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Cupcake Follow-Up!

I have begun the journey to find the best cupcake in the Commonwealth!  Today I had my first cupcake in the competition, from Blue Frog Bakery in Jamaica Plain.  I’m not going to report on it until I’ve got a handful though, in case I have to make any adjustments in the scoring…

Which leads me to the reason for this post.  I’ve developed the criteria with which I will determine the best of the best in the cupcake world.  This is a very personal criteria, and is geared toward my cupcake pleasures specifically.  I have given each criteria a certain number of points it can earn.  The top score being 100.  Time will tell if any cupcakes can earn that high score.  Anyway, here is my criteria.

  • Moistness of cake (15)
  • Flavor of cake (15)
  • Flavor of frosting (15)
  • Proportion of frosting to cake (15)
  • Sweetness of frosting (10)
  • Overall attractiveness of cupcake (10)
  • Ease of eating (5)
  • Originality of flavor (5)
  • Discretionary points (including special toppings or fillings) (10)

And yes, for me there is quite a difference between the flavor of the frosting and the sweetness of the frosting.  And yes, the moistness of the cake if vitally important.  What do you think?  How would your criteria be different?  And if anyone would like to join me on my sojourn, I would welcome the cupcake-loving company!

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A Survey of the Commonwealth’s Cupcakes

A cupcake from Party Favors
A cupcake from Party Favors

So, I’ve made my decision and I’m announcing it here.  I am going to conduct a survey of cupcakes in Massachusetts.  Many people know that I think the cupcake is the perfect desert.  I’ve thought this for quite some time, long before the recent cupcake craze hit the nation.  Long before Carrie made Magnolia’s a cupcake bonanza (although those cupcakes are delicious).  I am quite the fan of the cupcake, and i’ve decided to seek out cupcakes across the Commonwealth and report my findings back on this very blog.  Just Giblets indeed!

This has been at the back of my mind for a while, and Scot has encouraged me to do it as well, but I think it really crystalized for me at BookExpoAmerica in L.A. this past May.  Daniel and Heidi are friends of mine from the Midwest who are in the publshing/bookselling industry.  I get to see them every year at BEA and met up with them for dinner and general running around in L.A. this past May.  What I didn’t get to do, is go with them to Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills, which they visited that afternoon mere hours before meeting me, and proceeded to rave about off and on for the rest of the night.  Could they have brought me along?  Sure.  Did they?  I’m guessing you’ve guessed that they did not.  You have guessed correctly.  Am I bitter?  A little, but I still love them and have almost forgiven them.  Had they known about my sheer unadulterated devotion to the cupcake, I’m sure this wouldn’t have happened, hence my public search for the best cupcake in Massachusetts.

Before I begin, I will need to develop a set of criteria, which I will work on soon and post here.  Then I need to find the cupcakes.  Some I already know about, like the divine confections at Brookline’s Party Favors, and the scrumptuous cupcake deserts at Geoffrey’s.  Many I will have to discover along the way.  If you know of anyplace that has a cupcake worth tasting, please let me know.  And for those of you fellow cupcake aficianados, please visit Sprinkle’s Cupcake’s website and vote for their next location to be in Boston!