The Soda Shop Coconut Cupcake

On another beautiful Sunday, my best cupcake-tasting posse and I embarked on another Cupcake Crawl, this time farther downtown. This time it was unfortunately hovering around 100 degrees and I promptly wanted to melt, so the lounging-in-the-park-with-

cupcakes experience was more sweaty and melty and sticky and thirsty than last time around. However, a good time was had by all, until we all wanted to die from a combination of heat and cupcake-overdosing, that is. Importantly, I should mention that before I transcribed my cupcake rankings onto the computer, I took notes by hand on SPECIAL CUPCAKE RANKING PADS that my best cupcake-tasting friends (Caryn, Lawrence and Justin, along with fellow friend and sometime-cupcake taster Mike) specially DESIGNED for me and gave me for my birthday, complete with a special Caryn-designed logo. I am going to scan some of the cupcake-tasting pad sheets and upload them in a future post! And now, the results of Cupcake Crawl #2!

The Soda Shop Coconut Cupcake

Taste: The frosting is sweet and strongly flavored with coconut, and its refreshing and sweet, quite lovely really. The cake however is sour and unpleasant, reminiscent of Tonnie's Minis. Overall Taste Rating: 2.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The icing has a nice smooth texture, and the real shredded coconut on top adds a chewiness and authenticity, but the ultra-moist cake is too moist so that is actually slimy and wet and gross. Overall Texture Rating: 1 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: I like the advertisement of the coconut flavor in the form of shredded coconut on top, but this is not a particularly artful or beautiful cupcake, although not heinously ugly either. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 2.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: I really liked the coconut frosting on this, if they had gotten the cake right we really would have had a decent cupcake.* A shame... Overall Satisfaction Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 8.5 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

*I would like to note that the cupcakes were retrieved from us from a back room, rather than a display case, and felt cold. While on a hot day a cold treat was appealing, a cold cupcake is not customary nor advisable. I suspect that some of the unfortunate texture issues related to the Soda Shop cupcakes resulted from erroneous refrigeration on the part of the store. I am not sure whether such refrigeration is customary or was a result of the extremely hot August day, but as any cupcake expert is aware, buttercream should NEVER be refrigerated! The refrigeration may have also added to the slimy, clammy texture of the cake. I'm not positive the refrigeration occurred or resulted in the bad texture, but I have my suspicions.

Kyotofu Coconut-Shiso Mini Cupcake

Kyotofu Mini Coconut-Shiso Cupcake, about $1.08 (3 for $3.25), http://www.kyotofu-nyc.com/, 9th Ave and 48th Street

Taste: The taste is similar to a coconut macaroon, but with an extra kick from the shiso herbs that are baked in-- the shiso herbs are strong, sort of like mint or basil-- the tastes are complex but not unpleasant. It's intriguing, and very savory-- it might be really good as a bread, but it's not at all like a cupcake, much more savory than sweet. It's interesting, though, and innovative. Overall Taste Rating: 3 out of 5 sprinkles.

Texture: Dry, chewy, reminds me of a lot of a coconut macaroon... not optimal for a cupcake. Overall Texture Rating: 2 out of 5 sprinkles.

Aesthetic: Cute for its miniatureness, but otherwise, pretty ugly... unadorned, unfrosted, lopsided... Overall Aesthetic Rating: 1 out of 5 sprinkles

Satisfaction: I was glad I tried something with such a unique flavor, and it really was interesting, and I was glad to have tried it. But, it's not something that will satisfy a cupcake craving, and it's not something I'd purchase again. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 2 out of 5 sprinkles.

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 8 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)