I missed out on this year’s Aroma Festival, however I had specific instructions to my sister to buy cupcakes from the stalls that she’ll be seeing during the Festival.

I wanted to taste test the texture, frosting, taste, sweetness, and richness of each cupcake and compare them to the ones I have made in the past. I’ve narrowed it down to 2 cupcakes plus my own and these are my thoughts on them:

Cupcake #1: The Cupcake Bakery’s red velvet cupcake $3.60

I have actually consumed numerous The Cupcake Bakery cupcakes from my previous job, as the office was only across the road from the George St shop and it did not help that the receptionist was a big cupcake fan.

But on to the cupcake itself. I cut it in half, and I could instantly smell that distinctive cocoa scent. The buttercream was generously spread on the crown of the cupcake, and I’m glad that it’s not sickeningly sweet. And I think the heart confetti is just appropriately cute.

The base itself is rich, with that seductive wine red hue and the unmistakable chocolate hit. The cake is moist and crumbly and not at all dry and tasteless like the ones from Cupcakes on Pitt (ahhh don’t ask me about these ones – I can ramble on and on about their cupcakes). When bitten, I thought I could taste a light chocolate ganache between the hardened buttercream and the top of the cupcake. However, I scraped away the buttercream and well… no ganache in sight. Hmmmmmmm… interesting.

Cupcake #2: My Little Cupcake’s vanilla cupcake $4.00

This was a massive, MASSIVE cupcake. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cupcake paper cases and tin used were the Texas muffin tins – they were THAT huge. But, according to my dear sister, they cost more though. Not by much, considering the ginormous size of the “cupcake”.

Again, the frosting was generous. And again, the buttercream has hardened but I suppose that was because it has been out for a whole day already (and maybe more if they were made earlier). I cut the cupcake in half, and instantly the base bounced back! Yes – it bounced back! I was intrigued… so I took a bite… and the texture was this fluffy, airy, bouncy chiffon cake base. I literally had to scratch my head… is this a cupcake, a chiffon cake shaped like a cupcake, or a completely different, mutated creature?

It wasn’t unpleasant; in fact, it was a very good cake indeed. It was similar to those chiffon cake you can get from Chinese bakeries in Chinatown… actually that was the first thing that came to mind when I tasted it. However, I suppose I wasn’t expecting the cake texture to be that fluffly and chiffon-like for a cupcake. A cupcake is crumbly, moist, and well balanced… but then again a cupcake is open to anyone’s interpretation.

And the flower confetti? Let’s just say I was so fascinated by how it was piped and made that I studied the structure and the taste for a very, very long time (oh and I could definitely taste the cream of tartar!).

… and lastly, Cupcake #3: My orange poppy seed cupcakes!

Hehe… nothing much really to say about these that what I’ve said here.

Well, in conclusion, I enjoyed both cupcakes, but The Cupcake Bakery’s red velvet cupcake was far better in taste, frosting, and texture.

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Speaking of Aroma Festival, check out this video of Aroma Festival 2009 photos and short videos that my sister made – complete with lovely Puto Mayo music!!!