Maureen's Minis Chocolate Frosting on Yellow Cake

Chocolate Frosting on Yellow Cake, Maureen's Minis of West 76th Street, by appointment only

Maureen of West 76th Street baked some homemade delicious mini cupcakes for the July 4th festivities!

Taste: Oh delicious chocolately sweetness! These bite-sized cupcakes just pop in my mouth in a sweet chocolatey sensation! The frosting is sweet but with a distinct milk chocolate flavor, and the yellow cake is sweet and flavorful, a true and tasty yellow cake. Overall Taste Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sprinkles.

Texture: Mmm! The cake is tender and succulent, baked absolutely perfectly. The icing is smooth and thick. The decorations on top are great-- the dinosaur decors especially add a nice little crunch. Great textures!! Overall Texture Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Maureen's Minis are so cute!! Tiny little bite-sized cupcakes, each decorated with a different array of pretty sprinkles-- some dots, some standard, some dinosaurs! Sous Chef Cindy helped Maureen with the decorating. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: These were SCRUMPTIOUS, and I confess to eating many a Maureen's Mini! So yummy, and they tasted deliciously homemade, because they were!!! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 4.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 16.75 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

Raspberry Jam-Filled Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Frosting, baked by Carebear's Kitchen

Raspberry Jam-Filled Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Frosting, baked by Caryn from CareBear's Kitchen using a recipe by Martha Stewart.

My friend Caryn from Carebear's Kitchen baked some delicious homemade cupcakes when she hosted a group of friends at her apartment over the weekend! She used a recipe from Martha Stewart to make chocolate frosted raspberry jam filled cupcakes, and posted all about it!

Taste: Mmm! The raspberry and chocolate complement eachother so nicely!! The chocolate frosting is cocoa-y and the raspberry filling is super sweet and full of raspberry deliciousness! The vanilla cake is actually somewhat salty (when I observed this, Caryn confessed she accidentally used 1/4 teaspoon too much salt in the cake recipe), but the saltiness is sort of nice with the super-sweetness of the raspberry jam and chocolate frosting-- sweet and salty complement eachother well, doesn't everyone love kettle corn for just that reason?! And the fresh raspberry on top is a nice touch, a little tart but full of natural raspberry flavor. Overall Taste Rating: 4 out of 5 sprinkles

Texture: The frosting is very creamy and smooth, and the raspberry jam filling is thick and sticky. The vanilla cake is a touch dry, but the raspberry jam filling in the center moistens it all up nicely! Overall Texture Rating: 4 out of 5 sprinkles

Aesthetic: Caryn's cupcakes looked JUST like the picture in the recipe!! A very impressive reproduction! Nice light golden color on the vanilla cake and deep chocolate brown on the frosting. Excellent precision and symmetry on a homemade cupcake, too! Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4.5 out of 5 sprinkles

Satisfaction: A very tasty cupcake all around, although I would have liked some more frosting on top! (Luckily for me, Caryn brought me the bowl of leftover frosting to enjoy!) And you can't beat fresh out of the oven! The recipe called for the jam to be inserted in the center of the cupcake after the cupcakes had baked and cooled, but Caryn and I discussed the possibility of baking the jam into the cupcakes with the batter-- that might be a fun way to try doing it next time! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 4.5 out of 5 sprinkles

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