Cupcake War 6: Jasmine Bakery VS Retromama
Welcome to Bahrain Cupcake War Round 6
HIGH FIVE FOR PRODUCTIVITY.
This is it this time. I've changed. I'm better.
Before reading, get a better idea of how the score system works at the Cupcake War Introduction.
Let's get down to it. I'm worried about my safety at this point.
The judges for Cupcake Round 6 are:
Noor Nooruddin: Hello.
Ali Haji: Married me miskeen.
Zainab Abdulrahman: She'll be proud of me for posting this so quickly.
Imran Al Aradi: He's not sure why he's doing this anymore.
Nawaf Nooruddin: Our little Simon Cowell.
Eman Al Awadhi: I'm hoping this round doesn't make her stop talking to us.
The Contestants and Their Cakes:
- Jasmine Bakery: New shop (well, it's been open for about a year) in Jid Ali. Google Maps helped me get there. Don't judge me. Judge cupcakes. Anyway, this is a nice place that offers all kinds of baked goods, I'd go there to pick up things for a potluck. .
Cupcakes being judged: Red Velvet Cupcake and Oreo Cupcake
- Retromama: A very popular cupcake shop in Reef. You've heard of it, I'm sure. I'M SURE.
Cupcakes being judged: Southern Red Velvet Cupcake and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcake
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Jasmine Bakery: Red Velvet Cupcake
I really don't like red velvet. But I can't avoid it forever, you know?
After the tasting, we rated the flavoras follows:
Noor: 4.5/10
Ali: 6/10
Zainab: 3/10
Imran: 5/10
Nawaf: 5/10
Eman: 5/10
Average: 4.75
The judges who are fans of cream cheese frosting enjoyed this icing, whereas the rest of us thought it was a little too much on the 'cheese' side to be enjoyed. The cake itself, flavor wise, is good but the texture was too dry. Imran and Ali would buy this cupcake again, but the dryness is a little more than the rest of us can handle.
Jasmine Bakery: Oreo Cupcake
It's a delicious idea. Oreo is always a delicious idea.
Noor: 3/10
Ali: 4/10
Zainab: 3/10
Imran: 3/10
Nawaf: 2/10
Eman: 5.5/10
Average: 3.42
This cupcake basically had the same issue its colleague had. The cake was way too dry. Personally, I couldn't finish my piece because it was so thick. Again, in terms of flavor, it's not bad at all, but you could not get past the dry consistency in order to properly enjoy it. The frosting tasted like Nutella mixed in with chocolate frosting, which isn't a bad thing. As you can see in the scores, Eman is the only one who could look past the dryness and enjoy the little cupcake. She'd buy it again.
Dum dum duuuuuuum!
Retromama: Southern Red Velvet Cupcake
Flavorratings:
Noor: 5.5/10
Ali: 7/10
Zainab: 5/10
Imran: 6/10
Nawaf: 4.5/10
Eman: 5/10
Average: 5.5
This cupcake generally did better than its competitor. We got a special edition red velvet because it was decorated for July 4th (now you know when we had this round). The cake was very thick. but not dry, so it fared better in that sense. The cake is moist and the frosting is subtle, although some of us preferred the cake by itself without the icing. That being said, although the cupcake is generally good, it fell too much on the heavy side so most of us wouldn't be able to finish an entire cupcake. A lot of us would buy this cupcake again.
Retromama: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcake
How delicious does that sound?
Flavor:
Noor: 4.5/10
Ali: 3/10
Zainab: 3/10
Imran: 3/10
Nawaf: 4.5/10
Eman: 4/10
Average: 3.67
I don't know if I've ever felt more sad about a cupcake. Sadly, this cupcake wasn't what we all dreamed it would be. The first thing we realized when we took a bite out of this cupcake is that it was waaaay too heavy, and there was so much going on. We think the frosting was cookie dough, and we're hoping that it's cookie dough without eggs, but I'm sure the restaurant wouldn't serve us raw eggs so it's not that much of a concern. Still, we didn't particularly enjoy the frosting, the cake itself was okay but there was too much going on for us to be able to isolate and enjoy the cake.
Extra Point Winners:
- Appearance and Presentation (3 points):
Unanimous Winner: Jasmine Bakery - The vibrance of the red velvet and the cuteness of the Oreo cupcake bites did it for us, and if the competitor's cookie dough cupcake looked a little less messy and was a bit smaller, I think a lot of us would've voted the other way.
- Accessibility (3 points):
Unanimous Winner:Retromama - Although both shops have Instagram accounts and physical shops, Retromama goes one step further with a website and a location that is a little more to our liking in Reef rather than the depths of Jid Ali. Also, Retromama delivers, and that sealed the deal.
- Value for Money (2 points):
Unanimous Winner: Jasmine Bakery- At 500 fils per cupcake (200 fils for the mini ones, like the Oreo), Jasmine Bakery takes the cake for value for money. Retromama prices their cupcakes at 900 fils per cupcake.
- Menu and Variety (2 points):
Noor, Ali, Zainab, and Eman:Retromama - They have a pretty solid selection of cupcake flavors, in addition to mini cakes and some cookies. We wouldn't mind heading to Retromama to pick up goodies for a party.
Imran and Nawaf:Jasmine Bakery - This bakery is more than just a cupcake place, they pretty much have everything! They've got cakes, cheesecakes, pastries, some juice, etc. You'd definitely find something to take to a party.
Grand Totals:
WINNER: Jasmine Bakery
This one was very very close. Essentially, it would be a toss-up to see who would get the extra points and win.
Congratulations to the winner of Cupcake War Round 6!!
Stay tuned for our next round!
You should try these cupcake places anyway, they're insanely popular so you don't have to take our word for it:
Jasmine Bakery: Instagram - @JasmineBakery1. Their mini-cheesecakes and plethora of pastries look delicious.
Retromama: Find them on Instagram - @Retromama_bh . Their chocolate surprise cupcakes are said to be fantastic, and I enjoyed their tre leches cake (SP?) in the past.
Tournament Bracket:
Lots of changes, we're getting there!
Next: Moustachio Cupcakes VS Cakes Avenue
Thanks for reading! Do let us know what you think, we'd love to get some feedback.
