Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in 2019. The Peppered Cupcake’s storefront on Racine Drive is open to the public, and in addition, they offer cupcakes daily from a vending machine at the Fischer University Union on UNCW’s campus. Check here for up-to-date hours.
The buttercream was an accident. Tabitha Meready was experimenting in her kitchen, and she’d gotten distracted. While her back was turned, the mixer transformed powdered sugar and butter into something incredibly light and smooth.
At Meready’s Wilmington shop, The Peppered Cupcake, that magic buttercream is the crowning glory on light, moist cupcakes in flavors like peach-and-lavender cobbler and banana pudding.
And the kitchen experiments continue: Meready never uses food coloring — she might add turmeric for a hint of yellow, raspberries for pink, or roasted sweet potatoes for orange.
For her signature cupcakes, inspired by a family recipe for Jezebel sauce, she stuffs vanilla cupcakes with a preserve of the day, frosts them, then adds a spoonful of mango-chili or peach-habanero pepper jelly on top for a sweet-and-spicy surprise.
The Peppered Cupcake
260 Racine Drive Suite 7
Wilmington, NC 28403
(910) 399-1088
thepepperedcupcake.com
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