Food Review: French Meadow (Gluten Free) Cupcakes

Confession: Gluten free food scares the hell out of me.

I think that this confession is something that many people can relate to. The only people I know that eat a gluten free diet are those that have no other choice. I think knowing this freaks me out when it comes to eating anything that is purposely made gluten free. Still, I take the job of reviewing seriously and I admit I am a little curious. After all, I love food and some gluten free food looks downright delicious. In fact, this is what convinced me to try the French Meadow cupcakes that were offered to me for review.

I mentioned to Dom that we were offered cupcakes and he was game. I then explained that they were gluten free cupcakes and he became a little more skeptical. I was actually the one that talked him into it. You see, when visiting the French Meadow website, you will find very scrumptious looking cupcakes. I guess I thought that anything that looked that good had to taste good. Unfortunately not much about this experience was as tasty as what the website was promising.

Let’s start with shipping first. The cupcakes arrive in four packs (we received one pack for review). They are in an attractive tan box with a nice window in the center that is meant to show off the lovely cupcakes. The only problem is that my cupcakes were not cold enough. Normally I would blame this on the hot weather and having them sit outside once they had been dropped off. However, I picked up the items immediately from the delivery man, so the cupcakes had no wait outside. In any case the cupcakes had been tossed around in the box they were in and the frosting was smashed against the window of the box. So, when I opened them the frosting was smearing off the cupcakes and they were a little warmer than they should have been which is why the frosting was as messy as it was. So that didn’t make the best first impression.

I tried to ignore that though because taste is one of the most important things. I licked some of the frosting from the window and got a taste. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Sure, it didn’t taste identical to traditional frosting, but it was mildly sweet and wasn’t making me regret my decision to review French Meadow. Next I took one of the cupcakes out to try an actual bite. This is where things went south. Dry cardboard. It tasted like dry cardboard. Handling the cake caused it to crumble. I like my cake moist (most people do), but this cake tasted like it’d been trapped in the desert for 500 years with no water. So you had passable frosting, but horrid cake. It doesn’t really matter how good the frosting is, because I had no intention of eating it alone.

After discovering this reaction I wondered if it was just me. I am used to my mom’s cupcakes and she is a master baker. The woman can make a cupcake like nobody’s business. So, I gave Dom a cupcake. He took a bite and made a face. He wasn’t impressed. He took another bite to be nice, but there was no way he was eating a whole cupcake. Mind you, these cupcakes aren’t all that big. You could easily eat one in four or five bites (less if you’re really trying to shove it down). He’s always pretty picky though, so I handed one over to mom. I believe she summed it up best when she said, “Why would anyone bother putting all this frosting on top of cardboard?” So, yeah, mom didn’t much like them either. CT was the only one left in the house and he wasn’t having any part in this review.

I will openly admit that this is my first sampling into the world of gluten free food. However, in saying that, I will also state that with this as my tour guide into gluten free cuisine, I can easily see myself sticking with the safe foods that I know and love.

If you want to know more about French Meadow or order their products you can do so through the French Meadow website..

Technorati Tags: French Meadow, Bakery, Cupcakes, Chocolate, Gluten Free, Food Review

Written by Ashtyn Evans – Visit Website
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Ashtyn is in her early 30s. She is a mother, writer, college student, and music lover. Ashtyn has had a successful career as a writer since 2003. She turned to blogging in 2005. Ashtyn attends Wright State where she is getting a degree in Psychology. She has extensive knowledge in SEO and Social Media Development.