First up for Cupcake Week: Sweet Carolina Cupcakes on Hilton Head Island, SC.
We visited Sweet Carolina when we were vacationing on Hilton Head back in April. Sweet Carolina Cupcakes is conveniently located at Coligny Plaza, right next to the Piggly Wiggly. It's a relatively small shop but it does have some outdoor seating which we found very nice. We didn't arrive until mid-afternoon on the day of our visit so the cupcake selection was somewhat limited.
Four of us had cupcakes and we chose 4 different flavors: Vanilla with Vanilla, Chocoate with Chocolate, Chocolate with Vanilla and White Chocolate Raspberry.
They also had Whoopie Pies and Coffee Cake muffins, but we stuck to cupcakes.
Overall, we were quite happy with the cupcakes. The frosting was very good, if a bit sweet. The cake to frosting ratio was also good, just a tad frosting heavy--but I like frosting so that's not really a problem. Until afterwards and the sugar rush headache sets in...
To wrap up, how about a few totally subjective ratings?
Location: Excellent. Coligny Plaza has a great variety of shops and is close to Sea Pines. You can buy a new handbag, 2 small turtles and delicious cupcakes all in the same shopping area. What's not to love?
Shop Appearance: Fair to Good. This was by far the most disappointing aspect of Sweet Carolina. I liked the chalkboards and the cute tables & chairs. I wish that feel was carried throughout the shop. The colors in the checkerboard floor were somewhat distracting. It just felt a little thrown together & mismatched. And I wasn't crazy about how you could see the work area (as in racks, pans, etc.). I guess I was hoping for a cute striped awning out front or something equally charming. That's ok, they're busy building a business & making cupcakes!
Cupcakes: Taste was very good. Moist cake, flavorful frosting. Variety was good, if a bit 'vanilla'. May have been better if we went earlier in the day. They bake different cupcakes on different days and I have a feeling the specialty cupcakes sell out more quickly.
Overall: If you're visiting Hilton Head, Sweet Carolina is definitely worth a stop!
