Cupcake Stop shocks and awes

Even casual readers of this blog will know that I'm a cupcake lover, so I'm ashamed to admit that prior to today, I'd never experienced one of Manhattan's most faddish cupcake entities. I'm talking, of course, of Cupcake Stop, the cheerful white cupcake truck prowling the city's streets alongside Frites 'n' Meats, Wafels and Dinges, the Treats Truck, and a dozen other mobile food meccas. Yes, I have technically visited once before, to get a red velvet cupcake for AV, but since I didn't technically eat a cupcake then, it doesn't count. On Wednesday, I ventured out into the midtown wilderness to hunt down my frosted quarry for real.

I had my sights set on a funfetti or maybe even a carrot cake number, but when I got there, I was taken by how I immediately decided upon neither of those. I left carrying an Oreo cupcake in a small clamshell package, somewhat confused about what had just happened.

Cupcake in cage

The guy manning the truck described the Oreo cupcake as vanilla cake batter with Oreos mixed in, topped with vanilla buttercream with Oreos mixed in. Simple. And, it turns out, really really good. After dinner I dissected the little beauty and went in for the first bite, of cake alone. In the best way possible, this cake reminds you of cupcakes baked from a mix when you were little. The vanilla is powerful, and the texture is moist and ever so faintly greasy (you know what I'm talking about). The swirls of Oreo add little bursts of chocolate to the batter. And the edges of the cupcake top, where the frosting doesn't cover, have crisped to a taste and texture just like a sugar cookie. Incredible.

Off-center frosting

The frosting is quite good, not too buttery and quite sweet. Its texture is light, almost whipped. It's not quite as good as Amy's Bread white buttercream, but it was good. I wished there were more of it, but since the cake was so good I forgave the Cupcake Stop frosters. Before I knew it, the cupcake was gone, and I was left wanting another. And another.

The cross-section (yes, I moved it to a different plate)

For $2.50, you can't go wrong. I daresy this very cupcake is one of the best in Manhattan at the moment. Track down the Cupcake Stop and judge for yourself.

Cupcake Stop
Locations around Manhattan