It's a Dirty Job...

Oh the sacrifices I make for you, my faithful followers. A few months ago, I did a post about Muddy's Bake Shop, a bakery in East Memphis that offers assorted treats such as puddings, pies, cookies and most importantly...cupcakes.  For a while, this was the only shop of its kind in East Memphis.  A few weeks ago, a little competition came to town in the form of Gigi's Cupcakes, a shop that is a part of a small specialty chain that sells, wait for it, cupcakes.  So, I've decided that it is my supreme responsibility to sample cupcakes from both establishments to give you my official opinion about where to buy the best cupcakes in town.  I enlisted my husband to help me (and share the calories).  So we stopped in each of the shops on a busy Saturday afternoon, grabbed some milk, and got to it.

We decided to try two different kinds of cupcakes in order to get a sufficient sample size.  I selected the red velvet cupcake and the hubby wanted to sample chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting. 

Gigi's red velvet offering is called Scarlett's Velvet and Muddy's named theirs Frankly Scarlett.

Gigi's version is on the left and Muddy's is on the right.   Gigi's rendition has more decoration, while Muddy's took a simpler route.  As you can see, Gigi's is much larger than Muddy's but at twice the price ($3.00 for a Gigi's cupcake and $1.50 for a Muddy's cupcake) there needs to be something to justify the large price tag.

Just based on appearance, in addition to the obvious size difference, the Muddy's version is way more red; the Gigi's version is darker.  Gigi's cupcakes also have a crap-load more cream cheese frosting.  There's almost more frosting than cake.  Gigi's utilizes a vanilla cream in the center of their red velvet cupcake.

As far as taste goes: I found the flavor and texture of Muddy's cupcake to be far superior to that of Gigi's cupcake.  The Gigi's version seemed a little dry, even with the cream filling.  I found the inclusion of the cream filling to be a little odd, especially since it added absolutely zero flavor to the cupcake overall.  It made the inside of the cupcake just seem weirdly damp. However, I preferred the flavor of the frosting on Gigi's red velvet cupcake than that of Muddy's.  It was a little creamier, a little sweeter, and the crunchy sugar crystals on top offered a nice textural contrast.  But, there is way, way, way too much frosting on Gigi's cupcake.  More is not always better.

Tom, on the other hand, really enjoyed the cream filling in Gigi's cupcake. He said that it reminded him of a cream-filled doughnut, and felt that Gigi's cake was better overall, but he preferred the flavor of Muddy's frosting.

For me, Round One goes to Muddy's (by a slim margin).  Stay tuned for the results of Round Two (chocolate on chocolate) in my next post.

Comments

[Brob]

The Gigi ones have some awesome frosting. I love frosting a bit too much, I think.

The thing about Muddy's is I really like the creativity. They're slightly better overall, but man, frosting is hard to turn down.

[Tiffany]

Brob,

I'm a frosting kinda gal, and I have a huge sweet tooth, but Gigi's frosting is too much for me

[CupcakeQueen]

Are you kidding me?? Gigi's cupcakes are amazing! They are beautiful and delicious, a real treat. Muddy's are like something someone made from a mix in their home kitchen, not at all special or impressive. If you do not like so much frosting, you have the option to scrape it off - so everyone is happy. At Muddy's, if you want more frosting, you are just outta luck.

[Tiffany]

CupcakeQueen,

I appreciate your post. To me, Gigi's cupcakes are just dry. It's not just the amount of frosting (although I do agree with your point that Gigi's allows more if you choose) Muddy's versions are just more texturally appealing to me. Every cupcake I've had from them has always been light and fluffy. And I don't get any kind of cake mix flavor from Muddy's cupcakes. But it is very possible that you've had different experiences than me from these vendors.

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