Magnolia: Miniature Vanilla Frosting on Vanilla Cake

Miniature Vanilla Frosting on Vanilla Cake Cupcake from Magnolia

Magnolia Bakery was giving away miniature cupcakes today in Rockefeller Center, and I happened to walk by just at the right time! I didn't have my digital camera with me at the time, so I snapped cell phone pictures of it prior to consumption (sorry about the poor quality!). My teensy treat was free, but I was told you can purchase the minis at Magnolia (http://www.magnoliacupcakes.com/) at a dozen for $20. (Either oddly or adorably, I can't decide which, the dozen mini-cupcakes for $20 are sold in a cardboard egg-carton. Assuming they're re-using egg cartons from the eggs used to make the cupcakes, which is what it looked like, I suppose it is an eco-friendly way to recycle them).

Taste: Is it just me, or do all things taste better miniature? The vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream frosting mini-cupcake was just far more delicious in its miniature form than in the full-size version! Although the icing was still too sweet while the cake was not sweet enough, in bite-size form perhaps I didn't have enough time to critique the problems with the cupcake's taste before it was all gone! When I was eating the full size version of the same, I discussed how I felt sick after a few bites and had no desire to eat any more, but perhaps the mini-size is the answer for me, because the two-bite cupcake tasted a lot better! Overall Taste Rating: 4 out of 5 sprinkles

Texture: You might call me crazy, but the cake in the mini-Magnolia was moister than the standard-size Magnolia cake. Really! And the icing was smooth and thick. Overall Texture Rating: 4 out of 5 sprinkles

Aesthetic: Okay, I might be biased in favor of all things miniature, but this cupcake was just ADORABLE. Mini-cupcake just delighted me! It looked much like a Magnolia big cupcake that only scores a 3 sprinkles for aesthetics, yet scaled down in a mini-me version, it was extra cute! It earns an extra point for miniature-ness! Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4 out of 5 sprinkles!

Satisfaction: So on the one hand, a miniatue cupcake is gone in two bites and doesn't fully satisfy the way a regular-size cupcake can. But on the other hand, a miniature cupcake is sometimes JUST the thing you need to satisfy that desire for delicious cupcakeness without expanding your waistline and overeating goodies. And something about miniature things is extra satisfying because they're just so cute. I was absolutely delighted to learn that such miniature cupcakes from Magnolia existed, and I swear I had a smile on my face for hours after that happenstance discovery and my free mini-cupcake consumption. I truly did feel satisfied even though it was so tiny! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 sprinkles!

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 16 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)