Sun & Sparrow Reviews // Delightful by the dozen cupcakes

Can I first say, yay for cupcakes?!? Delightful by the dozen cupcakes is a local company serving the South Bay, Long Beach, Orange County and beyond. Justine is a vibrant young woman who lives in Bellflower, CA. Founded by Justine Archuleta, she has turned a passion for baking into a full-blown wedding spectacular!

Before I share about her amazing cupcakes, I wanted to share Justine’s story //  I am just a normal gal who loves to bake. I never thought that I would be able to start a successful business in making people’s perfect wedding desserts. Surprisingly, I am not one of those girls who can say I grew up in the kitchen watching grandma or mom bake our old family recipes. This business just fell into my lap, almost in a divine way. One day, I was at lunch with my cousin and his girlfriend. She was very excited about her startup cupcake business. She was very ambitious and wanted to expand quickly. So, she asked me to join her.  As we started to work together, the cupcake calling took hold of me. I was so inspired in the kitchen and began to create new ideas and my own recipes. Unfortunately, my partner’s ambitions moved in another direction and we parted ways. I was on my own, left with all of my ideas and thoughts. With that, I decided to put those ideas into 325 degree oven!

I love baking for any event, theme or occasion, and I love clients who come to me with a theme and ideas, all while having enough faith in me to come through with a final product they will fall in love with. Expressing my creativity through cupcakes is a dream come true! In June 2014 I will have been baking my little heart out for my first child, Delightful by the Dozen, for 5 years! In mid 2009, I decided to join Facebook so that my extremely tiny business could reach more people. I was skeptical that anyone would want or allow me to bake for their events, but orders started to come, slowly but surely. Now, I am baking full time! I am so happy to say that in these past 5 years I have grown so much as a baker, as a professional, and as a business woman. I recently got a business license permitting me to legally bake from my home kitchen which was a huge blessing and I look forward to baking here until the business demands do not allow for that anymore!

I am so grateful for my cousin’s ambitious girlfriend. If it weren’t for her, cupcakes might not have been made and special occasions might not have delightful desserts. These past 5 years have been the best of my life.  Over the next 5 years of business at Delightful by the Dozen, I see myself baking out of my newly remodeled home kitchen (I can dream, can’t I?). I want to create even more recipes and have a collection of amazing clients that keep coming back for more!

IF YOU ORDER WITH DELIGHTFUL BY THE DOZEN & MENTION [SUN & SPARROW], JUSTINE WILL TAKE 10% OFF YOUR ORDER!

Email: delightfuldozen1@aol.com   ///Website: www.delightfulbythedozen.webs.com

 NOW, onto the review //  Recently, I found Justine & Delightful by the dozen on our Facebook page. Justine was browsing through our images and left a beautiful comment on our page. Through that, she and I started to talk and we thought what a great way to share each other’s work, but to put our work together. I was completely honored because amazingly talented woman was filled with kindness and willingness to share her story with me. So, we scheduled a day for her to drop off some cupcakes. When Justine arrived, she arrived prepared! There were a beautiful dozen of assorted cupcakes, which included vanilla, lemon, (gluten-free) coconut, peanut butter cup, chocolate, & red velvet cupcakes in hand. You can really tell that this woman puts love into every part of each cupcake. Every cupcake was photo ready, and looked completely delicious! 

Justine works in a pet-free, smoke-free environment. She has the capability to customize any order and is willing to travel. She can bake for any wedding or any type of birthday or event. Make sure to call her if you are interested in wonderful cupcakes at your party!

COCONUT (gluten-free) MINI’S // Each cupcake had it’s own graciousness to the texture and flavors. My favorite flavor (pretty much of all time) is COCONUT! I absolutely love coconut. Justine, somehow knew that I loved coconut and she brought me gluten-free coconut cupcake deliciousness! Every part of this mini cupcake was coconut. The moist and dense cake, the marshmallowy coconut frosting with toasted coconut flakes on top. No detail was spared to accomplish perfection. With one mini cupcake, anyone can tell that Justine truly puts her heart and soul into her creations!

MAPLE BACON // Justine’s knows the importance of blending complimentary flavors. Bacon isn’t a flavor that one would normally think when creating cupcakes, but Justine knew how to make it right. She paired bacon flavored buttercream with maple cake and topped it off with bacon flakes. If you like breakfast, this is the perfect cupcake for you. Absolute perfection!

RED VELVET // One thing I love more than coconut, is cream cheese. Does that sound dumb?? Maybe.. But when mixed into frosting and placed on top of a moist red velvet cupcake, amazing! Over the years, Ellie and I have tasted many red velvet cupcakes. Some are too dry and some are too dense. Others are too sweet. But Justine’s were paired so perfectly. The ratio of frosting to cake, sweetness to creaminess truly showed off her skill as a confectionary artist.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUP // The cake was chocolate and the frosting, peanut butter with a mini PB cup as a garnish. This cupcake was different than the others. Each component was specifically it’s own. When each component was combined, it created the perfect re-creation of an actual peanut butter cup. Like the others, there was a perfect blend of cake to frosting with a beautiful presentation!

VANILLA // The vanilla cupcake is the most classic cupcake. Every wedding and party has to have at least a dozen of these. Justine really made this cupcake right. With a beautifully moist vanilla-bean cake, you could actually see pieces of vanilla throughout the caky goodness. The buttercream frosting was classically executed and totally worth the indulgence!

LEMON // Typically I am not a fan of lemon. If you like lemon, you will definitely like this cake, because I did! The sweetness balanced with the tart lemon zest made this treat completely delightful. I thought the frosting made this cake special. Paired together, this lemony cake will make you want to come back for more.

Thank you to Justine from Delightful by the Dozen Cupcakes! Thank you for sharing your work and your story with us! We are so proud to be a part of your growing business and hope to work with you again soon!

 ©2014 Sun & Sparrow Photographers // Delightful by the dozen cupcakes // Thank you to Delightful by the Dozen!