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 Chocolate on Vanilla Sold by the Street Sweets Truck

Chocolate Frosting on Vanilla Cake 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 takes exactly like milk chocolate fudge. There is no other way to describe it than purely fudgy. The vanilla cake is not capable of stand-alone enjoyment... it has a slightly sour flavor to it, and other than that, no particular flavors to note. Eaten together, the cake tempers the richness of the fudge-- slightly. The fudge completely overpowers everything. This is very rich and, for me, not quite satisfying that cupcake sweettooth. Overall Taste Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The chocolate frosting is SO THICK. Like, so thick it tastes and feels like FUDGE. In a blind taste test, I would absolutely mistake the frosting for fudge. The vanilla cake is dense and has a medium texture-- not moist but not dry either. I think the cake is so dense and the fudge so thick that this cupcake is too rich and heavy to enjoy. This is not a delicate, melt-in-your-mouth cupcake-- everything about it is HEAVY. Overall Texture Rating: 1 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: This is a funny, spiky sort of cupcake-- it reminds me of the way some guys gel their hair into hardened little tufts. The cupcake wrapper is unique, with a circular ribbed paper wrapper inside, but a square-with-rounded-edges cardboard border around it-- very different. Kind of weird looking, but kind of cool. Very distinctive. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: This cake is just all about chocolate FUDGE. Let me be clear, I mean FUDGE, like brick-of-fudge fudge, fudge you get at the boardwalk or in an old country general store. Some cakes or brownies or frostings are fudgy, as in having fudge-like qualities, which is generally an excellent accolade. I am not penalizing this cupcake for being fudgy, because it is not fudgy, it is FUDGE. As in, the "frosting" is like pure, unadultered fudge. I'm not talking ice cream sundae hot fudge, I mean like brick-of-fudge, comes-in-many-flavors fudge. And I like fudge-- truly, I enjoy a good piece of fudge-- but fudge is so rich that fudge is a stand-alone item. Fudge is best enjoyed with a beverage to temper the richness, but fudge is not an appropriate topping for cakes or other sweets of any kind. Between the rich taste and the thick, dense texture, is just overkill. It doesn't work on a cupcake. It's just not doing it for me. Points though for the fact that, as fudge, the "frosting" is quite a tasty milk chocolate fudge. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 2.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 9.75 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)

Mangia Vanilla on Vanilla

Mangia Vanilla Cupcake, http://www.mangiatogo.com/, $1.50 for a mini, $2.50 for a full size

Taste: The frosting has absolutely no taste-- its so light, its almost too light, completely devoid of taste. Not sweet at all. It doesn't even taste like anything, its like air. The cake has a good vanilla taste to it, I actually really like the cake on its own. If the icing had any flavor at all, this could be good! Alas. Overall Taste Rating: 2.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The frosting is ultra light and so whipped you barely feel it on your tongue. The cake is very dense but its not dry or moist, its the right amount in between. Overall Texture Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: I picked the mini because I'm partial to all things mini, but I was erroneously told there would be custard inside, which there was not. This "mini" cupcake is bigger than many "minis"-- it's a four or five bite mini size, not a one or two bite mini size. I also liked how it was served to me in an upside down plastic glass with a cover-- clever. The proportions are good, and the smattering of chocolate crumbs across the top looked nice, even though they had no taste. Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: I thought the cake was delicious, but with tasteless icing, it could not satisfy me... If Mangia works on their frosting recipe (hint: add some sugar), they could have really good cupcakes! Overall Satisfaction Rating: 3.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 13.25 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)

Tonnie's Minis "Golden Heart" (Vanilla/Red Velvet Swirl)

Tonnie's Minis "Golden Heart" (Vanilla/Red Velvet Swirl), http://www.tonniesminis.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 cake flavor is really bad here-- the red velvet swirl adds nothing and is flavorless, and the only flavor I can discern on the cake is maybe too much baking soda or perhaps the use of spoiled milk-- the cake is slightly sour, with a bad aftertaste. The icing is sweet and tasty enough, but its not making up for the bad cake. Overall Taste Rating: 1.75 out of 5 Sprinkles

Texture: The cake is very moist and the frosting is creamy, so points for good texture if not for taste. Overall Texture Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Sprinkles

Aesthetic: You might be asking yourself why this cupcake isn't mini, when the venue is called Tonnie's MINIS. I asked myself the same question. Every cupcake being sold at Tonnie's minis was full size. I inquired and was told they were "out" of minis. A strange thing to happen to a store that names itself Tonnie's MINIs. There were no minis to be had. For a full size cupcake it's okay looking, it has an appealing homemade quality to it. I love the swirl application on the frosting, and the dusting of red velvet crumbs is cute. But I wish the frosting went all the way to the edge-- bare naked cupcake top, ahh! Overall Aesthetic Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Sprinkles

Satisfaction: The bad cake taste killed this cupcake for me. I also need to add that the VENUE from which these cupcakes were purchased, which was the one and only Tonnie's Minis location, the flagship, the hub, the epicenter of Tonnie's Minis-- and it was one of the dirtiest and sketchiest looking places I've ever been, and hands down the shadiest place from which I have ever purchased a cupcake. Most cupcakeries and bakeries in general are clean, for starters, and usually staffed by friendly people and perhaps decorated with some air of cuteness or charm. Some cupcakeries are quaint, some are trendy, some are whimsical, some are elegant, some are geared for kids while others have a hipster vibe.... But this is the first cupcake venue I have ever been to that was SHADY. The picture on their website makes it look deceptively cute, but in real life those cute orange high pod chairs and pretty tiered cupcake stand are nowhere to be found-- the real life venue contained a folding table and folding chairs where those trendy elements are in the picture. I felt like I had entered the shady underbelly of the cupcake world. Overall Satisfaction Rating: 1 out of 5 Sprinkles

Overall Cupcake Ranking: 10.5 Sprinkles (out of 20 possible)