Break me off a piece of that Birthday Cake!

Birthday Cake Kit-Kat Bar 

I'm a hypocrite. I rant about "birthday cake" flavoring being a scam, which I 100% stand by, and yet? I. Just. Keep. Buying. It. 

After I searched for, "birthday cake," on my blog, and saw how many results came up, I realized how intense my hypocrisy has been. Why keep buying a product that infuriates me? 

But, after looking at the results? They prove my theory to be true.  

Any cake, any flavor, can be a, "birthday cake." Some of these products are chocolate with chocolate frosting, some vanilla, with vanilla frosting, sometimes a mix of the two...the only thing that stays consistent is sprinkles. Every single one of these "birthday" items has sprinkles, either actual ones, or implied specks of rainbow colors. And I am expecting this to be more of the same. 

April Showers? How about a Sprinkle? - Chocolate Confetti Cake Oreos

Happy (belated) Birthday, Oreo!

Birthday Cake Oreos were released in 2012 for their 100th anniversary and it was kind of a big deal. This was back when the bags had roll-down and twist-tied tops, instead our modern front--peel packaging. (Which I hate.) It was also before we were all burnt out on fancy new Oreo flavors. (Or is that just me?) 

Upon their original release, this flavor was limited edition, but since then it has become a staple of the line-up, with a Mickey-themed Disney release added in for good measure. 

So, for their 110th anniversary, they rereleased their centennial product and added a layer of chocolate creme. That's it. Same classic chocolate cookie, same "birthday cake" creme, but with added chocolate. I didn't feel like that was anything special, and with my irrational annoyance at "Birthday Cake" themed products and marketing, I was going to skip this...but then I was given a package as a gift. So, here we are. Happy Birthday! 

Peeps, Revisited: Cotton Candy and Party Cake

Cotton Candy & Party Cake Peeps - Dollar Tree 

Sorry for tapping out there, it was totally unplanned, but I gave myself a week off. Now I'm back, refreshed, and about to bombard you with more sugary Peep goodness. 

Marshmallows are one of my favorite things ever, right up there with gummies. Whether they're tiny freeze-dried ones for cereal and cocoa, to braided pastel-colored ropes, to jumbo S'more, to Peeps. I love snacking on them, cooking with them, and strategically leaving them out to age like a fine wine. (Stale marshmallows are the best marshmallows. Unless they're freeze dried, which is like stale without the chew.) 

Birthday Cake Cool Whip Mix-Ins

Birthday Cake Cool Whip - Shop Rite

This has been in my freezer FOREVER. Well, not literally, but this was an impulse buy I made right around the time quarantine first began. I braved the stores to buy ice cream for my then ex and his daughter (who were obsessed with Turkey Hill vanilla bean and it was on sale), and I spotted this. My judgement wasn't the best, being in panic-mode, and I hadn't had Cool Whip in forever, so I grabbed it. 

Several months of quarantine, a cancelled wedding, 2 new hair colors, and about 5 mental health crisis later, here we are. So, is this still edible? And, if so, is it good? 

Chocolate Coated Sugar Bombs - Birthday Cake 3 Musketeers

Birthday Cake 3 Musketeers  - Walmart

You know the old, "stopped in for milk left with new bedding, a blender, and seasonal guest towels that are for looking, not touching," memes that gets tossed around online? Well, I just did that. With Walmart. And junk-food. 

I went in to grab some command hooks and left with 3 different kinds of Pop-Tarts, Honey BBQ Frito Twists (the BEST), 3 different boxes of novelty cereal, Reese's Thins, and Brach's Marshmallow Easter Hunt Eggs. Oh, and Command Hooks. 

To rationalize my junk-food shopping spree, I decided to review it all, starting with the candy bars.

Jones Birthday Cake Soda - Rastelli Market

Jones Birthday Cake Soda - Rastelli Market 

Monday was my boyfriend's Birthday! (Yay!) 

I stopped by the Rastelli Market on my way home from work (which is a nifty higher-end grocery store, kind of like Whole Foods, but less pretentious) to get some fancy cupcakes from their bakery when this caught my eye.  

Just like Airhead's, who released a Birthday Cake flavored candy earlier this year, this was done to celebrate Jone's 20th anniversary. The timing couldn't have been more perfect! I grabbed a bottle of this stuff, along with my cupcakes, and excitedly drove home to celebrate.  

Crunchkins - Walmart

Crunchkins - Walmart 

 Okay, this is a (relatively) new candy product a lot of people were excited about, but I (sadly) was not one of them. 

From the second I saw the promo image for this product I felt like it was going to be a disappointment. Why? Look at those flavors! It seems like this is going to be another case of fancy flavor names that the product can't deliver. I mean, Birthday Cake and Fudge Brownie? Aren't those just fancy ways of saying "Chocolate" and "Vanilla?" But Glazed Donut? That one I wasn't sure about. My curiosity won out over my gut instinct. Lets see who was right, my gut, or my brain

Birthday Cake Airhead - 7-Eleven

Birthday Cake Airhead - 7-Eleven

Today is my friend Karen's birthday, so why not celebrate by eating a cake flavored taffy and then describing it to a bunch of strangers on the internet? To top things off I'm not even sharing it with her! (Sorry Karen, but to be honest, I'm really skeptical about this flavor, so it sounds selfish, but I might be taking a cake-flavored bullet for you. You're welcome.) 

Project 7 Sugar Free Birthday Cake Gum - JoAnn Fabrics: Cherry Hill, NJ

Project 7 Sugar Free Birthday Cake Gum - JoAnn Fabrics: Cherry Hill, NJ

Birthday cake flavored gum? And it's not from the Dessert Delight's line? What madness is this?

I had been on the lookout for Project 7's products after seeing a few fellow foodie bloggers review a few of their items, and I finally found them in my area, at the crafty store of all places! I already reviewed the vanilla peppermints from this line, and I liked those quite a bit. They've been in my purse ever since and everyone I've shared them with has enjoyed them as well. Since the mints were such a hit, I decided to give this gum a try, even though I still feel like "Birthday Cake" is a subjective flavor. Come on! There is no one-way to make a birthday cake! It could be any flavor of cake and any flavor of icing, then again, I guess "vanilla cake and icing" doesn't have the same allure as "birthday cake."

Oh well, on to the review!

Birthday Cake Cookies - Target: Cherry Hill, NJ

Birthday Cake Cookies - Target: Cherry Hill, NJ

It seems like the birthday cake trend is finally coming to an end, most likely due to the influx of pumpkin spiced items for the fall, but Target might have missed the memo. In all fairness I'm not sure when they were first released, but these cookies showed up on in my area last month, and even though I am still confused as to how something is supposed to taste like "birthday cake" when it has no specified flavor combination, I though it'd be interesting to see what Target's take on the birthday cake Oreo sandwich cookie would be like.

Spotted on the Shelves Entries #19: Shop Rite

They're back! Check out last year's review to see if they are worth buying.

Spotted at Shop Rite

Here are some items I saw while I was out running errands. I'll be submitting them to The Impulsive Buy later this week.

Birthday Frosting Filled Chips Ahoy! - Wegman's: Cherry Hill, NJ

Birthday Frosting Filled Chips Ahoy! - Wegman's: Cherry Hill, NJ

What is with this birthday cake trend? I don't understand why there is a sudden obsession with things tasting like "Birthday Cake" when it isn't even a real flavor. According to M&M's it's chocolate cake with white icing, Krispy Kreme seems to think it's a vanilla cake with vanilla icing, and now Chips Ahoy is peddling this version with yellow cake. (I blame 50 Cent and Katy Perry. NolinkforyouKatyI'maGagafan.) Enough rambling, let's see if these cookies are worth the hype and if they are as bad for you and they appear to be.