Located in historic downtown Lynchburg, I expected the typical old style bakery that is found so frequently in old sections of town. Wrong! Taste Selects is an upscale, modern establishment, evident from the sidewalk while peeking into the bakery. Upon opening the door, the scent of baked goods reels you inside.
Taste Selects has a big city feel to it, as if it were in New York City instead of downtown Lynchburg. The counter hosts iridescent tiles with two large cases full of cupcakes and cookies. The walls are painted a Tiffany blue and the entire place is embellished with hints of chrome, including the antique tiled ceiling. There are several beautiful photos of cupcakes gracing the walls with glimmering chrome frames. In other words, it is modern.
I was greeted first by the jovial employee at the counter. I was impressed by his friendliness as he did not know who I was at that time. He was sincere.
The owner of the store came out and said to me, “Prepare for a sugar high.” That’s just what I like to hear. She brought out a huge tray of cupcakes, more than what I am used to trying in one sitting. However, I have to say I was eager to try her confections.
Out of the many different flavors I tried, the ones that made the biggest impression on me were the Smores, Banana Pudding, and the Sweet ‘n Spicy cupcakes.
The Smores cupcake consisted of vanilla cake with chocolate fudge filling and dipped in chocolate ganache. There were marshmallows on top, and they were torched to taste like they came right out of the campfire. The texture when biting into this cupcake was superb. The marshmallow giving just a bit, pulling away as its bitten into, mixed with the chocolate flavor.
The Banana Pudding cupcake tasted like ripe bananas and real pudding. If I shut my eyes, I would have sworn that I was eating real banana pudding. Very vivid banana flavors in this cupcake, making it tropical yet very home style.
The Sweet ‘n Spicy cupcake was very interesting to me because it was the first of its kind that I have tried, and I love spicy food. The chocolate cake was perfect as was the frosting, and the kick of the cayenne pepper came as an after taste. You don’t expect anything, and then WHAM! It hits you. I like.
I also must note that I was quite impressed with their gluten-free cupcakes. The only gluten-free cupcakes I have tried were as hard as a rock and tasted horrible. I don’t know what recipe Taste Selects use, but I can vouch for it. If the doctor were to tell me today that I must avoid all regular cake and eat only gluten-free cakes, I wouldn’t cry too much. Well, maybe I would actually cry, but at least I know I could still eat delicious cake and not feel left out. It’s good!
If you are traveling downtown Lynchburg, VA, you have got to stop in to Taste Selects. They have frozen yogurt, too.
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