Cupcake Bites at Mission Minis

Concerned about my waistline recently, I thought it would be safe to check out Mission Minis in — where else? — the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco. Problem is, I can’t seem to leave without trying two or three of the mini cupcakes.

Mission Minis was started last year by Brandon Arnovick, a longtime Mission resident and music producer who started baking mini cupcakes for friends just a few years ago. He got so into baking the mini delights — and spurred on by feedback from friends — that he started selling his mini cupcakes at the many coffee shops in the hood. He opened his tiny storefront right in the Mission earlier this year.

I actually got a taste of Arnovick’s mini cupcakes awhile back at some food event. I remembered that his icing was like little bursts of flavor on top of a decent cupcake base. At his retail store, with window displays that are nostalgic of a childhood gone, he sells his mini cupcakes for $1 each.

One time I visited after work, so a lot of popular flavors were gone. So I ended up trying the Cinnamon Horchata, Banana Maple Glaze and Swiss Almond Coconut. The Cinnamon Horchata is influenced by the Mexican cinnamon rice milk drink, and the rice milk cupcake (which didn’t have a strong flavor) was topped with a cream cheese frosting with a dusting of cinnamon. The banana cupcake had a nice buttercream frosting, but my favorite was the Swiss Almond Coconut with the fluffy meringue buttercream icing mixed with bits of almond and coconut flakes.

Next time I went early in the morning to make sure I could see all the choices, and I ended up going with the Pink Lemonade and Peanut Butter Kiss. The Peanut Butter Kiss was what you would expect — thick-like peanut butter frosting on a chocolate cake. It’s a good thing it was a mini because it’d be hard to talk if you ate a whole cupcake with this peanut butter frosting. The Pink Lemonade was a lemon flavored cake with a frosting that the guy at the counter said was made with blueberry cream. Not sure how it made it pink colored, but I guess that’s just the mystery of baking.

I think what makes the mini cupcakes is the frosting, especially the light fluffy ones compared to the cream cheese, although that’s also good. But really, it’s just the idea of having so many different choices without the guilt of eating too much cake.

Mission Minis, 3168 22nd St., San Francisco. PH: 415.817.1540. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. www.missionminis.com

More cupcakes here:
In Line at Sprinkles
Cako Cupcakes in Union Square
Frosting Bake Shop in Mill Valley