The Cupcake Lounge, located on International drive, can help! There, every Friday and Saturday night, from 5-10pm, they serve up a full bar of alcohol laced-cupcakes featuring flavors such as Strawberry Daiquiri, Cherry Vodka, and Guinness cake with Bailey’s frosting. This is in addition their rotating mix of wonderful flavors including Yellowcake with Buttercream icing, Red Velvet, Strawberries and Cream, and even, occasionally, Bacon.

A new-comer to I-Drive, The Cupcake Lounge celebrated its grand opening on July 7th. And Jessica, the owner of this wonderful lounge, could not have been happier. “Actually opening was the most rewarding part of this of this shop so far!” She exclaims, “nobody wanted to deal with us because we were a small business. So to actually open was a huge achievement.”

Recently I introduced my friend Christine to this sugar-y oasis hidden along I-Drive. Walking inside she promptly exclaimed “I am in my element” as we walked past the lounge of modern red couches and headed towards the back for the reason we came: the display case proudly showcasing the freshly baked cupcakes of the day. (In both regular and mini size!)

The cupcakes flavors range from classics like Chocolate and Vanilla, to the more exotic such as Cherry Limeade and Creme DeMenthe. “The biggest surprise,” Jessica says, “is when people come in and see all our gourmet flavors and then get Chocolate. We have to keep baking it because otherwise we’ll sell out!” Chocolate is certainly Jessica’s favorite, “the more chocolate I can fit on a cupcake, the better!” she raved when I asked her about her preferred flavor.

As expected in a southern Cupcake Lounge Red Velvet is their best seller, with its cream cheese frosting and rich, moist cake. But The Cupcake Lounge are really renowned for their Buttercream Icing. Their top-secret recipe is simplistic, and lighter then most other Buttercreams, not drowning out the cake but adding to the flavor; not to mention downright yummy!

Dawn is the baker behind these wonderful creations. Originally from St. Louis Missouri, she serving up a these sweet treats daily, and raves about each and every one. When pressed, Dawn told us that her favorite was the Carrot Cake Cupcake, describing her original recipe as “moist, with the perfect amount of cinnamon and carrot.” And this tasty morsel did not disappoint; Christine remarked that the “the bite ratio of the flavoring is in good balance”, and that’s hard to do with carrot cake.

In other words: we’ll be back!

The Cupcake Lounge is located at 6400 International Drive, Suite 103, in Orlando, FL, near I-Drive Trolly Stop 10 in the Lighthouse Plaza. They are open Monday to Sunday from 11am- 10pm, with Happy Hour every Friday and Saturday from 5pm-10pm. They also mix in large order and bake for special events, creating custom cupcakes and displays that will “rock your world.”

You can visit them online at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Cupcake-Lounge-Orlando/372966266097374

E-mail them at:

Cupcakeloungeorlando@yahoo.com