "pearl" sprinkles, while Tiffany expresses white cake with powdery blue icing.

WHAT WE TRIED

I bought one dozen cupcakes, which included two each of Vanilla Vanilla, Red Velvet, Princess, Key Lime, Chocolate Chip and Oreo. The treats were packed up in two white boxes bearing the bright Bubblecake sticker and pink ribbon.

I took one box to my son's family, where he, his wife and two sons ages 10 and 11 tasted each one and described their opinions. My husband, Jim, and I cut slices from each cupcake in the second box and recorded our findings. Each cupcake possessed positive attributes, but only two won unanimous approval from the tasters.

ATTRACTIVENESS

Everyone agreed all the cupcakes were attractive. They baked to a good size, rose to even shape and uniform height, and the icing appeared creamy. Princess, with its blueberry frosting and pearls, won high praise for beauty, followed by the Key Lime, Red Velvet and Oreo.

EASY TO EAT?

Vanilla Vanilla did not fare well in this category because the high, swirled frosting and dry cake made it come apart. Princess also fell apart because of dry cake. Key Lime, Chocolate Chip, Oreo and Red Velvet held together nicely.

FLAVOR?

In this evaluation, Red Velvet won as "very good and surprisingly tasty." Princess had a nice berry flavor, Vanilla Vanilla and Key Lime were tasty, Chocolate Chip was okay but lacked chocolate chips, and even though the Oreo had a good cake, there was no Oreo flavor.

THE FROSTING?

The Vanilla Vanilla frosting had a creamy consistency and good vanilla flavor. The cream cheese frosting on the Red Velvet was exactly right -- creamy, tasty, and not too sweet. The Key Lime frosting provided good citrus taste while the Princess came off as "strongly sweet but not overpowering."

No one cared for the Oreo frosting because it was too sweet.

OUR FAVORITE?

Red Velvet earned top grades for its good looks, excellent flavor, and moist cake. Chocolate Chip came in second, garnering high marks for its rich chocolate flavor and dense brownie consistency, even though it lacked chocolate chips. The remaining cupcakes qualified as average because of a dry crumb, and everyone agreed the Oreo needed a makeover to get defining flavor.

THE BOTTOM LINE

All of us marveled at these well-decorated cupcakes with their attention to detail and creative extra touches of sprinkles, pearls, umbrellas and frosting swirls. It's convenient having Bubblecake in town, especially knowing we can purchase a lovely cupcake at a reasonable price to mark any day of the week with a special sweet treat.