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The Green Tea cupcake at Cakes on Walnut. (Trisha Ruiz)

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Cakes on Walnut »
Address: 114 N Walnut St. Champaign, IL 61820
Phone:
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The day I met Trisha Bates, she showed me her favorite book, The Persistence of Yellow: Book of Recipes for Life. Since that day almost a year ago, one particular line from that book never ceased to come to mind every time I thought of her:

"On Tuesday, she woke up and realized she had forgotten the definition of the word, 'Impossible.' She decided it must not have been important."

But those words never quite held as much meaning as they did this Tuesday – a day that both Bates and all the “sweet teeth” of Champaign-Urbana have been waiting for. Because, Tuesday, Trisha and her sister Amanda’s gourmet cupcake shop, Cakes on Walnut (114 N. Walnut), opened to the public.

I stopped in that afternoon to see how things had turned out. Everything is just as she’d described. The large, almost floor-to-ceiling windows let in so much sunshine that the narrowness of the space is disguised. Simple white furniture set off by floral splashes of color and brilliantly colored patterns give the shop a girly, personal feel. And once you see the Bates sisters in the kitchen through the window in the back, dressed in aprons and headscarves of equally bright colors and patterns, it is obvious where the shop’s style comes from.

And then, there is definitely something to say about a cupcake so big you have to eat it with a fork. (Cupcakes come in two sizes: “big” for $3.25 and “small” for $2.75. But I say, for only 50 cents more, just go for the “big.”) These cupcakes are something to behold. One day of business for Cakes on Walnut, and I already have a favorite. (Though I hesitate to become too attached, as the sisters have said that the cupcake menu will change frequently.)

The green tea cupcake with green tea and raspberry buttercream will always keep me coming back. The cupcake is moist, subtly fruity and topped the most beautiful, vibrantly colored raspberry icing with bits of raspberry embedded into it like jewels. And this isn’t your grainy powdered sugar buttercream, either. It’s lighter, creamier, airier and is really (I daresay) the icing on the cake. These cupcakes would be just another pretty good cupcake if not for this beautiful buttercream.

Other special flavors offered right now are strawberry balsamic and salted caramel, along with classics like red velvet, vanilla, chocolate and yellow – all flavors I would expect to be particularly tasty when paired with Cakes on Walnut’s expertly made teas or something from their selection of dessert wines. The green coconut iced tea I had with my green tea cupcake made for a simple but worthy pairing.

I am happy to hear that Cakes on Walnut, by their first day of being open, already surpassed their own business expectations. For Trisha and Amanda, seeing the space transform from an indistinguishable pile of plywood and two-by-fours into the blooming local business that it is must make them prouder than I can imagine. I wish them the best of luck!