Tribeca Treats Cinnamon Cream Cheese

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 Cinnamon Cream Cheese Cupcake. 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 frosting is strongly sweet, with strong flavors of both cream cheese and cinnamon, and the brown sugar dusted on top adds a delightful brown-sugar-cinnamon-cream-

cheese wonderfulness. This is a great combination, I can't believe it's not more common! The cake is tasteless but not offensive, so the delectable cinnamon sugar cream cheese frosting overwhelms the tastes. I am loving this!! The flavors are unbelievable! It is so close to delectable perfection, except for the cake which is not quite perfect. Overall Taste Rating: 4.99 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The cake is fluffy and light, and the frosting is very light and ultra-whipped but I like it-- this is the best cupcake I've tasted all day!!!! Overall Texture Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: A clear beauty!!! A gorgeously swirled application of frosting, swired high vertically atop a golden-hued cake, dusted in cinnamon and brown sugar. I wish you could SMELL this cupcake through my blog too, because the aroma was phenomenal. The cake itself is so proportionate and even!! So attractive! Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: Best cupcake of the day!! I wish I hadn't eaten so many others and I could just enjoy this cupcake in its entirety on its own! I want a SHOT of cinnamon-brown-sugar-cream-cheese frosting-- no actually, I want a TUB of it!!!! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 19.24 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)

Tribeca Treats Red Velvet

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 Red Velvet. 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 frosting is very cream cheese-y and not very sweet-- I could use a little more sweetness here. The cake is distinctly chocolate-y, which I like in a red velvet cake. Overall Taste Rating: 3.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The cake is a little bit dry. The frosting is very whipped and light, almost too light, a consistency that just is not right for a cream cheese frosting. Complaints all around from the whole cupcake-tasting posse about the texture of the frosting. Overall Texture Rating: 1.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Gorgeousness! This frosting is swirled to perfection and swirled HIGH, towering fabulously above the cake in a pure white, perfectly centered, perfectly swirled dollop. Simple, elegant, beautiful! Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: Not the best red velvet. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 11.25 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

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.

Kitchenette Hostess Style 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!

Hostess-Style Cupcake from Kitchenette

Taste: Ick. The cake is bland, the cream filling is utterly tasteless with not a trace of sweetness, and the rich bittersweet chocolate topping is the only dominant flavor. This cupcake has no sweetness whatsoever. Overall Taste Rating: 0.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The cake has a medium texture, the cream filling inside is ultra-dense and not at all fluffy, and the layer of chocolate on top is fudgy and thick. Overall Texture Rating: 2.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: It looked so homemade and mouthwatering!! All the cupcakes lined up in the case at Kitchenette called out to me and looked so tempting and delectable! Oh, how deceptive looks can be! I found this cupcake so attractive from the outside!! Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: What a boring, inferior Hostess-style cupcake. Blah. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 1 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 8.25 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

Kitchenette Vanilla Hostess Style 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!

Vanilla Hostess-Style Cupcake from Kitchenette

Taste: The vanilla frosting is lightly sweet and is winning me over. The cake tastes like a pound cake, rich and buttery but enjoyable. The cream filling in the center is tasteless and adds nothing-- I want more of the very sweet icing on the pound cake, though! Overall Taste Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The cake is very dense but moist-- like a pound cake. The cream filling inside is very dense and I think is adding moisture to the cake itself. The frosting on top is thin and sugary. Overall Texture Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: The aesthetic is largely why this cupcake appealed to me-- it looked truly homemade, not mass-produced, it was large with a fun pink colored swirl across the top, and the cake had a nice white color with a fluffy look to it. It looked better than it tasted, to be honest! Overall Aesthetic Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: The best of the cupcakes from Kitchenette that I tasted, for sure, and I liked the originality of a Hostess-Style vanilla cupcake. But, could definitely be improved upon-- that cream filling should be light and creamy and sweet, not dense and tasteless!!! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 3.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

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

Kitchenette Red Velvet

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!

Red Velvet Cupcake from Kitchenette

Taste: The frosting is sweet and cream cheese-y, but the cake is completely tasteless! Together, the frosting is the strong, dominant (and good) taste, but the cake adds nothing-- it is a mere vehicle for frosting-- and I want more frosting! Overall Taste Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The cake is moist and the frosting is smooth and creamy, but nothing special going on here, and its not velvety, as a red velvet cupcake should be. Overall Texture Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: This is really more of a PINK velvet than a red velvet-- the color is exceptionally pink! Also it the appearance of the texture looks strangely un-cupcake-like-- it reminds me of when I made a recipe once called "Sugar cookie frosting cups" in which the sugar cookie cups had the appearance of that red velvet cupcake-- something about it looks more hard than soft and cakelike. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: A middle-of-the-road, average red velvet cupcake that's not even red velvet-y. More like pink un-velvet! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 2.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 11.75 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

Crumbs Nestle Crunch Cupcake

Crumbs Nestle Crunch Cupcake

Taste: Crunchy! Nestle crunch balls on top of ultra sweet white frosting blend the taste of candy and baked goods into one and the same. The cake is sweet Crumbs vanilla sponge cake. Inside the cupcake there is a big pocket of milk chocolate frosting that is swirled with more Nestle Crunch balls. This is an ultra ultra sweet melange of candy and cupcake and chocolate and vanilla. Overall Taste Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The cake if fluffy and soft, and I'm so tired right now I'm thinking that this cake would make an excellent pillow if it were large enough to nap in. The frosting is completely coated with Nestle Crunch balls so that the top of the cupcake and inside of the cupcake are a chocolate-coated-rice-krispie crunchfest. Crunchy! Overall Texture Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: This is a big cupcake, coated on top in Nestle Crunch ball candies, advertising its theme and decorative indeed. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: I love sweet, you know how I love sweet. But adding candy to cupcakes kind of pushes me over the edge on sweetness. This cupcake was a little too much for me to handle. Definitely a good cupcake to satisfy a major sweet tooth, though. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 13.5 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

Crumbs Peaches and Cream 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 Peaches and Cream Cupcake, www.crumbs.com

Taste: The frosting is a sweet vanilla buttercream, and on top of it, peach compote and preserved peaches add a peachy sweetness. The cake is a sweet vanilla sponge cake, and is scrumptious. Inside, the cupcake is filled with sweet peaches-- they remind me of the canned peaches from a "fruit cocktail." The peaches and the frosting and cake go nicely together, but it's really ultra, ultra sweet. Overall Taste Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The frosting is creamy and smooth, and the peaches are juicy and burst into fruit juice in my mouth. The cake is moist, and the peach filling inside the cupcake makes it even moister around the center. Overall Texture Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Kind of some ugliness going on here! It's a big cupcake, but white frosting unattractively applied with my least favorite "bare naked cupcake top" peeking out on the edges, and a gross slimy pale yellowish peach gel kind of smear un-artfully across the top. I'm not sure if the top of the cupcake reminds me more of mucus or of a runny, raw egg. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 1 out of 5 sprinkles

Satisfaction: This cupcake is really good, but honestly perhaps even a little too sweet even for ME-- the peaches are so sweet that it's like sweetness overload here! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 12. 75 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)

Crumbs Watermelon Cupcake

Crumbs "Watermelon" Cupcake, www.crumbs.com

Taste: The green frosting on top of this cupcake DOES, indeed, taste like watermelon flavoring. Unfortunately, watermelon frosting is totally weird and not that enjoyable. It tastes like candy-- think of a watermelon Jelly Belly-- but very artificial and, in my opinion, unpleasant. (Although note that I take issue with artificial flavorings more than many others do-- I find artificial flavorings unpleasant and, personally, they leave me with an aftertaste. ) I had the same complaint on artificial flavoring regrarding the Crumbs Banana Frosting. Anyway, the cupcake did have redeeming qualities-- the pink frosting INSIDE the cupcake was, gloriously, STRAWBERRY flavored, and absolutey delicious, a scrumptious, perfectly sweetened buttercream. The cake was delicious Crumbs sponge cake, sweet and delightful. I found myself ignoring the green watermelon frosting and just eating the inside of strawberry frosting and cake-- which was delicious. But, the "watermelon" cupcake failed on its watermelon-distinctive flavorings. I wonder if the bakers knew the watermelon frosting was questionable, which is why they put strawberry frosting inside instead, rather than a watermelon-flavored pink frosting. Overall Taste Rating: 2.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: Can't complain on account of texture! The frosting on top was very smooth, and the filling inside was so fluffy and creamy it melted in my mouth. The cake was tender and moist. The sprinkles adorning the cupcake added a nice little sugary crunch. Overall Texture Rating: 5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Not bad-- green isn't the most appealing of colors for frosting, but the kitsch of the watermelon theme-- green frosted outside with a pink frosting inside-- was totally adorable. Also, I do appreciate Crumbs not going overboard to make the colors a true "Watermelon"-- fluorescent green and pink frosting would have really grossed me out from color dye overkill. The rim of red sprinkles is festive, but in my opinion, they should have used PINK sprinkles, not red!! Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: Well, my first watermelon cupcake. I guess I now understand why watermelon is not a popular flavor in cupcakes, or in baked goods at all, for that matter. It wasn't really working here. However, asides from the watermelon frosting, this cupcake was delicious. Conveniently, Crumbs is so generous with the icing heaping inside the cupcake, that the frosting-to-cake ratio was plentiful even when only eating the strawberry filling and cake together. So, I was let a satisfied customer, even though the "watermelon" angle wasn't a big hit with me. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 14.75 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

One Girl Cookies Red Velvet Sold by the Street Sweets Truck

Red Velvet Cupcake from the Street Sweets Truck, www.streetsweetsny.com, which sells cupcakes from One Girl Cookies, http://www.onegirlcookies.com/

Yet another dessert-centric mobile food truck in NYC! Unlike the CupcakeStop, this truck is not cupcake-exclusive, and they don't sell their own brand cupcakes-- they sell One Girl Cookies cupcakes. So, this review is of One Girl Cookies cupcakes, but since the StreetSweets Truck doesn't sell any other cupcake brands, this is the deal for purchases from StreetSweets.

Taste: The frosting is cream cheese-y but ultra sweet at the same time. The cake tastes like a lightly sweet chocolate cake. Eaten together, it's a red velvety cream cheese sensation-- pretty good! Overal Taste Rating: 4 out of 5 sprinkles

Texture: The frosting is thick, a little hardened on the outside, but smooth on the inside. The cake is a little hard around the edges, but in the center it's soft and fluffy. However, I wouldn't call the texture velvety-- it's fluffy and perhaps a bit spongey, but not moist or smooth such to be considered velvety. Overall Taste Rating: 2 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: What an INTERESTING aesthetic! First of all, the packaging is an atypical cupcake wrapper-- a circular paper wrapper inside, but a square-with-rounded-edges cardboard border around it-- very different. The frosting is applied in these funny little peaks that make it look like a jester's hat, or perhaps the tentacles of an octopus. It's kind of whimsical and fun, but also a little odd. Definitely distinctive. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: Not bad. The tastes were great here, although the texture left a bit to be desired. I always like experiencing something new, and the cupcakes are branded to look different, if not taste different. I feel somewhat pleased. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles.

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 12.5 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)