Quarter-Final 2: Retromama VS A Piece of Cake

Fixed Cupcake Logo Screen

MORE QUARTER FINALS!

Make sure to check out our Introduction to Cupcake War page for the rules and other rounds!

LET'S DO THIS!

This one is an interesting round because the contender that was supposed to go against A Piece of Cake is no longer in business (home-businesses, waddaya gonna do?). So we brought back the cupcake place who had the highest score within the contenders who didn't make it through the qualifiers.

RETROMAMA.

The Judges:

Noor Nooruddin: On a diet. So hungry.

Ali Haji: Stuck on the diet. So grumpy.

Reem Al Aseeri: So angry at my productivity level.

Bader Shirawi: I wonder if he's tired of cupcakes yet.

The Cupcakes

QF2ALL

Retromama

Cupcakes being judged:

retroall

Lemon & Chocolate Surprise

A Piece of Cake

Cupcakes being judged:

piece all

Lemon & Vanilla

CAN THE UNDERDOG MAKE IT?

Retromama:

Retro Lemon

Lemon

Flavor Ratings (out of 10):

Noor: 7

Ali: 7

Bader: 7

Reem: 7.5

Average: 7.125/10

Not a bad start for the underdog! We didn't expect quite the rush of lemon that we got from this cake. It was a bit of an overload, but I don't know, we liked it... The cake by itself is good and can even stand without the frosting, a very rare thing to see from the cupcake places we've tried. The frosting itself is also good, another lemony cake. SO MUCH LEMON but we weren't complaining, it was bizarrely pleasurable (much like many things in our lives, I'm sure). It's a shame that this isn't a regular cupcake we see often on their display menu though. 

Retro Choc

Chocolate Surprise

Flavor Ratings (out of 10):

Noor: 6

Ali: 8

Bader: 8

Reem: 6.5

Average: 7.125/10

Another solid cupcake! Retromama's coming back strong! A couple of us really loved the cake, it was moist with a decadent chocolate flavor. We didn't all care for the "surprise" part though, which is a bit of chocolate on the bottom of the cupcake. It really weighed the cupcake down and made it feel too dense. 

A Piece of Cake

piece lemon

Lemon

Flavor Ratings (out of 10):

Noor: 5

Ali: 4

Bader: 4

Reem: 4.5

Average:4.375/10

A disappointing cupcake, sadly. The cake itself was dry, and the frosting was super heavy, and the two didn't seem to compliment or balance each other. 

piece vanilla

Vanilla

Flavor Ratings (out of 10):

Noor: 5

Ali: 5

Bader: 3

Reem: 2.5

Average: 3.875/10

This cake was also dry, but the frosting was much better and complimented the cupcake more. The flavor of the cake itself didn't lend much to the experience, as it came off as a pretty meh cupcake. 

Extra Point Winners:

Presentation (+3): Three of us gave it to A Piece of Cake for such pretty cupcakes with such a homey feel. Ali Haji gave his presentation points to Retromama.

Accessibility (+3): This was a tough one because these are two established bakeries with their own locations. Three of us gave it to A Piece of Cake, on account of having two branches (one in Budaiya and one in Riffa), and because they didn't require for me to order a minimum amount of cupcakes when I was placing my order. I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS. For Retromama, however, I had to order at least a dozen of the lemon cupcakes because they weren't going to be on display the next day. Reem gave the accessibility points to Retromama because Reef is a much more convenient location for her than Budaiya/Riffa, and it's so easy to check Retromama's Instagram page to see if the cupcake you want is available today, so you wouldn't need to "order" a certain amount.

Menu (+2): Half of us gave the menu points to Retromama while the other two gave them to A Piece of Cake, because their actual cupcake selection is very similar. A Piece of Cake actually have a lot of flexibility with their cupcake flavors/frosting based on what I've seen on their website, so it's very customizable.

Value for Money (+2): I gave the points to A Piece of Cake because their cupcakes are about 600fils each. The other three gave them to Retromama, whose cupcakes are about 900fils each, or 800fils each when you order a dozen.

Totals

QF2 Scores

Congratulations: RETROMAMA

TL;DR Retromama came back because Maya's Cuppies no longer exists. Retromama's Lemon Cupcake and Chocolate Surprise Cupcake were good in both cake and frosting, whereas A Piece of Cake's Lemon Cupcake was dry with a heavy frosting and the Vanilla didn't offer anything exciting. A Piece of Cake swooped a lot of the extra points for presentation and accessibility, but Retromama made a comeback and won out at the end.

Photography by: Ali Haji (Check out his Instagram @AliHajiPhotography)

Retromama: @Retromama_BH

A Piece of Cake: @A_Piece_Of_Cakebh

Follow @Shda3wa on Instagram too!

GOING STRONG!

Qf2 Bracket

 Thanks for reading!