There comes the inevitable moment in a cupcake connoisseur’s life when they step up to the counter…and they just can’t pick which flavor to get. But at the Market House on the Square in downtown Lake Forest, nobody has to play favorites. The restaurant’s cupcake flights – a dessert comprised of four small assorted cupcakes – is the perfect solution for those who just can’t choose.  

House pastry chef Eleanor Davidson has been serving up her famous cupcake flights since she first began at the Market House in August.

Much like more traditional wine flights, the cupcake flight is supposed to start with the most light of the flavors – in this case, it’s the vanilla buttermilk cupcake with lemon curd and toasted meringue. Next comes the banana cupcake with raspberry mouse and spiced cream cheese frosting.

The third cupcake is the one that tends to throw diners off the most – a beet cake with balsamic mousse and goat cheese frosting, surrounded by dehydrated arugula sugar.

Davidson had been brainstorming to find the best way to utilize the beet cake – a recipe she had learned from a chef of a restaurant that she helped open in Napa – and finally found it in the cupcake.

“It’s really the beet salad turned into a cupcake,” she explained. “It’s the same goat cheese and the same arugula!”

While she agreed that the beet cupcake is generally the one people are most hesitant to try, it’s the perfect balance of savory and sweet – and in fact, turns out to be most people’s favorite. (Including ours at Patch – the goat cheese frosting alone is worth the trip to the Market House!)

The final cupcake is the chocolate cake with banana mousse and peanut butter frosting – the “heaviest” of the cupcakes. (A sort of “red wine” in the flight.)

But, if a flight of cupcakes just isn’t your thing (In which case, you might not be human), the Market Square offers a wide variety of other desserts that are definitely worth the extra calories – including their famous “Monkey Bread” (a cinnamon and sugar coated brioche, served with three delectable dipping sauces) and the “Candy Bar” (the menu doesn’t provide a description but trust us – it’s awesome).

Stay tuned for weekly looks at more interesting eats around the North Shore. And if you have any suggestions for where we should go next, leave a comment below.