Nothing says welcome back to Spoon Yale quite like practicing our food critic skills with a taste test of 42 cupcake flavors from The Sugar Bakery, a local Cupcake Wars-winning cupcakery and food truck. (They actually have MORE than 42 flavors in total. We’re in awe, too.)
We tried everything from Unicorn Poop (a cotton candy cupcake), to more conventional flavors like cannoli and seasonal cakes such as caramel apple. After putting ourselves into sugar comas, we ranked Sugar Bakery’s flavors from worst to best. Here’s what we found.
* = seasonal or surprise guest flavor not always available)
The Rankings
42. Pistachio
If the Hulk and Pamela Anderson had a baby in the form of a cupcake, this would be it—an unnatural, green nightmare of a cupcake. It unanimously earned last place on our list.
41. Call Me a Cab*
40. Gluten-Free Hostess
39. Vegan Vanilla
This was a very decent vegan cupcake (something you can also find at local cupcake competitor Claire’s).
38. Black and White (chocolate cake with vanilla frosting)
37. White and Black (vanilla cake with chocolate frosting)
36. Razzle Dazzle
35. Strawberry Cheesecake
34. Double Trouble
33. The German
32. Lemon Drop
31. Gluten-Free Brownie
For those who are gluten-free, we recommend checking out Claire’s for a less dense and dry cupcake.
30. Birthday Cake
29. Hostess
28. Red Velvet
27. Unicorn Poop (Cotton Candy)*
You know that cake filled with rainbows and smiles that the girl “who doesn’t even go here” was talking about in Mean Girls? This is it. Complete with sparkly dust, Unicorn Poop is on the sweeter side, but holds true to its cotton candy flavor.
26. S’mores
A more accurate name would be Marshmallow Chocolate with scarce graham cracker crumbs. This flavor was a let down.
25. Snowball
24. Chocolate Fudge
23. Black Bottom
22. Apple Pie*
21. Snickers
20. Chocolate Salted Caramel
This cupcake was sickeningly sweet and lacked the promised salt, but the caramel core redeemed it.
19. Andes Mint Chocolate
18. Gluten-Free Cannoli
17. Sugar and Spice*
You thought PSLs were autumn in a cup? Try Sugar Bakery’s autumn cupcake.
16. Lemon Meringue*
15. Oreo Explosion
14. Maple Bacon Brittle*
This flavor was polarizing. Half of us taste tasters wanted it at spot #1 while the other half wanted it at rock bottom.
Those who loved it cited the harmonious mixture of maple syrup and slightly salty bacon, and those who hated it complained that it lacked bacon and tasted too much like Canada.
13. Midnight Snack
12. 24 Karat Cake
11. Caramel Apple*
10. Coconut Dream
9. Love Monkey
Composed of a moist banana cake reminiscent of banana bread and cream cheese frosting, this slightly less sweet cake could even be eaten for breakfast.
8. White Chocolate Cheesecake
7. Toasted Almond
If you are a fan of Arethusa’s signature Toasted Almond Coconut ice cream, then you will LOVE this cupcake.
6. Boston Creme
5. Confetti
4. Cookie Dough
This one was the first to go. We had high expectations after one Spoonie advertised it as her favorite Sugar Bakery flavor, and it did not disappoint.
3. Cannoli
2. Ultimate Fudge Brownie*
This cupcake could easily have been the winner, especially if PB isn’t your thing. A brownie cupcake topped with vanilla buttercream and cookie dough, Ultimate Fudge Brownie is undoubtedly a crowd-pleaser and one of Sugar Bakery’s most popular treats.
1. Reese’s Riot
If you’re looking for a cupcake that is the Reese’s equivalent, look no further. This chocolate cupcake with peanut butter filling and chocolate buttercream is quite the “riot.”
General observations:
Some low rankings were given to flavors that tasted good, but were not that exciting (i.e., Black and White, White and Black).
Although some shelled toppings were subpar and difficult to eat and some low rankings were given to flavors that tasted good, but were not that exciting (i.e., Black and White, White and Black), The Sugar Bakery is an undeniably good bakeshop.
The cupcakes were all the perfect density (except the Gluten-Free Cannoli, which was too dense). And we preferred Sugar Bakery’s vanilla-based cakes to the chocolate based-cakes, but that’s just a personal preference.
Whatever your dessert preference, Sugar Bakery has a flavor for everyone and the cupcakes are totally worthy of the Cupcake Wars winning title. These puppies are definitely worth the trip up Science Hill on Tuesdays at lunchtime.