CupcakeStop Lemon Cupcake

Lemon Cupcake, the Cupcake Stop, www.cupcakestop.com

The CupcakeStop Truck came to the Upper West Side today!! How exciting!! (My neighborhood). I had no idea it would be there-- I was just strolling along Broadway on this sunny Sunday afternoon, when my mom pointed and said "Look! A cupcake truck!" And lo and behold, the CupcakeStop was paying a visit to the UWS! So, I took the opportunity to try my first full-sized CupcakeStop cupcake. I chose Lemon because it was the only available flavor I had not yet reviewed. I also had a hankering for a good lemon cupcake, after my recent abysmal experience with Buttercup's Lemon Cupcake.

Taste: The frosting is sweet yet distintly lemony-- sweet and tart at the same time in an excellent balance. It's definitely a lemon buttercream. What a great flavor combination. Disappointingly, the cake is plain yellow cake-- I personally prefer a lemon flavored cake in a lemon cake or lemon cupcake. But, pleasingly, there is tart lemon filling in the center of the cupcake. There is also some delicious lemon curd swirled onto the top of the cupcake with the frosting. When the tart filling, refreshing lemon curd, sweet/tart frosting and sweet cake are eaten together, this is a delicious lemon cupcake combo. Perfect ratio of sweetness to tartness for a lemon cupcake that leaves you with a satisfied sweet tooth. Overall Taste Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The frosting is thick and smooth, the lemon filling in the center has a gel-like consistency, and the cake is very dense-- not dry but not too moist, just in between. Overall Texture Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Notice how the frosting is NOT FLUORESCENT??? Take notes, Buttercup!!
The frosting is a perfect lemony pale yellow, swirled in a way I find pleasing, although there is some bare naked cupcake top peeking out the edges, which you know drives me crazy. This cupcake is well proportioned and cute. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: Pretty good!! I'm not sure I'm ready to laud it on the level of Del Frisco's lemon cake or the cherished Freihofer's lemon cupcakes of my youth, but this was very tasty!! FAR superior to the disastrous Buttercup lemon cupcake, that's for sure. I really was quite satisfied-- my sweet tooth was fulfilled, which is KEY for a lemon cupcake, yet it was also cirtrusy, tart and refreshing-- the exact result you want from a lemon dessert. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 15.75 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

My First Visit to the CupcakeStop Truck!

CupcakeStop finally came to Midtown today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's been 19 days since the CupcakeStop made its debut, but after one short-lived stop in midtown last week (which I missed due to work), this is only the second time the Cupcake Truck has driven to midtown (where I work)! Conveniently, they pulled up only two blocks from my office, so I dashed away from my desk, into the rain, to get my hands on my first ever CupcakeStop cupcakes!

Upon my arrival at the Cupcake Truck, I met Lev Ekster himself, the man behind the CupcakeStop. I introduced myself and told him I had not yet tasted any CupcakeStop cupcakes, and he said he would fix that right away, disappeared for a moment into the truck, and immediately reappeared and hooked me up with a variety pack of twelve assorted mini cupcakes and educated me about what flavors were in my pack. It was my pleasure to review the day's five flavors:

Pineapple with Brown Sugar (18.25 Sprinkles)
Red Velvet (17.25 Sprinkles)
Oreo Crumb (16.5 Sprinkles)
Vanilla on Vanilla (15.75 Sprinkles)
Mint Chocolate Chip (14.25 Sprinkles)

Read the review for each flavor by clicking the links above! As of today (June 24, 2009), this visit to CupcakeStop puts three new cupcakes in the CupcakeRankings.com Official Cupcake Rankings Top 10, with the Pineapple Brown Sugar cupcake becoming the fourth highest ranked cupcake!

I very much enjoyed my first visit to the CupcakeStop, and hope to return to it on its next visit to midtown to try more of their innovative flavors (check out the menu at www.cupcakestop.com). I especially liked the proprietor, who was so nice-- and I like that a man is behind the city's hottest new cupcake sensation, since often people think cupcakes are such a girly thing-- men love cupcakes too! I also feel a certain kinship with Mr. Ekster, mingled with some envy-- I am a full time lawyer/part-time cupcake enthusiast, whereas he is a full time cupcakery owner/ nonpracticing lawyer. He said running the CupcakeStop is a lot of work, but I bet (and hope) its also a lot of fun!

CupcakeStop Vanilla on Vanilla

Cupcake Stop Vanilla on Vanilla Mini-Cupcake, www.cupcakestop.com

Taste: Mmm, cupcake stop buttercream! Sweet, buttery, yet not too sweet or too buttery-- so well-balanced. The cake is sweet and lightly flavorful. This is a very sweet cupcake, but for a classic vanilla on vanilla, the tastes are simple and very nice. Overall Taste Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: Fluffy frosting sprinkled with little blue colored sugar crystals that add a subtle crunch. The vanilla cake is moist and fluffy. Very nicely done. Overall Texture Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: This is a cutie! Miniature sized, golden cake baked in even proportions, and a generous dollop of white frosting on top, applied in a swirl though not a perfectly centered one, sprinkled with blue colored sugar crystals. Simple, cute. One thing I've noticed about CupcakeStop is that they tend to frost their cupcakes so that the edges of the top of the cake still show, rather than having the frosting go all the way to the edge of the cupcake wrapper and not leave any cake peeking out. Generally, as an aesthetic matter, I tend to favor cupcakes that are iced all the way down to the side. But, the way CupcakeStop deposits a generous, heaping dollop of frosting but without going all the way to the edges is pleasing to me here, despite my usual proclivities. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: A very simple vanilla cupcake with a classic taste-- not as exotic or interesting as some other cupcakes that tickle my fancy, but definitely satisfying when craving a basic cupcake. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 15.75 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

(its a mini!)

CupcakeStop Mint Chocolate Chip

CupcakeStop Mint Chocolate Chip Mini-Cupcake, www.cupcakestop.com

Taste: The frosting is a delicious, sweet (but not too sweet) vanilla buttercream that I really enjoy. The cake is a chocolate cake that is distinctly mint-flavored, and I don't really like it on its own because its a little strong. But, eaten together with the delicious vanilla buttercream, it really balances, so the cupcake is lightly mint flavored, with overpowering elements of sweet buttercream and chocolate cake. The mini bittersweet chocolate chips on top add something nice as well. Very different. Overall Taste Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The buttercream is light, fluffy and melts in my mouth. The cake is really moist-- go CupcakeStop with their signature moist cake, since this is the fourth impressively moist cake I've tasted-- and the mini chocolate chips on top add a little crunch. Overall Texture Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Kind of a cuteness here-- miniature, not perfectly symmetrical or precise on the frosting application, but a whimsical dollop of bright white icing, leaving the deep chocolate color of the cake peeking through, with a few mini-chocolate chips dotting the top. It's not beautiful, but its fun. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: My first ever mint chocolate chip cupcake! Pretty good!! I never thought to combine mint with baked goods, but there's something refreshing about it, making this feel lighter than the ordinary chocolate cupcake. Glad I tried it, but not sure I'd get it again. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 14.25 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

CupcakeStop Oreo Crumb

Cupcake Stop Oreo Crumb Mini-Cupcake, www.cupcakestop.com

Taste: The frosting is a delicious sweet buttercream-- if this is the CupcakeStop's standard buttercream, they have hit on an amazing recipe here. It's sweet and buttery, but not too sweet or too buttery-- just enough-- perfect. The cake looks like it has Oreo crumbs baked into the batter, but at first when I tasted the cake alone, it didn't taste overly Oreo-y, it tasted just like a sweet and tasty vanilla cake. But when I ate the cupcake and the frosting together, something about it really did taste like an Oreo, with the cream filling and Oreo cookie taste! So the Oreo crumbs must have caused that effect! I think maybe my first bite of cake happened to not been heavy on the Oreo bits, and then the Oreo bits sprinkled on the top added to the flavors. Overall Taste Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The buttercream is light and melts in my mouth into sugary deliciousness. The cake is moist-- though not as ultra-moist as the pineapple cake and red velvet. Still, the cake is tender and delicious. Overall Texture Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: This is a pretty little cupcake! I love how perfectly shaped the icing dollop is, and the cupcake is so even and teensy and cute. I like how the Oreo crumbs are baked throughout the cake batter, and the icing is sprinkled with finely crushed Oreo crumbs-- this cupcake truly lives up to its name as the Oreo Crumb cupcake. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: I love all things miniature, what can I say, they're just cuter than regular-size things, its simply a fact, like how puppies and kittens are cuter than dogs and cats, and babies are cuter than adults, miniature cupcakes are cuter than bigger cupcakes. See below for a to-scale showing of how itsy bitsy it is. And the Oreo flavor in this cupcake really worked. Very satisfied! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 16.5 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

CupcakeStop Red Velvet

CupcakeStop Red Velvet Mini-Cupcake, www.cupcakestop.com

Taste: The frosting is cream cheese frosting, sweet and yet light, distinctly a cream cheese icing, but much lighter than many I've tasted, but the cream cheese flavor is distinct and pleasant. The cake doesn't have a ton of flavor, but I like that it is distinctly sweet, even though it doesn't taste very chocolatey. Overall Taste Rating: 3.75 out of 5 sprinkles

Texture: The icing is ultra-whipped and light, one of the lightest textured cream cheese frostings I've encountered. By far the fluffiest cream cheese frosting yet tasted! Ultra smooth. The cake is very moist-- in fact, I would describe the texture as velvety-- something that is definitely an accolade for a red velvet cupcake. Great textures! Overall Texture Rating: 5 out of 5 sprinkles

Aesthetic: I was given two STYLES of red velvet in my CupcakeStop assortment pack-- one had red sugar crystals sprinkled on top, and the other did not and had a taller swirl of red frosting. I can't decide which I like better! They're both so cute-- the red sugar sprinkles definitely add something decorative, but I like the way the icing is swirled high on the other one. Rich red color. And miniature, so extra cuteness points for that. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: I liked it! A nice bite size treat, and much lighter than a typical red velvet cupcake, which usually has a denser, heavier frosting. Enjoyable. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 17.25 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)
(Miniature!)

CupcakeStop Pineapple Brown Sugar

Cupcake Stop Pineapple with Brown Sugar Mini-Cupcake, http://www.cupcakestop.com/

Taste: The frosting is a brown sugar glaze, super sweet and really delicious-- it reminds me a little bit of maple candy. The cake is a vanilla cake, with chunks of sweet pineapple BAKED IN-- BIG ones! It tastes like the sweet pineapple that comes in a can, and huge chunks of it are baked into the sweet cake! Eaten together, this is delicious-- ultra sweet, but the chunks of real pineapple make it somewhat refreshing. And points for such a unique flavor! Overall Taste Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles.

Texture: This is the moistest cake EVER! The vanilla cake itself is exceptionally moist, and the chunks of pineapple inside are deliciously JUICY! They are exploding into pineapple juice bursts in my mouth! The icing is like a glaze, hardened on top, but soft underneath-- a little grainy, like I can taste the sugar crystals-- it feels like when you eat some brown sugar and let it melt in your mouth (which I loved to do as a little kid, and I'm still loving it now while eating this cupcake!). Overall Taste Rating: 4.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: This cupcake is unfortunately not gorgeous from the exterior-- the brown glaze frosting isn't hugely attractive, although the glaze has a nice shine to it. The cupcake is nicely proportionate and even. And, to help its cuteness despite the brown glaze frosting being less than beautiful, it's MINIATURE! Miniature things are cuter, they just make you say "awww." Also, knowing how unbelievable tasting that brown sugar frosting and pineapple cake is, my mouth is watering and it's just looking better and better to me as I stare at the picture (the actual cupcake has been consumed and is long gone). Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: This was such a unique cupcake flavor, and it came out delicious! Cupcakes go tropical, only at the CupcakeStop! I love this cupcake! Superbly satisfied!! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 18.25 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

(Look how miniature and cute!)