Crumbs Watermelon Cupcake

Crumbs "Watermelon" Cupcake, www.crumbs.com

Taste: The green frosting on top of this cupcake DOES, indeed, taste like watermelon flavoring. Unfortunately, watermelon frosting is totally weird and not that enjoyable. It tastes like candy-- think of a watermelon Jelly Belly-- but very artificial and, in my opinion, unpleasant. (Although note that I take issue with artificial flavorings more than many others do-- I find artificial flavorings unpleasant and, personally, they leave me with an aftertaste. ) I had the same complaint on artificial flavoring regrarding the Crumbs Banana Frosting. Anyway, the cupcake did have redeeming qualities-- the pink frosting INSIDE the cupcake was, gloriously, STRAWBERRY flavored, and absolutey delicious, a scrumptious, perfectly sweetened buttercream. The cake was delicious Crumbs sponge cake, sweet and delightful. I found myself ignoring the green watermelon frosting and just eating the inside of strawberry frosting and cake-- which was delicious. But, the "watermelon" cupcake failed on its watermelon-distinctive flavorings. I wonder if the bakers knew the watermelon frosting was questionable, which is why they put strawberry frosting inside instead, rather than a watermelon-flavored pink frosting. Overall Taste Rating: 2.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: Can't complain on account of texture! The frosting on top was very smooth, and the filling inside was so fluffy and creamy it melted in my mouth. The cake was tender and moist. The sprinkles adorning the cupcake added a nice little sugary crunch. Overall Texture Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Not bad-- green isn't the most appealing of colors for frosting, but the kitsch of the watermelon theme-- green frosted outside with a pink frosting inside-- was totally adorable. Also, I do appreciate Crumbs not going overboard to make the colors a true "Watermelon"-- fluorescent green and pink frosting would have really grossed me out from color dye overkill. The rim of red sprinkles is festive, but in my opinion, they should have used PINK sprinkles, not red!! Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: Well, my first watermelon cupcake. I guess I now understand why watermelon is not a popular flavor in cupcakes, or in baked goods at all, for that matter. It wasn't really working here. However, asides from the watermelon frosting, this cupcake was delicious. Conveniently, Crumbs is so generous with the icing heaping inside the cupcake, that the frosting-to-cake ratio was plentiful even when only eating the strawberry filling and cake together. So, I was let a satisfied customer, even though the "watermelon" angle wasn't a big hit with me. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 14.75 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)