Tribeca Treats "Frosting Shot" of Vanilla Buttercream

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!

Tribeca Treats Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Shot. I would like to inform readers that Tribeca Treats is an ADORABLE store, more than just a bakery-- it is a confectionary as well that sells homemade chocolates, and it also has a little cupcake and candy-themed "gift shop" in the front that sells beautiful cards, books and assorted paraphernalia. It is decorated in a clean, crisp and modern way that I really appreciated, and it was refreshingly air-conditioned and cold on a hot August day.

Taste: Mmmm, buttery, sugary, sweet! An excellent stand-alone frosting!! Overall Taste Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The texture is so smooth, it melts in my mouth, its almost drinkable! Overall Texture Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: What a concept, and what a presentation! Give me a frosting shot any day over a shot of alcohol! I like the clear, angular little "shot glass" and the decorative swirl of white frosting, dotted with colorful sprinkles. I especially appreciate the star design that you can see depicted in the aerial view. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: The frosting is very edible on its own as a shot-- delectable!! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake [Actually Just Frosting] Ranking: 17.75 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

Tribeca Treats Lemon Raspberry

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!

Lemon Raspberry Cupcake from Tribeca Treats. I would like to inform readers that Tribeca Treats is an ADORABLE store, more than just a bakery-- it is a confectionary as well that sells homemade chocolates, and it also has a little cupcake and candy-themed "gift shop" in the front that sells beautiful cards, books and assorted paraphernalia. It is decorated in a clean, crisp and modern way that I really appreciated, and it was refreshingly air-conditioned and cold on a hot August day.

Taste: The icing is lightly lemony, not tart and not ultra-sweet, but just a perfect balance of lightly sweet and fresh lemon-y. There is a sweet real raspberry compote that adds a great raspberry flavor to the lemon. The cake is tasteless, but together its a refreshing lemon-raspberry flavorful delight. Overall Taste Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The texture of the icing is very light, but where it failed on the cream cheese frosting, the light texture on the lemon icing works great, I'm loving the ultra-light frosting with the raspberry filling and the moist cake-- this is working together great for me! Overall Texture Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Beautiful presentation-- bright white frosting, swirled high in an artfully applied dollop, with a little droplet of red raspberry at the tip and a view of red raspberry compote in between the bottom of the frosting and the top of the golden-hued cake. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: I like this a lot!!! Would have liked a more flavorful cake, but I really enjoyed this and found it extremely refreshing and light. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 17.75 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

Miniature Strawberry Frosting on Vanilla Cake by Eleni's, sold by the American Girl Place

American Girl Place has a little bakery, where you can purchase all sorts of adorable treats-- all of which are sold with a "regular size" item and a "doll size" item-- so every purchase comes with a treat for you AND a matching small-scale treat for your doll. Completely adorable. Some of the other treats looked absolutely delicious (e.g., a stick with three full-sized marshmallows, coated in chocolate and candies, and a corresponding stick of three mini marshmallows coated in chocolate and candies, for your doll), but as a cupcake-ranker, I had to try the cupcakes! I was told they are baked by Eleni's in Chelsea Market.

Miniature Strawberry Frosting on Vanilla Cake by Eleni's, sold by the American Girl Place

Taste: The pink frosting is distinctly strawberry flavored! That was a fun surprise! The frosting tastes like strawberry ice cream!! The white cake is delicious, sweet and delectable. Scrumptious!! Overall Taste Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The frosting is smooth and very light, and the cake is fluffy and tender. What a delectable little fluffy treat! Overall Texture Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: I like the miniature size and the pink color with festive sprinkles, but as my readers know, I hate that "bare naked cupcake top" showing around the edges, and the icing is rather smushed. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: A little doll-sized cupcake? Amazingly cute. Amazingly tasty. So satisfying! Overal Satisfaction Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 16.25 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

Crumbs "Devil Dog" Cupcake

Last year, before I started CupcakeRankings.com, I had a Crumbs Blueberry Cobbler cupcake, and I recall it being basically the best thing I had ever eaten. Yesterday on the subway, I overheard people talking about getting Crumbs Blueberry Cobbler cupcakes, and it made my mouth water. So today, I went to Crumbs, right at NOON, to get my cupcake-- and I was told they were sold out! By noon! And the woman told me that they sell out almost every day in the morning! Who are these people buying cupcakes before noon? Because I fully support cupcakes for breakfast, but didn't know there were so many like-minded individuals out there who felt the same way as me! But what time do I have to wake up in the morning to get a Blueberry Cobber cupcake from Crumbs! Alas, I had to settle on two other flavors of cupcake.

Crumbs "Devil Dog" Cupcake, www.crumbs.com

Taste: The frosting is super sweet and marshmallow-y. It's different than the regular vanilla buttercream at Crumbs-- it's lighter and sweeter and distinctly marshmallow-y. The chocolate cake is sweet yet chocolatey, truly a delectable chocolate cake. Inside there is a sweet white cream filling that is delicious. Ooh do I love when there is extra frosting in the middle of a cupcake!! The chocolate chips on top add some authentic chocolate flavor when they burst in my mouth! Overall Taste Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The cake is very moist. The frosting on top is so smooth it melts in my mouth, and delectably light. The filling inside is smooth and creamy. This cupcake is REALLY doing it for me, I am loving it!!! Overall Texture Rating: 4.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: A big cupcake, rich chocolatey colored with bright white marshmallow topping, and a chocolate artfully drizzled across the top, a ring of cake crumbs as a border, and a sprinkle of chocolate chips on top. An attractive cupcake! Not the most stunning I've ever seen, but perfectly mouthwatering! Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: So, this sort of tastes like a devil dog, except it's way BETTER than a devil dog. Devil dogs are unpleasantly dry, in my opinion, and I've never been a huge fan. This is clearly SUPERIOR to a devil dog, but it does retain similar flavors. It's a great balance of super-sweet, but still chocolate-y, but also not too rich for me. I know it's an amazing cupcake, because I really want to eat the entire thing right now, and I have to stop myself because its enormous and I must force myself to save some for later. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 18.75 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

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)

Junior's Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting

Junior's Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting, http://www.juniorscheesecake.com/

Taste: The cream cheese frosting is so thick and rich and cream cheesy it's practically like Junior's cheesecake! I'm exaggerating slightly, it's clearly frosting, but a really delicious cream cheesey, cheesecake-y frosting-- anyone who loves cheesecake will love this frosting, it's richer and more cream cheesey than many cream cheese frostings. It reminds me of the filling in a cheese danish! The cake is sweet but doesn't have a distinct flavor. This is a Junior's cupcake, so their distinct double-frosting application layer is in play here. The top of the cake is first frosted in a white vanilla royal icing, and then rainbow sprinkles are pressed around the edges to make a border, and then the cream cheese frosting is swirled high on top of the rainbow sprinkle border atop the vanilla royal icing. So its a double dose of two types of icing, generously piled and thoroughly coated. The vanilla royal icing is sugary sweet, as are the sprinkles. OMG I could eat a bucket of this cream cheese frosting alone. Eaten together, this is so tasty, even if the cake is mainly serving as a vehicle for the frosting-- the cream cheese frosting is SOOOOOOOO GOOD, Junior's really knows how to handle cream cheese!: Overall Taste Rating: 4.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The cream cheese frosting is sooooooooooooooooooo creamy. The cake is tender and moist-- the cake almost melts in my mouth. The cake is so soft, and the frosting so smooth. Mmmmm! Overall Texture Rating: 4.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: This is just a spectacular looking cupcake. The system of applying royal icing to the cupcake, applying a border of sprinkles, and then letting the royal icing dry and harden to hold the sprinkles in place is ingenius and gorgeous-- no sprinkles at risk of falling off these cupcakes! And the generous heaping of perfectly swirled cream cheese frosting in the center of the sprinkle border is so pleasing to the eyes. The cupcake is large, the red velvet color of the cake is a rich burgundy, and the rainbow sprinkles add a pretty touch ringed around the edge (although perhaps they should be red or white sprinkles, not rainbow-- the rainbow clashes a touch with the burgundy red velvet cake). Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: Mmmmm, yummy! This cream cheese frosting is so rich, I would practically call this a "Cheesecake Cupcake" more so than a "Red Velvet Cupcake." I'm loving it though! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 18.75 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

Sweet Revenge "Pure" Vanilla on Vanilla

Sweet Revenge "Pure" Vanilla on Vanilla, 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: The icing is ultra sweet, super sugary, but very vanilla flavored, which I like. The cake is not too sweet, it's rather bland. The frosting and cake together are very sweet. Overall Taste Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The frosting is very thick, and the granulated sugar crystals add a little crunch. The cake is very dense, but also moist. Overall, this is a very heavy cupcake-- this is definitely something that will fill you up quickly. Overall Texture Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Gorgeous! 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. The white frosting glistens from the sugar crystals that are decorating the top. Unique, attractive, glamorous. 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. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 17 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

Sweet Revenge Crimson and Cream (Raspberry Red Velvet)

Sweet Revenge Crimson and Cream (Raspberry Red Velvet) 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: OMG-- why aren't all red velvet cakes raspberry flavored? This is GENIUS. The fact that other bakeries are making non-raspberry red velvet cakes will now forever be a shock to me. Raspberry red vevet cake is far and away a superior flavoring. There are fresh raspberries baked in to the cake. The flavor is bursts of fresh raspberry flavors exploding in my mouth in fantastic ways. The fresh, real raspberry flavor is unbelievably good, and paired with the sweet cream cheese frosting, I am in cupcake heaven! Overall Taste Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The cake is very dense, but ultra moist, and the frosting is super thick and creamy. This is definitely a filling cupcake! Overall Texture Rating: 4.5 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. Drizzled with raspberry sauce and dusted with cinnamon, with so much icing spilling around the edges of the wrapper that the icing looks almost like flower petals. So beautiful! Overall Aesthetic Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: The fact that their red velvet cake was raspberry flavored just blew my mind in amazing ways. The crimson raspberry red velvet cake and creamy cream cheese frosting made this "crimson and cream" cupcake out of this world. 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. The fact that their red velvet cake was raspberry flavored just blew my mind in amazing ways. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 19.5 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

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)

Baked by Melissa Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup

Baked by Melissa Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, http://www.bakedbymelissa.com/, 12 mini cupcakes for $10

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: This cupcake is very chocolatey, and the dollop of real peanut butter in the center makes it very peanut-buttery as well. It's rich, super chocolatey and peanut buttery-- not very sweet, but definitely tasty, a lot like a Reese's peanut butter cup except the peanut butter isn't sweetened, its just real old fashioned original peanut butter (smooth). Overall Taste Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The peanut butter is sticky, the frosting is smooth, but the cake has an unfortunate rubbery texture on the outside. Baked by Melissa doesn't use paper cupcake wrappers and perhaps the way the cupcakes bake create a rubbery exterior, which is highly unfortunate. Since the cupcake is so tiny, the rubbery edges are basically the majority of the cake itself. Overall Texture Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Delightfully miniature! Rich chocolate colored cake, lighter milk chocolate frosting in a generous swirl in the center, and a dollop of real peanut butter smack in the middle. Symmetrical yet whimsically swirly. So cute! Mouthwatering! I like the little peanut butter "peak" you can see in the photo. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: This was very rich, but very tasty!! Shame about the rubbery texture. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 16 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

Baked by Melissa Red Velvet

Baked by Melissa Red Velvet Cupcake, http://www.bakedbymelissa.com/, 12 mini cupcakes for $10

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: The frosting is super sweet, but not very cream cheese-y. The cake is sweet and lightly cocoa-y. The frosting so sweet that this is a sugar rush. The main flavor here is sugar. Overall Taste Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The frosting is ultra light, and the cake is ultra moist, even creamy. Overall Texture Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Sweetly miniature-- deep burgundy hue on the cake and bright white color to the frosting. The frosting is generously and prettily swirled, with red sugar crystals decorating the top in a pleasing way. Everything is unfortunately rather lopsided. Good swirl though. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: A pretty tasty bite of red velvet, but I prefer a more cream cheese-y frosting on my red velvet cupcakes. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

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

Baked by Melissa Cookies and Cream

Baked by Melissa Cookies and Cream, http://www.bakedbymelissa.com/, 12 mini cupcakes for $10

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: These are so bite-sized its tough to really analyze all the elements before the cupcake is gone-- they're truly one-bite cupcakes-- but this has cream cheese frosting that is ultra sweet, standard chocolate cake, and a little Oreo chip on top that adds a distinct Oreo flavor. Overall Taste Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: This chocolate cake is ultra-super-moist and the cream cheese frosting is creamy and smooth. Overall Texture Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: What a miniature little cutie! However, it's also a messy little mini-- Melissa's Messy Mini-- just a touch lopsided here. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: Yum! Mini bite size cookies and cream-- very satisfying!! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 16 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

Baked by Melissa Tye Dye with Cream Cheese Frosting

Baked by Melissa Tye Dye Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting, http://www.bakedbymelissa.com/, 12 mini cupcakes for $10

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: What does "tie dye" taste like? Not like food coloring, luckily-- the tie dye cake is lightly sweet, without any particular flavor. The frosting is a cream cheese frosting, ultra sweet, but really tasty. Overall Taste Rating: 4.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The frosting is slightly granular from sugar crystals, but it's nice, it adds a tasty crunch. The cake is spongy and tender on the inside, but unfortunately there is a strange rubbery texture to the edges. Overall Texture Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: So mini! So cute! So TIE DYED! Gorgeous colors swirled throughout. Bright pink, green and blue-- just like the tie dye shirts I once made in summer camp! (How does one bake a tie-dye cupcake? NO idea). The frosting is generously swirled in a beautiful twirl on top, with a dusting of rainbow colored sugar crystals on top to cement the rainbow theme. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: I like tie dye cupcakes! There was no food coloring aftertaste, which I feared, and it was basically to me like cream cheese frosting on white or yellow cake, which is a rare combination but really delicious. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 17.75 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

Sugar Sweet Sunshine Chocolate on Vanilla

Sugar Sweet Sunshine Chocolate Buttercream on Vanilla Cake, http://www.sugarsweetsunshine.com/, $1.50 each

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: The chocolate frosting is very sweet yet still very chocolatey-- a delicious chocolate buttercream, distinctly milk chocolate. The buttercream is advertised as an "almond buttercream," but I can't claim to taste anything especially almond or marizpan-y about it, though it was very tasty nonetheless. The cake is not very flavorful, but it goes nicely with the frosting. Overall Taste Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The frosting is creamy. The cake is soft but it could be moister. Overall Texture Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: This is the most attractive of the four cupcakes we sampled from Sugar Sweet Sunshine. The chocolate frosting has a nice gloss to it, and its application was the most impressive of all the Sugar Sweet Sunshine cupcakes we tried-- the most swirled and symmetrical. It has an appealing homemade aesthetic, even though the decor is imprecise. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: A pretty satisfying cupcake! I enjoyed it, but wasn't blown away. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

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

Sugar Sweet Sunshine Spicy Pumpkin with Cream Cheese Frosting

Spicy Pumpkin, Sugar Sweet Sunshine, http://www.sugarsweetsunshine.com/, $1.50 each

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: The cream cheese frosting is super sweet, but with a distinct cream cheese base. The cake is absolutely delicious, a scrumptious pumpkin cinnamon spice cake, but distinctly sweet, with great spices and a distinct real pumpkin flavor. A complex taste, but the ultra sweet frosting and pumpkin spice cake together struck an incredible balance. My mouth was in cupcake heaven! Overall Taste Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The frosting is a little grainy from sugar, but its pleasant. The cake is ultra moist, but fluffy-- a perfect cake texture. Overall Texture Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Sadly not the most gorgeous cupcake-- the icing application is a little lopsided and imprecise. But, the icing has a bright white color and the pumpkin spice inside had a pretty pumpkin-orange hue. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: EXTREMELY satisfying-- a unique, delicious, wonderful cupcake, I would get the spicy pumpkin cupcake over and over again!! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 17.75 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)