Crumbs Strawberry-Banana Cupcake

Crumbs Strawberry-Banana Cupcake, $3.75, http://www.crumbs.com/

Taste: The frosting is banana-flavored and tastes artificially flavored-- I think probably the same frosting as on the Banana Split Cupcake. The cake is AWESOME though-- it's strawberry flavored cake with real strawberries baked into it!! The cake doesn't taste artificial at all, it's full of fresh strawberry flavored deliciousness. There are also strawberry preserves in the center of the cupcake that are delicious-- not too sweet, with chunks of real strawberries in the compote. Taking a bite of the banana frosting, strawberry cake and strawberry preserve filling together, it's pretty tasty-- it really pulls together into a strawberry-banana flavor! Makes me wonder if Crumbs has thought about doing a reverse banana-strawberry cupcake with banana cake and strawberry frosting! The best tasting component is by far the strawberry cake on this one, though-- strawberry cake, so innovative, utterly delicious! Overall Taste Rating: 4 out of 5 sprinkles

Texture: Crumbs really knows how to get the textures perfect on their cakes-- the cake is so moist and soft and delectable. The frosting is creamy and smooth, and the strawberry preserves inside are smooth with real strawberries swirled in. The pink and red sprinkles are also a pleasant addition. However, the strawberry gummy candies adorned on top are much better served for decoration than consumption-- in general, I don't think gummy candies and baked goods really go together, and it especially kills the texture to have a chewy gummy candy in a bite of your cupcake! I'd advise leaving these gummy candies off to the side or consuming them separately. Overall Texture Rating: 3.5 out of 5 sprinkles

Aesthetic: Crumbs cupcakes are so pretty!! I love the jumbo size of the cupcake, the rim of densely packed red and pink sprinkles, and the cute gummy strawberries on top (they didn't work with the texture, but they looked cute, and let the world know the cupcake was going to involve strawberry flavors!) But, a deduction needs to be taken because the application of the sprinkles, frosting, and other components are not perfectly even or symmetrical. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4.5 out of 5 sprinkles

Satisfaction: I'm feeling pretty satisfied! The strawberry cake was just stellar, and left me craving more. The banana icing on its own tasted too artificial for me to enjoy it, but together with the other cupcake components, it was pretty tasty. The gummy candies on top just didn't work for me with the textures, but I do think they looked nice as decoration! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 3.5 out of 5 sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 15.5 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)