cupcake face-off!

later this month, my coworker, sarah, is participating in the Mt. Tam Trek (7 mile hike), "an annual fundraiser for GirlVentures, a non-profit organization that serves middle school-aged girls with outdoor adventures that build their confidence and personal and practical skills. The girls walk away knowing not only how to climb a rock and set up camp, but also how to build community, how to communicate their feelings, how to manage conflict, how to lead their peers, how to persevere, how to try things, and how to celebrate their accomplishments."

great cause. so in order to raise money for the event, sarah decided to share her affinity for baking cupcakes with us in the office in a NY - LA cupcake bakery showdown. gosh, eat some cupcakes, help a child develop, feel good in mind and tummy... what more can you ask for??

sarah baked cupcakes using magnolia's recipe from scratch and sprinkle's box recipe. both frostings were made from scratch. they were also frosted and decorated according to recipe. roy was on hand to help me taste text and examine the goods.

it's an east coast - west coast face-off. who will take the cake? whose cupcake reigns surpreme!?

visual comparison

the cupcake on the right is magnolia's. it was slightly larger in size than sprinkle's, having more height (batter must have risen more). its frosting was piped on vs spread. and the color of the cake was a light golden yellow.

sprinkles is on the left. it's a little more compact in size. frosting was spread on and topped with candy circles (looked like marizpan or something). the cake was a golden brown and could indicate a longer time in the oven.

visually, i felt sprinkles won. the way frosting is spread over its top just looks more organic and homemade. and the little button on top is just cute. 5 points to sprinkles!

cake comparison (texture & taste)

upon close inspection, magnolia's cupcake revealed a dense but spongy cake-like structure with small air pockets. roy said it was almost similar to entenmann's pound cake in texture. a bite into the cake is firm but moist with crumbs coming off in large soft chunks. it tasted buttery and vanilla-y but not too sweet.

sprinkles' cupcake looked even denser, having no air pockets and tightly packed crumbs. however, biting into this cake resulted in small, dry crumbles all over our mouth and lap, quite a messy experience. it had sort of a day-old bread quality to it and was less buttery and flavorful. i wonder if this sat longer in the oven.

magnolia's won this round with its moist, dense, fluffy and flavorful cake. 5 points to magnolia!

frosting comparison

magnolia's frosting was buttery balanced by the right amount of sweetness. it was a light, fluffy and not at all greasy on the lips or tongue. together with the cake, the experience was moist and creamy.

sprinkle's frosting was also very light and fluffy but carried an extremely sweet hit similar to an artifical sweetner. this also had a very strong butter aftertaste that lingered on the palate. it just wasn't as refined as magnolia's frosting. when combined with the cake, the frosting covered for the drier crumb but for some reason didn't balance the lack of sweetness in the cake with the overt sugariness of the frosting. the candy button was also a disappointment; it lacked a snappy bite and tasted like old frosting that's been sitting out for a month.

magnolia's wins the frosting test hands down for its balanced flavor and mouthfeel. 5 points to magnolia's!

so where do we stand? magnolia's - 10, sprinkle's - 5. and there you have it, magnolia's takes the cake!!

both do elevate the cupcake to new heights and are probably worthy of their cult-like status. but magnolia's cupcake is much more balanced in flavor and texture and tastes more homemade. sprinkle's in comparison felt and tasted more commercial. but mind you, i won't hestiate to try either in a taste test again. ;)

for those of you in the office who got to try the cupcakes... what do you think?? leave a comment below!

thanks to sarah the baker and roy the taster for helping me contributing to this cupcake face-off!