
Our first stop for the day was the esteemed and well-reputed bakery, Kainaz Messman's Theobroma. Known for their baked treats, this joint is a favourite of many and we were happy to inaugurate our outing with the establishment. We shortlisted three candidates for the test—the soft, candied green Mint Cupcake, a classic Chocolate variety and a Vanilla Strawberry cupcake.

Starting off with the classic chocolate, we sampled a mouthful and found it beautifully soft and fresh. This definitely checked the first box of our sweet-o-meter, not too sweet and a perfect proportion of frosting to cake. Ticking all three of our boxes, we were happily satisfied with this sweet delight.

Moving onto the strawberry and vanilla concoction— the cake remained as soft as the last but the frosting possibly due to the fact that the already sweet vanilla essence was accompanied by some strawberry extract made this one a bit sweeter than the last. However, like the chocolate cupcake, this too had perfect frosting to cake ratio. Purely subjective to our taste-buds we were a tad more partial to the chocolate sweet.

Finally, moving on to the last contender—we tried our hand at the Mint dessert. Soft, minty and fresh—boy, did we find our winner! The fresh taste of mint was the perfect kick to an otherwise perfect cupcake. If there was one cupcake that walks away as the glorious winner from Theobroma, our recommendation would be the Mint Cupcake.

Next up on our radar was another establishment which is probably known as the destination for cupcakes in Mumbai. Pooja Dhingra of Le 15 fame is one loved baker. And if her cute-as-a-cupcake Instagram scroll is anything to go by, you know we’re already fan-girls. With a solid range of delicacies ranging all the way from Red Velvet to Oreo and Peanut Butter cups, this little Parisian patisserie has everything a girl could ask for.

There’s something about her small drops of heaven that just make you smile and we had to start off with the signature Red Velvet. Stunning to the eyes and palatable-beyond-belief to the buds, this really is a classic pick that you can never go wrong with. It had just the right amount of moistness, creaminess and deliciousness! For all those days where you’re craving a drop of sweet without overdoing it, this is where you need to be.

With a vanilla cake base and hazelnut cream frosting, the Nutella cupcake was next on our list. If you’re a fan of Nutella, and let’s be real—who isn’t, you’ll lap this one right up. Personally, this wasn’t our favourite but we couldn’t find a flaw with it either.

And, we’ve saved the best for last! If there were two delicacies from Le 15 that we’d recommend (because it wouldn’t be kosher to just pick one), it would be the absolutely divine Chunky Chocolate cupcake and Peanut Butter cups. Yum! Gooey, rich, delicious chocolate and utterly, butterly delicious peanut-butter filled cups. These two champions were definitely the winners for us that were both moist and fresh. Neither of the cupcakes had traditional frosting. The chocolate cups came iced, and the peanut butter cups had a centre filling but that only enhanced its rating on our sweet-o-meter. Perfectly sweet, perfectly delightful!

Guilt Trip, the trendy joint on Carter Road was our next sweet-stop. Cleaning our palette with a yogurt and chickpea salad, we were ready for some more cupcake sampling.

With interesting flavours such as Cotton Candy, Rainbow Cream Cheese and Blue Velvet, this was definitely the wackiest joint so far.

While the cake at Guilt Trip was deliciously soft and moist, we found the icing a tad too sweet. However, since they come in adorable-as-can-be bite sizes, it luckily doesn’t get too overwhelming. If you’re in the area definitely stop by for a sample.

Vibrant, full of spunk and most attractive for the tween generation, our next stop was the famed Love, Sugar & Dough (LSD).
As soft and scrumptious as the cake was, the frosting on top was a bit too sweet, again. And we picked these bite-sized versions as we were craving a balance of tastes. Pretty though, they were!

Making our way to Breach Candy, our next stop was a well-done up little patisserie by the name of Toujour and what a disappointment that was. Stale cake topped with synthetic butterscotch frosting—neither was it moist nor was it gratifying. Known for their other cakes and delicacies, I would recommend you steer away from their cupcakes especially when you have so many other delicious options. They do get props for presentation though—one of the prettiest of the lot.

Moving further down our next stop was at Tart. Again, not our favourite. Maybe because we’d tried so many delicious varieties already and our bar was set high or maybe because all the flavours tasted mildly the same—we were left wanting more.

If you are in the area and are craving some, however, we suggest you opt for the tried-and-tested Red Velvet variety to secure in some flavour and texture.

Home to cupcakes, tarts, pies, dessert jars, teacakes, cookies and much more is Crumbilicious. Their jars of home-made Salted Caramel already had us drooling for a taste and disappointed we were not!
Pictured here is their Black Forest and Cherry Cupcake.

What we loved most about this adorable bakery adorned with the wittiest little quotes, was their frosting. If it’s not cream cheese—it’s a delectable white chocolate frosting. This ensures that the frosting is deliciously creamy and hits all the right sweet notes without having that cringe-worthy-candy-sweet flavour. And we’re back on track!
This simple Chocolate cupcake with White Chocolate Frosting had our sweet-o-meter ringing for more.

Giving them solid points in the innovation department was their Roasted Almond with Salted Caramel cupcake. Yum! Moist cake, crunchy almond and a deliciously sweet and salty caramel finish. Scrumptious as can be packed in a unique, never-seen-before flavour.

And finally, our last spot for the day was baker Amal Farooque's SugarOverDose. This self-taught baker is certainly one to take inspiration from. Presenting us with a drool-worthy platter, complete with Meringue, Salted Caramel and decadent Chocolate treats—there was literally nothing we didn’t like.

Innovative, creative and a true treat for the eyes, she presented us with Meringue cupcake infused with Strawberry Curd. Master Chef material right here. Crunchy and delicious with a tart filling.The cupcake literally explodes as you bite into it, so not exactly first date material—but impress it does. Brownie points for mega innovation.

And finally, we’ll end the day on the sweet note—and this rock star walks away with that winning tiara. A Cookie cup filled with Dulce de Leches filling. Simple, soul food—this little gem won our hearts over. A warm and gooey cupcake with a perfectly crunchy exterior, only to welcome you into a warm dulce de leches centre, perfectly seasoned with sea-salt. Nothing in this world is more delicious. Congratulations Amal. We most certainly are satisfied, to say the very least.
Written by Nazneen Joshi on 30th Jun 2014