Collegiate Times

Regular chocolate cupcakes with kahlua icing.

Red velvet with cream cheese icing 

The two best words to describe this cupcake: moist and spongy.

The cream cheese icing was smooth unlike some icing that can crumble upon the first bite. And not to be redundant, but this sweet frosting was in fact creamy like its name.

While sugary — as a cupcake should be — the sweet sensation never overpowered my palette. A favorite among many of its customers, the red velvet flavor from Downtown Cupcake was one of the best I have ever had. 

The bakers kept the classic presentation that most red velvets hold, which is simply red cake with white icing. There was nothing different about the presentation of this cupcake, yet the taste made up for any missing uniqueness.

Chocolate with Kahlua icing 

The presentation of most of these cupcakes is similar, with a perfect swirl of icing on top. Yet each one looks quite classy — some, I would go as far as to describe as elegant.

However, the slightest hint of Kahlua in this frosting offers a nice brown tint to it. Sprinkled with a few specs of shredded chocolate with a larger sliver of chocolate jutting out of the icing, this cupcake had one of the best overall appearances. 

Although a minor characteristic, even the bright red liner contrasting against the dark brown cupcake makes this appealing to the eye. Although the taste of Kahlua was still apparent, the taste of this coffee liqueur was subtle, which was nice. The chocolate cake beneath the layer of icing was extremely soft.

This small business does a good job with its cake batter and the actual baking process that takes place. Not once did I taste a dry cupcake.

Chocolate with sweet peanut butter icing

Taking a bite from the icing first, it was obvious what flavor I was dealing with: peanut butter. Almost instantly, the icing melted in my mouth.

However, one thing that I really did enjoy — while it didn’t last long — was that for a few seconds it was actually reminiscent of true peanut butter sticking to the roof of my mouth. Some people loathe this feeling, but that’s what peanut butter is all about. Peanut butter is smooth and sticky at the same time and this icing revealed these specific characteristics well.

Although the chocolate cake used for this cupcake wasn’t my favorite among the selections I was able to try, it also wasn’t overwhelmingly rich. On the scale of dark chocolate to milk chocolate, this cupcake was more similar to dark chocolate.

But combining the sweetness of peanut butter icing with the bitter taste of the cupcake meant the flavors simply aided each other by being complete opposites. I think they were meant for each other.

Strawberry with white chocolate icing

Upon sinking my teeth into this cupcake, the strawberry flavor immediately hit my senses. Although not overpowering, the fruitiness was quite evident here — not too fruity though. 

Downtown Cupcake made a point of creating that type of flavor, while leaving out the tart and sour qualities that often accompany the taste of strawberries. Intentional or unintentional, this proved to be a smart move. This small dessert had subtle berry qualities to it without being too over the top. 

The use of white chocolate icing here also made for a good combination. This almost reminded me of chocolate covered strawberries. The soft texture of the icing and the fluffiness of the cupcake blended well together. 

Perfectly wrapped in a foil liner, the cake that was used doesn’t fall apart and yet it doesn’t stick either. Being a baker, I realize this can sometimes be hard to master, especially using batter that’s made from scratch. 

However, not only was the physical appearance of this cupcake aesthetically pleasing, the taste was nice as well. This cupcake is perfect for the spring and summer.

A version of this article appeared in the Apr 18 issue of the Collegiate Times.