La Luna Cupcakes

Update Review, October 2021

(oops, I totally forgot to publish until now!)

National Chocolate Cupcake Day. October 18. Did you know that was a thing? Yeah, neither did I, until I recently was hosting a "random days" event in my office, and got to pick a random national "holiday" to celebrate during October. I honed in on National Chocolate Cupcake day as the one to celebrate pretty quickly. An excuse to eat dessert? I was in.

As you know from my reviews, cupcakes aren't at the top of my list of dessert items to seek out, but, they have their place - usually, as a snack in the afternoon, or a lunch dessert if I've had a particularly big lunch and don't seek out a "real" full fledged dessert.  I don't mind cupcakes, just, usually, I want something more composed.  But sometimes, yes, I do just want a good cupcake.

"Love for sweets and a mission to bring tres leches into a bite size format.  Incorporated hispanic flavors like the tres leches and the Aztec chocolate."

Besides just eating cupcakes, our event needed to have some substance to it, so I sought out partnering with a local bakery that I remembered making a particularly good signature tres leches cupcake: La Luna Cupcakes (see my original review).  Myself and my co-planning partner invited the chef-owner, Elvia Buendia, and her daughter Aria, to do a (virtual, because, covid) talk, tell a little about the business (small, women-owned, La Cocina started), share fun stats on different types of cupcakes and how well they sell, and do a demo of how to beautifully decorate cupcakes.  The event was informational, unique, and really, quite fun.  I pat myself on the back for organizing this one.

Of course, I also had to try tons of cupcakes, you know, for "research".

Setting

La Luna is located inside Crocker Galleria, open Mon-Fri only, for a few hours around lunchtime and into the afternoon.

Storefront.

The ground floor location makes it easy to swing into.

Menu.

The cupcake menu board lists the standard daily flavors, and additional details on what each entails are provided on the countertop.

Cupcakes.

All the pre-made cupcakes are on easy display, this first section had the chocolate, caramel, chocolate & vanilla, and mocha with Bailey's from the regular daily menu, plus a seasonal pumpkin offering.

More Cupcakes.

Next came their signature tres leches, both original and chocolate versions, red velvet, cookies & cream, and a special birthday one.

You can also opt for any variety not already made, and it will be made in ... ~1 minute.  I was very impressed with how quickly my custom order cupcake was made!

Cake Pops.

Cake pops are available in 3 flavors: chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet.  A variety of designs were available, all marked by colored twistie ties to let you know what the base was.

Seating.

There is a small seating area inside the store, in addition to the regular Crocker Galleria seating outside.

Cupcakes

I was primarily there for cupcakes, available individually for $3.75 (or $4 for vegan or gluten free varieties). [ Note: this was originally written in 2021, cupcakes are now $4 for regular, $4.75 for vegan/gluten-free in 2025 ].

Box.

Cupcakes come nicely packaged in a branded box, with inserts to prevent them from tipping over.

4 Cupcakes: $15.
Birthday Cake, Tres Leches, Chocolate-Chocolate, Hot Chocolate.

My first batch was an assortment I picked: 2 chocolate based, 2 vanilla, including the signature tres leches.

My favorite of the bunch, no question, was the birthday cake.

4 Cupcakes: $15.
Neopolitan, Chocolate Tres Leches, Birthday Cake, Red Velvet.

My next batch included another of the birthday cake since I had liked it so much, but the rest were all different.

I again loved the birthday cake, although I appreciated the fruity topping on the Neopolitan.

4 Cupcakes: $15.
Raspberry Filled, Duo, Sunny Vanilla, Caramel.

My next visit, I was offered either a plastic box or the same cardboard box I had gotten before, and opted for the plastic, as it was far more compact.  Not sure why I wasn't offered those before?

Anyway, as always I went for two with caffeine, two without.  I intended to get the mocha and/or chocolate peanut butter, but alas, they did not have any that day.  I also was going to get yet another birthday cake but ... not available.  So I went a bit rogue, and got 4 new kinds to try, including a special that day: raspberry filled.  The raspberry filled was easily my top pick of the bunch, nearly rivaling the birthday cake as my favorite overall.

Oh, and I added on a cake pop too.

4 Cupcakes $15.25.
Mocha with Baileys, Birthday Cake, Vegan Red Velvet, Tres Leches.

Another day, another set of cupcakes.  Again, two caffeinated, two not.  This time I was able to get the Mocha with Baileys, and tried out a vegan one (red velvet).  I'm glad I tried the vegan one just to compare, but, I don't recommend it.  The birthday cake still stole my heart.

Dozen. $44.

My next visit was to bring cupcake to my office mates, so I got a wide assortment so everyone could hopefully find something they liked.  Of course I doubled up on the classic tres leches, ever popular red velvet, and the passionfruit that finally showed up, and threw on double chocolate, vanilla, duo, and Neapolitan to round out the basics, and two of the very requested Cookies & Cream.

I tried the cookies & cream (eh, not my thing) and the limited passion fruit ones this time, but still think the birthday cake is the best ...

Chocolate Base

La Luna has an impressive, and extensive, chocolate cupcake lineup.   They offer a classic chocolate cake with chocolate, vanilla, or peanut butter icing, but also have a signature chocolate tres leches cupcake.  And then there is the “Duo” with both chocolate and vanilla cake swirled and topped with both frostings, and the Neopolitan with the swirl base and strawberry icing.  And an exciting "Asteroid" cookies & cream, or a caramel filled and topped one, or a Bailey's infused mocha cake with coffee buttercream, and even a “Hot Chocolate” with whipped cream frosting and marshmallows!  And don’t forget the Red Velvet - it has cocoa in it as well!

We learned in the presentation that La Luna sells far more chocolate cupcakes than vanilla, about 2/3 of all sales are chocolate.

Chocolate Chocolate.

"Chocolate cake with chocolate or vanilla frosting."

I started with the basic chocolate cupcake, to really evaluate La Luna's base offerings.

The chocolate cupcake is available with either chocolate or vanilla buttercream frosting.  I went with chocolate, for the complete chocolate experience.  It came topped with a Hershey Kiss as well.  Chocolate on chocolate with chocolate!

The cake was light, decently moist, decently chocolate-y.  Not a super rich deep chocolate, but, decent. 

The chocolate buttercream was thick, chocolatey, and exactly what I wanted to make the chocolate experience more pronounced.

A solid, clearly fresh, standard chocolate cupcake, although I'll admit I like a deeper chocolate cupcake base.

3/5.

Hot Chocolate.

"Chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting topped with marshmallows."

Next I went for the "hot chocolate", not for the marshmallows perched on top that I'm sure draw some people in, but rather, for the whipped cream frosting.  I was really curious what that would be like.

The answer?  Well, it is, uh, whipped cream?  Fresh whipped cream.  Good whipped cream.  But, whipped cream.  It turns out, while I love whipped cream on most any dessert, I really missed the buttercream frosting that is standard on cupcakes.  The whipped cream did create a unique eating experience for a cupcake, much lighter and less sweet than a traditional buttercream.

The cake was the same as the previous cupcake, but without the chocolate buttercream, it felt even lighter, less intense chocolate, and did let me down a bit.

The result was perhaps appropriate for someone who doesn't like super sweet cupcakes, and isn't into frosting.  I think my mom would really like it.  For me though, it was a bit boring.  A toasted marshmallow whipped topping would be a better match, for me.

The decorations were adorable though, with mini marshmallows and a chocolate straw.  

My least favorite chocolate offering. 2.5/5.

Chocolate Très Leches.

"Chocolate cake filled with 3 different kinds of milk topped with chocolate whipped cream frosting."

While tres leches is normally a white cake, La Luna offers up a unique chocolate version, in addition to the classic.

This cake was quite moist, clearly soaked in the milks, with the center in particular actually oozing with milk.  It was dark colored chocolate, but I didn't find the cake to be that intensely chocolately.  It was slightly messy to eat once I reached some smaller bites though, as it was, well, wet.

The frosting was also unique - not buttercream based, but rather, whipped cream like the Hot Chocolate, but, chocolate whipped cream.  Very light, very fluffy, not nearly as sweet nor intense as a standard buttercream.  Again I really wished for rich, sweet frosting, but that is my taste, and I admit wouldn't make sense with the tres leches theme.  I appreciated the little chocolate chips on top for crunch and extra chocolatey bit.

3/5, mostly for uniqueness.

Red Velvet.

"Red Velvet cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting."

Yes, red velvet is listed here as a chocolate base, because, it is cocoa based.  Many people don't realize this, but I learned it long ago when I had a teammate who couldn't have caffeine, and thus, red velvet was never an option for him.

The cake was moist, and had a slightly interesting flavor, like many red velvet, you don't taste chocolate exactly, but can tell it is more than vanilla and food coloring as there is a bit more depth to the flavor.

A signature aspect of red velvet, besides the red cake of course, is the frosting, always cream cheese based, and usually quite sweet.  La Luna's frosting was a much lighter and less sweet version than many others I've had.  The frosting wasn't as strong in the cream cheese flavor either, but had a hint of it.

Overall, I'd call this a lighter red velvet, for those who don't want crazy sweet and rich frosting.  I really liked the candied flower on top.

3/5.

Caramel.

"Chocolate cake filled with caramel topped with cream cheese frosting topped with caramel."

I finally started getting adventurous, and opted for the caramel cupcake one day (I went hoping to get the mocha or chocolate peanut butter, but alas, they had neither).

This was a really unusual cupcake.  The cake was crazy moist, I think because of the caramel inside?  It didn't have a pocket of caramel though, but had a moisture that was very confusing ... almost like the inside of the tres leches, but in this case, there was no visible milk oozing out.  I think it was caramel, more of a thin caramel syrup like you use in coffee drinks, rather than a thicker style sauce.  Anyway, deep, moist, fresh chocolate cake.

And then, they top this with cream cheese frosting, rather than vanilla or caramel.  Like the red velvet, it is a lighter style cream cheese frosting, not too sweet.  I did taste more cream cheese this time than with the red velvet though.  The caramel on top added a bit of additional sweetness.

This was a unique cake, and it reminded me of a red velvet in many ways, just, without the red hue, and with a touch more sweetness from the caramel.  I love buttercream though, so I didn't appreciate the cream cheese frosting quite as much.

3/5.

Mocha with Baileys.

"Chocolate cake infused with Baileys Irish cream and coffee buttermilk frosting."

I finally got my hands on a mocha with Baileys!  I was excited for this one because I went through a little phase in college where I loved sipping on Baileys on the rocks in the evening (in my head, I was being very classy, lol).

The cake was extremely moist, wet from the Baileys it was infused with, but otherwise the same chocolate cake as others.  It had a slight boozy kick, not over the top, but, you could taste a bit of booziness.  

This is the only item La Luna makes with buttercream other than chocolate and vanilla, and the mocha flavor was reasonably strong.  Another not sweet topping, with the slight bitterness from the coffee.

My favorite part was the chocolate covered espresso bean on top - it had been ages since I had one, and I loved the crunch.

Overall, a good cupcake, moist, flavorful, and perfect for someone who likes a bit of booze and coffee flavors.  3/5.

Asteroid Cookies & Cream.

"Chocolate cake with cookies with cream cheese frosting and oreo cookie."

I don't really care for Oreos, which is amusing given that I grew up in a house that *always* had them (my dad's favorite), so the "Asteroid" Cookies & Cream was my last pick.  I split it with a coworker, just for completeness of my review.

It had the same chocolate base as the others, very light, airy, and not the style I really care for (again, just personal preference), but it was a bit more fun as it had little bits of Oreo cookie integrated throughout, which gave pops of crunch.  

The frosting was the basic cream cheese frosting used in the red velvet, not very sweet, but richer than regular buttercream due to the cream cheese.  I had hoped for sweeter, something more like the inside of an Oreo, the "stuf" (which is the best part, imho!).  Perched on top was the lid of an Oreo, *not* a whole Oreo, kind of a unique touch.

Given that cream cheese icing isn't my favorite, I don't really care for this light style of chocolate cupcake, and I don't like Oreos, this was pretty low on my list, but, I'm glad I tried it.  I do think they kinda missed the mark on embracing the cookies & cream element though, as the sweet "stuff" from the inside of the Oreo was not included.

2.5/5.

Vanilla Base

The vanilla based lineup is considerably smaller than the chocolate, with just basic vanilla, a birthday one, and passionfruit (that I never saw in the shop), in addition to their signature La Luna Tres Leches.

Sunny Vanilla.

"Sunny Vanilla Rich vanilla cake with vanilla frosting."

Just like with the chocolate base, the basic vanilla is available with either chocolate or vanilla frosting. I went for vanilla, to keep it caffeine-free.

The base was a pretty standard vanilla cupcake, clearly fresh, moist.  Not particularly strong vanilla flavor, but not fake, not too sweet, and had a nice crumb.  The frosting was totally what I was craving: sweet fluffy buttercream.

This matched my mood well.  Simple, classic. 3/5.

La Luna Tres Leches.

"Tres leches vanilla cake filled with 3 different kinds of milk and whipped cream frosting."

I obviously had to get the Tres Leches!  Not only is it their signature cupcake, but, I like tres leches cake in general (mmm, lots of sweet cream!).  It was this cupcake that I had tried, and loved, before as well.

If you are unfamiliar, tres leches cake is normally, um, a cake, soaked in 3 kinds of milk (one of which is sweetened condensed milk, for extra sweetness), and topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit.  This was basically that, minus the fruit, in cupcake form.

The cake was nicely moist, particularly in the center, but, it lacked the real soak that I associate with a tres leches cake ... which makes sense, given that it wasn't sitting in a pan full of the milks.  I certainly prefer mine dripping with leche, but, I fully understand that wouldn't really work well for a cupcake.

The whipped cream frosting seemed slightly different from what I had on the hot chocolate cupcake, rather than a plain, pure cream flavor it seemed to have ... a little something to it.  I'm not sure what, but maybe there is sweetened condensed milk or something in it?

Overall, I appreciated the moisture level from the tres leches, but, I think I prefer traditional tres leches cake - more soak, and fruit, makes a difference.

3/5.

Update: I had another, to try the signature item one more time, but, felt about the same.  The cake was moist from the milk soak, but ... just not very flavorful.  I know some people like the lighter style whipped cream frosting, but I yearned for sweet buttercream.  I added fresh raspberries and strawberries to it, and enjoyed it more, but still, just not one I get excited for.  3/5.

Happy Birthday.

"Funfetti cake with vanilla buttercream frosting with colorful sprinkles."

Was it my birthday?  Nope.  But did I still get myself a birthday cupcake because I love sprinkles?  YES!  These are available with either chocolate or vanilla buttercream, with or without a happy birthday sign.

The cake was everything I wanted it to be - moist, dense, loaded with funfetti bits, and tasting like "cake batter", if you know what I mean.  The frosting too was exactly what I wanted - sweet, rich, thick, vanilla buttercream.  The additional sprinkles added a little crunch.

I loved everything about this cupcake, no complaints whatsoever.

4.5/5.

Another Happy Birthday.

The next time I visited, it was no question that I wanted another birthday cupcake.  This time, they had both chocolate and vanilla frosted, and I almost went for chocolate, to try it, but ... I couldn't resist getting the one I had liked so much before.

And I was very happy with my repeat choice.  Again, the cake was moist and flavorful in a "cake batter" way, and the frosting was sweet and a perfect match.  A cupcake I can eat just as a cupcake, not requiring ice cream alongside (although, I'll admit, I had this one with a scoop of Tillamook Birthday Cake ice cream for double the funfetti goodness ... yes!).

This is clearly "my" cupcake from La Luna, and I'll continue to get it again and again.

4.5/5.

Update: I had it yet another time, and felt the same way.  It really is just a fantastic cupcake.  The cake is somehow more dense and moist and flavorful than the others, and I like the sweet buttercream.  My fav, again and again.  4.5/5.

Special: Vanilla with Raspberry Filling.

"Vanilla cake with raspberry filling and whipped cream frosting."

One day, La Luna had a random special, a raspberry filled one.  I obviously had to try it, particularly when the staff member helping me said he'd already had 2 that day :). On occasion, they offer this one filled with passion fruit filling instead.

I knew this would be a lighter offering than a standard cupcake, since it uses the whipped cream frosting, not buttercream.  This is actually a deterrent to me as I love sweet frosting, but, actually, it worked really well on this cupcake.

The base cupcake was good, moist, slightly above average vanilla cake.  The frosting, yes, just the whipped cream, which before I felt kinda let down by, but here, it worked, because it paired really nicely with the filling.  The filling was fruity and sweet, and the cake was very generously filled.  Nearly every bite I had came with plenty of fruity filling, cake, and whipped cream.  It was like a strawberry shortcake almost, although obviously raspberry and not strawberry, and just like in a shortcake, whipped cream is a key component so this frosting was perfect.

Not a super sweet cupcake, and a surprise to me how much I liked it.  My second favorite La Luna cake overall.

4/5.

Passion Fruit.

"Vanilla cake with passion fruit filling and whipped cream frosting."

My very last visit to La Luna, the elusive passion fruit showed up.  I found out from a coworker that they had supplier issues, and thus no passion fruit cupcakes for quite a while.

It was the same concept as the raspberry filled one with standard vanilla cake, this time filled with passion fruit syrup, which made it super moist, and quite fruity.  The simple whipped cream frosting wasn't sweet, but that was a nice compliment to the otherwise quite sweet passion fruit.  I would have loved to see real passion fruit puree used rather than just syrup, but the flavor was there, and it was very moist.

3/5.

Other

La Luna occasionally offers up a seasonal cake (like pumpkin in October), and they can also make custom flavors for catering.  Sometimes carrot cake even pops up.

Duo.

"Infused chocolate and vanilla cake topped with chocolate and vanilla buttercream frosting."

The Duo is really just a merging of the regular chocolate-chocolate and vanilla-vanilla cupcakes.  The cake is chocolate on the bottom, vanilla on top, and as you can see, both kinds of frosting are on top.

It was a fine cupcake, moist enough, and I did like having both kinds of buttercream.  The buttercream was quite fluffy, very sweet, and totally what I was in the mood for.  The chocolate buttercream had a nice cocoa base to it.

Not a particularly exciting cupcake, but a nice mix up of classic vanilla and chocolate.

3/5.

Neapolitan.

"Infused chocolate and vanilla cake topped with strawberry frosting."

The Neapolitan is a step up from the Duo, both of which feature chocolate and vanilla cake, the former with chocolate and vanilla frosting, this one, with strawberry.  I picked it entirely because I wanted to try the fruity frosting!

The cake was mostly vanilla with a slight swirl of chocolate.  The cake was decently moist.

The strawberry frosting was fluffy and fruity, exactly as I was hoping.  

A basic cake, and I appreciated the fruity (and colorful) touch.  It did make me wish it had a maraschino cherry or something on top though ...

3/5.

Vegan

Always available for special order, and sometimes in the shop, La Luna makes both vegan and gluten-free versions of their basic chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet.

Red Velvet. $4.

"Vegan red velvet cupcake topped with vegan vanilla frosting."

I decided to try the vegan red velvet one day when it was available.  I was super curious to see how it compared to the regular red velvet.  And you know, I needed to do "research" for you all!

The verdict?  It was clearly quite different.  The frosting in particular, was totally and completely different.  It tasted like Tofutti.  Or at least, my memory of Tofutti, as it had been years since I had it.  It was really fluffy, and, yeah, didn't taste like real cream cheese at all.  Sweeter than the regular ones too.

And the cake?  It seemed drier, less open crumb.  Fairly meh.  Not a strange taste, but, felt like lower end generic grocery store cake.

So, sorry to the vegans who were hopeful here, but, I don't really recommend it, although the frosting certainly was interesting ...

2/5.

Cake Pops

Cake pops come in chocolate, vanilla, or red velvet varieties, regular only (no vegan nor gluten-free).  They are $3 each, or $35 for a dozen.

I always want to like cake pops more than I really do, but I still opted to try them, as I knew a cake pop would last ok until the next day, and thus I could get more goodies.

Chocolate.

"Handmade chocolate cake, blended with creamy chocolate frosting, and dipped in dark chocolate."

I went for a chocolate cake pop to start, drawn in by the adorable dino head peeking out of it.  The dino was fine, regular chocolate.

The shell was much softer than I was expecting, and seemed to just be blue colored melting chocolate, not dark chocolate.  It certainly didn't taste deeply chocolate, and didn't have the snap or crack to it I was expecting, although that is good, as it didn't shatter when I bit in.

Inside the shell was very soft, moist chocolate cake.  It was deeply chocolatey, a very different texture than the chocolate cupcakes (which makes sense, as it was blended with frosting), almost like a very rich, dense brownie.

I found it "fine" but like most cake pops, left me wanting something a bit different.  That said, I decided to dunk it into sweetened milk (kinda like you can do with a chocolate chip cookie), and that was actually a fun combo, it soaked up milk quickly and got even more moist!

3/5.

Another Chocolate.

I went intending to get a vanilla cake pop my second visit, but ... they had only chocolate.  Thus, another chocolate it was.  This one had M&Ms on the outside.

It was, yup, a cake pop.  I again decided to submerge it in milk, pair it with fresh strawberries, and add whipped cream, and enjoyed my soaked milk pop creation.  But, uh, perhaps not how it was meant to be served.

3/5.

Halloween Chocolate.

Another day, another chocolate cake pop, again the only variety available that day.  This time, they were freshly made.  It came with standard fall sprinkles.

I still felt the same way about the cake pop though.

2.5/5.

Winter Chocolate.

In the winter, the cake pops were *adorable*, but, again, only chocolate available.

I particularly was smitten by the looks of the snowman, with a Hershey Kiss hat!

Red Velvet.

"Handmade red velvet cake, blended with cream cheese frosting, and dipped in white chocolate."

The next time I got a cake pop, it was near Halloween, and thus, the cake pops were decorated accordingly.  I selected the eyeball.  They finally had a flavor other than chocolate, this time, red velvet.

It was, well, a cake pop.  Moist inside, mushy, and, yeah.  A cake pop.  I didn't taste the cream cheese at all here (it was very mild in the red velvet cupcake itself).  

The eyeball was the most fun part about this.

2.5/5.

Original Review, 2015

I used to eat a lot of cupcakes ... as in, several per week.  The reason is simple: the pastry department where I work made really good cupcakes, and we always had cupcakes on Tuesdays, aka, "Cupcake Day", and usually one other time during the week as well.  While cupcakes are actually not one of my favorite dessert items, they did a really good job, and my cupcake desires were always more than satisfied.  I haven't found anywhere else in the city that even comes close to being as tasty, so I generally just don't even try anymore.

But "Cupcake Day" ended when we changed pastry chefs, and even though I still don't love cupcakes, I've been more likely to try them lately, like, as you read about last week, I had to try out Sprinkle's Cupcakes.

So when I found a newish cupcake shop a few blocks away in Crocker Galleria, I had to check it out.   I was further intrigued, because not only do they offer standard cupcakes, they have ... savory cupcakes!  I love my baked goods and sweets, so these weren't exciting to me personally, but I have friends who do not like sweets, and it would be so fun to have them try the savory cupcakes.  Emil in particular has proclaimed before that there would never be a cupcake that he'd like, but maybe the "New York, New York" with its scallion, dill, and havarati custard base topped with smoked salmon would appeal? Or the "Mission", with ground beef, pinto beans, salsa, corn, and questo fresco, in a toasted tortilla crust, topped with sour cream?  How adorable!

Anyway, back to La Luna.  La Luna was also founded by a La Cocina graduate, and I always like supporting these small incubator businesses.  They also have froyo, although the machines were not working the day I visited.  Cupcakes and froyo, right in the middle of the FiDi?  Potential!

The staff were very friendly when I visited, and I did enjoy the cupcake I had.  I will be back, and must investigate these savory cupcakes sometime ...

Tres Leches Mini Cupcake.  $1.25.

I went for their signature cupcake, the one that basically every review I read of the place praised, and  the staff member told me was the best.  Described as "vanilla cake filled with three different kinds of milk and cream frosting".

The cake was very moist, as you'd expect from a tres leches.  It almost seemed as if it were filled with cream, but I believe that was just the tres leches effect.  The frosting on top had a slight citrus flavor to it, and was creamy.

Nothing at all to complain about here, just a really nicely done cupcake.  $1.25 for a mini was a great price, and a very friendly size.  Honestly, if I worked close by, I'd probably be swinging by for a "little treat" regularly.

Update: I attended a brunch, and someone brought a batch of these.  I again loved the moist, almost custard-like filling due to all the milk.  And the frosting was perfect, not too sweet, just sweet enough.  I may or may not have had two that day ... because, mini cupcakes don't count, right?