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 "Sexy" Red Velvet

"Sexy Red Velvet," 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: Ick! The icing is tasteless, not sweet at all, and not even a cream cheese based frosting! What is this!! The cake is not sweet at all either, and is unpleasant, slightly bitter even, with an aftertaste. This cupcake has no sweetness! Ick. Caryn compared eating this cupcake to experiencing life without taste buds. Overall Taste Rating: 0 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The icing is very light and whipped, which sometimes makes for a nice cupcake, but the icing is TOO light for a red velvet cupcake. The cake is dry. Ick. Overall Texture Rating: 1 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Not gorgeous-- a nice bright white frosting color and red sprinkles, but a half-hearted application and the sprinkle distribution is quite messy. And it really doesn't excite me as much when a cupcake isn't iced all the way down to the edges!!! But I give it credit for looking WAY better than it tasted. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: I didn't find anything "sexy" about this "sexy red velvet" cupcake. What a disappointment!! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 1 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 5.5 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

Sugar Sweet Sunshine Vanilla on Vanilla

Green Vanilla Frosting on Vanilla Cake, 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 icing has a strong vanilla taste, which is nice, and is very sweet. The cake is lacking in flavor. I find it average, although Caryn liked it a lot. Overall Taste Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The frosting is smooth. The cake could be moister. The granulated sugar crystals on top add a nice crunch. Overall Texture Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: Not the most gorgeous cupcake-- the pastel icing is cute, and the sugar crystals on top add a nice sparkle given that the icing isn't shiny at all, but the dusting of hot pink sprinkles is halfhearted at best, and the icing application is uneven and doesn't go all the way down to the edge of the wrapper, leaving naked cake top exposed. The golden color on the cake is nice. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 2.75 out of 5 Sprinkles.

Satisfaction: A tasty enough treat, but not my favorite Sugar Sweet Sunshine cupcake. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 12.75 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)