I was tempted to title this post “Weird-Ass Cupcakes” because it seemed appropriate. But then I remembered all my foodie friends and thought I should temper my opinion.

I was in Boulder a month or so ago, longing to get the Hot Chocolate Soup from Belvedere Belgian Chocolate Shop, but it was closed by damage from the fire at Oak, which is next door on 14th Street. So I went to Tee and Cakes on the other side of Belvedere and couldn’t resist trying the cupcake with bacon on top.

Everything in the cupcake tasted fine by itself: the bacon, the cake infused with maple syrup, the chocolate frosting. It was a little like having French toast-cake with bacon and chocolate. I think I would have liked it better if the bacon had been chopped up fine and incorporated into the cake. I wonder if it’s possible to bake a cupcake with scrambled eggs in the middle too? Would the eggs taste good after sitting for a few hours? If so, then people could get this cupcake and have a shot of chocolate with their full breakfast!

Last Saturday, I visited the Boulder Farmers’ Market for the first time in 2011. In addition to stocking up on locally grown vegetables and cheese and salsa, I bought a few mini-cupcakes from the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless. I can’t recall seeing a booth for the homeless shelter at previous farmers markets, so I am assuming their donations are down and they need some extra cash. I give money to the Boulder Homeless Shelter every year because I like the fact that they shelter the homeless without imposing religion on them (unlike the Denver Rescue Mission).

I don’t know who made these cupcakes. Perhaps one of the volunteers at the homeless shelter? I started out with these two babycakes, avocado and black pepper and chocolate with caramelized banana. I ate the avocado first because I believe in delayed gratification. Trouble was, I couldn’t really taste the avocado. The pepper came through, as did the cream cheese frosting. The chocolate cake with caramelized banana was so great that I went back to get one for Todd. (I swear I gave it to him!) The little crunch in the banana was nice with the moist sweetness of the cake.

I told the people at the booth that I couldn’t taste the avocado, and the woman at the booth said that was the thing she tasted most. Perhaps the fruit wasn’t evenly distributed through the batter, or maybe it was something I ate beforehand.

Note 1: The only Belvedere retail store open nowadays is in Glenwood Springs. The store on Colfax closed, and the store in Boulder will be closed until further notice. When I went by last week, I didn’t see many signs of renovation happening. I hope it reopens!

Note 2: For the record, my favorite cupcake shop in the Denver area is Mermaids, just off the 16th Street Mall on Champa. My favorite place for small chocolate oblivion cakes is Indulge Bakery at 95th and Arapaho in Lafayette.

In case you’re wondering when I’m going to write about some adventures on this blog…well, I am too. I should be having lots of adventures this summer, but right now I’m working on getting my house sold and finishing editing jobs.