Upon learning of Cupcake Royale's Valentine's Day-themed Deathcake, I was excited to get a chance to try it.

The bakery's website boasts of a decadent chocolate cupcake infused with Stumptown espresso topped with chocolate ganache and decorated with fleur de sel — in other words, a fancy type of French salt. It seemed like the perfect little something to give to a friend or romantic interest for Valentine's Day.

But when entering the store and scanning the case for the chocolate-y Deathcake, I was disappointed to see it on the top of the case in a tiny cupcake foil and single red heart on it to make it Valentine's Day-themed.

The Deathcake is not your traditional white cake, pink frosting and NECCO heart on top Valentine's Day cupcake. It's much smaller, and much more dense.

Measuring maybe an inch in diameter, the cupcake was small but packed a powerful taste.

No, it wasn't as satisfying as a large "Kate" or "Coconut Bunny," but it was a nice dessert.

It matched the Cupcake Royale's goal to create "a lethal cupcake in a sharable baby-size."

Admittedly, if it had been bigger it would have been death by chocolate. The dense miniature was delicious and the salt on top complemented the body of the cake very well, although more salt would have been appreciated.

Even so, a trip to Cupcake Royale is always worth it and the idea of a gift from a loved one for Valentine's Day in the form of one of their three-pack Deathcakes would be a nice, sweet surprise.Who could turn their nose up at a cupcake anyway?

Besides, the bakery's reputation is enough to make anyone excited to receive a treat from the Seattle U alumnus-owned company.

Being one of first cupcake bakeries established out of New York City, Cupcake Royale has been a path paver in terms of specialty treats. It has opened the barrier for more creative cupcake bakeries and recipes for the United States and has become well established in Seattle. It is basically the cupcake version of Portland's Voodoo Doughnuts.

With its path paver status, Cupcake Royale has had time to perfect their recipes and create funky, creative treats for Seattleites to enjoy, all of which are made from scratch with fresh ingredients.

Even still, the signature Deathcake was better before it was reformulated into a "baby-size" dessert.

It may have been tolerated as a fun treat but the breaking point is the price: $3 for a single cupcake and around $8.99 for a three-pack.

You could get your loved one a whole bouquet of flowers for cheaper at Pike's or an adult-sized dessert somewhere else.

Katie may be reached at kgilbert@su-spectator.com