Sweet Revenge "Bird of Paradise" (Mango Buttercream and Lime Chiffon Cake with Fresh Lime Zest)

Sweet Revenge "Bird of Paradise" (Mango Buttercream and Lime Chiffon Cake with Fresh Lime Zest) Cupcake, http://www.sweetrevengenyc.com/

On a gorgeous summer Sunday afternoon, I went for a "cupcake crawl" in downtown Manhattan with my best cupcake tasing buddies, Caryn of Carebear's Kitchen, and Lawrence and Justin from My Two Nuts. Caryn recapped our day of adventure fantastically at her Caryn's 101 Things blog. We had an amazing afternoon of strolling, enjoying wonderful weather, hanging out in the park, and most importantly sharing many delicious cupcakes! This was one of the cupcakes that was a product of our first NYC cupcake crawl!

Taste: WOW-- these are complex tastes, but wonderful ones! The frosting is mango buttercream. And the mango flavoring must come from natural sources, because there is nothing artificial tasting about it. The mango buttercream is absolutely delicious, sweet and distinctly fresh mango flavored. The fresh lime zest sprinkled across the top adds a KICK to the cupcake's taste-- it's delicious and wonderfully complex. The cake is a citrusy lime cake that tastes like a key lime cake-- it's slightly tart, yet sweet, and balanced with the sweet mango buttercream is more sweet than tart-- yet that lime zest is throwing in an extra, tangy kick for intrigue. Overall the cupcake's citrusy flavors are stronger than the mango, but the sweetness of the mango buttercream is strong enough that the cupcake was a whole is not too tart. Refreshing! Original! ZESTY! Overall Taste Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The mango buttercream is smooth and thick. The cake is very dense, but moist. A heavy cupcake, but the refreshing tropical flavors lighten it up. Overall Texture Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Absolutely STUNNING!!! Large in size, with a uniquely large brown paper cupcake wrapper, an extremely generous heaping of frosting, and the signature Sweet Revenge "three stripe" extra application of frosting on top. Light yellow frosting with sprinklings of lime zest across the top alert viewers that this is no ordinary cupcake. So unique, so gourmet, so cool! Overall Aesthetic Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: Sweet Revenge gets extra points for being such a cool VENUE! It's a cupcakery, but although takeout is an option, its designed to be a sit-down cupcake restaurant complete with waitress service. Most unique, the cupcake menu comes with suggested drink pairings! Now, usually my beverage of choice with a cupcake is a cold glass of milk, but Sweet Revenge puts a twist on the usual by suggesting beer, wine or cocktail options that are designed to go best with each flavor of cupcake on their menu. What a cool idea!! The cupcakes also all have fancy names. Sitting down and being served these fancy, gorgeous cupcakes with fancy drinks by a friendly waitress added an extra element to the Sweet Revenge experience that left me feeling extra satisfied. This cupcake was paired with a "Lunetta Prosecco Bellini with Mango" that added some additional mango flavoring to the experience-- and it definitely was well paired! The bubbles on my tongue nicely cooled the zestiness of the lime peel, and was an extra hit of mango. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 19.25 Sprinkles!!! (out of 20 possible)