The Great Cupcake Debate: Sprinkles vs. Magnolia

This is East Coast vs. West Coast. It is bigger than Biggie vs. Tupac. 

Magnolia Cupcakes vs. Sprinkles Cupcakes. Rolled into one. 

Who will win?

I'm going to start this post off by saying I am a completely biased and unfair judge starting this competition.  I'm a New Yorker. I love anything New York. I've never had a Sprinkles Cupcake in my life. I have, however, had a Magnolia Cupcake.  I don't agree with the seemingly popular sentiment that these cupcakes are overrated.  I have only eaten a Magnolia cupcake once, but I will tell you, it was the best cupcake I have ever had. Chocolate with vanilla frosting. The size was perfect.  Light and moist with a strong cocoa flavor, that cupcake made my day.  There was just one downfall. The icing to cupcake ratio was a bit high and I had to throw some out.  But other than that? Pure perfection.

Made famous by Sex and the City, Magnolia Bakery is now a New York City institution, beseiged by Upper West Side mothers with their children in tow, trendy West Village bretheren, or throngs of female tourists dreaming to live like Miranda, Samantha, Carrie and Charlotte, shouting "You go girl!" with two snaps and a twist, teetering on their high heels and drunk off of their watered-down Cosmos.  

On the other side of the country, we see paparazzi shots of the LA rich and famous walking out with large bags emblazoned with the Sprinkles logo, written in perfect cursive, with the "i" dotted by a tiny heart.  I know what you're thinking. These LA actresses don't eat food, no less cupcakes! You are probably right. But maybe these cupcakes are good enough to forget your calorie counting for a day. To spend a little more time at the gym. Or to partake in other questionable activities that keep those LA actresses so slim, which we will not mention here.  

I've been dying to try a red velvet cake recipe. Being that it is Valentine's Day, I decided that the time was right.  I found the recipe for Magnolia Bakery's red velvet cupcakes, but I did not like the fact that they came with a vanilla buttercream and not a cream cheese frosting. Now, I'm not from the South, but I do know one thing:  Southerners are very proud of their rich, caloric cakes!  Go on many-a-recipe site that features Red Velvet Cake recipes, and I guarantee you there will be one southern woman saying "I KNOW my red velvet cake, and this is all wrong!" Actually, the cake is traditionally supposed to have a butter roux frosting (aka a boiled milk frosting), but I don't like warm milk. Don't ask.

Through further searching, I found Sprinkles Cream Cheese frosting recipe. My heart lept a bit. I can combine Magnolia and Sprinkles, all into one cupcake?!  This is some serious cupcake lover's fantasy right now! 

So who won out?

The Magnolia cake was very good.  It features a perfect amount of cocoa, where the flavor is subtle enough that it is not a chocolate cake, per se, but you know it is not a vanilla cake. I like the use of the cake flour, which made the cupcake very light.  It was pretty moist, but I have seen many red velvet recipes that use vegetable oil in leiu of butter, and I want to try that in the future to see the difference. 

Onto the frosting.  Ohhh. The frosting.  I am trying to relieve the memory of tasting that frosting for the first time. Upon tasting, my eyes shot open in delight. I let out a slight squeal of joy. This frosting is unbelievable light and fluffy, with just the right amount of sweetness and cream cheese tang. I would have slathered it on my arm and eaten that if I could.  This is going to be my go-to cream cheese frosting for everything.  Carrot Cake, Spice Cake, Red Velvet Cake, Chocolate Cake, Cookies, Whoopie Pies, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, braised celery, beef provencal. You name it, it's on it.

I think Sprinkles just won.

Please don't hate me, New York. 

I will say that, combined, this is pure cupcake magic. I think Sprinkles and Magnolia should join forces in Kansas, smack dab in the middle of the country, and create a cupcake mecca. I'd totally make that trek.

Then again, I can just make them at home.

Sprinknolia's Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cake Recipe via Epicurious

Cream Cheese Recipe via Pinch My Salt 

3½ cups cake flour (not self-rising) 
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened 
2 ½ cups sugar 
3 large eggs, at room temperature 
6 tbsp red food coloring 
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa (I think I actually put 6 tablespoons. I liked it, so maybe it was a good mistake)
1½ tsp vanilla extract 
1½ tsp salt 
1½ cups buttermilk 
1½ tsp cider vinegar 
1½ tsp baking soda

Frosting 
12 ounces cold cream cheese 
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, firm but not cold 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1 1/2 pounds (1 1/2 boxes) powdered sugar, sifted 
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour 2 cupcake pans (24 cupcakes). 

To make the batter: In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well. 

In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat. In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. 

Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Arrange the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and bake the cupcakes, switching positions of the pans halfway through baking, until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a rack before icing. To ice, mound about ¼ cup of frosting on top of each cupcake and use an icing spatula to make a swirl on top. If desired, decorate with colored sprinkles. 

Frosting 

Combine butter, salt, and cream cheese in mixer and beat on medium speed 2-3 minutes. 

Add sugar until just incorporated. Don’t over mix. It should be thick but not fluffy. 

Add vanilla. If necessary, add milk to thin.

Comments

[Carol Peterman]

You made the right call going with a cream cheese frosting! That photo looks so good!

[dharmagirl]

I just adore cupcakes! I love how you tried to bridge the great cupcake divide with these creations:) happy heart day!

[CB]

Dude? Magnolia does red velvet with buttercream? *shaking head* That aint right! Glad to see you didn't give into the NY hype and went with the cream cheese frosting. To be honest I am a Cali girl but I've only had Sprinkles once. I love cupcakes as much (if not more) than the next person but $4/cupcake is way overpriced for this frugal-ista. Esp when I can make my own at home. But if I made Katie Holmes-Cruise money, maybe I'd eat Sprinkles more though ;)
/Clara

[Maria]

Cute cupcakes! I haven't had Magnolia or Sprinkles cupcakes! I guess I am out of the loop!

[Matt]

Clearly, I am out of touch with the latest in bi-coastal fashion. I never even heard off either establishment. I vote for your version which I will eat while wearing a pair of Prada slip-ons and will wash it down with a very dry martini.

[Michelle]

I think I will try Magnolia's red velvet cupcakes. I've had the recipe for a long time now but yours looks so luscious, I can't wait to taste it now!

[Carolyn Jung]

Wow, Sprinkles won over Magnolia? I've only had Magnolia's once, and unfortunately, it wasn't a Red Velvet. But I definitely liked their standard chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. Sprinkles? They're adorable. But they are sooooooo achingly sweet. Too much so for me.

[Brittney]

Yum Yum...when you coming to my house to make some of these?!

[Natalie]

Thanks for posting this, Teanna.. I tried a red velvet recipe last week and it was way too dry for my tastes. How moist were these?

[farah]

I really love the look of these, i have never tried red velvet cupcakes or cake before. Does it matter if you add the vanilla into the batter with the eggs or does it have to go in with the colouring and cocoa? Also, what kind of food colouring are you using? I've never been able to get anything of mine that red before, i have tried :)
Thanks, i'm so eager to try these!

[Taeko]

I'm pretty sure Magnolia's doesn't use a standard buttercream frosting on their Red Velvets (it's my favorite by far); compared with their usual vanilla frosting (i.e. the ones on their chocolate and vanilla cupcakes), it's a completely different texture, and not nearly as sweet. Judging from the number of "Magnolia's Bakery Red Velvet Cupcake" recipes available on the 'net, I'm also (unfortunately) sure that they haven't leaked their recipe. That being said, your picture for the hybrid looks just like Magnolia's - I can't wait to try it :-)

[Teanna]

Thanks for the comment, Taeko! The recipe is actually from their cookbook! Check it out here, it is great!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Red-Velvet-Cupcakes-with-Creamy-Vanilla-Icing-241544

[jamie]

to give you the west coast vote - sprinkles are MORE than worth it! :)

[Spinkles101]

Sprinkles will always win, hands down. I, the biased California girl that I am, think Sprinkles is completely worth the money and the half a gas tank. But I am intrigued by Magnolia's, which I definitely plan to try during my trip there for New Years.

[patti]

Another vote for Sprinkles.

I'm an east coaster and had a chance to try Sprinkles in Palo Alto, CA. Fantastic. I didn't try the more popular flavors - I had an orange and a lemon coconut. Let me say that if the other flavors are as subtle and spot on as these were, they should be pretty good also. Not every bakery can pull off an orange cupcake. (And who is saying that these are too sweet? Are you sure you had a Sprinkles?)

I'll be checking out Magnolia in a few weeks - my cupcake passion has been fired up.

Those of you using the recipe from Magnolia's cookbook need to be heedful of the warning I got from a professional baker - cookbooks like these will always have a slight modification to the proprietary recipe. Thre is a reason that things never taste quite like the original. (It's not you.)

[Sarah]

I agree with Patti... whenever a chef/restaurant/bakery "leaks" a recipe, or straight-out publishes it, there are always a few slight modifications. I know one chef who will just omit one simple (but very important) ingredient. Hence the term "secret ingredient".

Still, I am excited to try the recipe; I'm a big fan of the Magnolia cupcake, but their frosting didn't impress me. I'm looking forward to this version. I think I'm going to make it into a cake for NYE though... thoughts? Thanks!

[Eden]

Hi,

I tried this recipe and came out flat and too dense. I was wondering what went wrong? Any tips on making these? Thanks :)

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[GeologyStudent]

I made this recipe last night. By far the best red velvet cupcakes I've ever had! I've had magnolia's, which are good, but this icing blows them out of the water.

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