Hostess Strawberry Cupcakes

These new Hostess Strawberry Cupcakes represent the first new full-sized cupcake option Hostess has offered in several years. And I actually have to compliment them for not jumping on the red velvet train. Don't get me wrong -- I happen to really like red velvet cake (if it's well made), but it seems as if every new snack cake type product in the last five years has done red velvet. Usually badly, I might add.

Hostess has been doing a strawberry cupcake in their 100 Calorie Pack line for a couple of years now. (In fact, I reviewed them in a short and boring review you can read for yourself here.) That was the first, last, and only time I bought the cupcakes. And I honestly am working completely off of that review for memory of them.



This box is the first 8-pack of Hostess Cupcakes that I've bought in a long time. (I love the orange ones to an insane degree, and I never see large packs in my area.) Incidentally, is it just me, or has the serving size shrunk?...

Anyway, moving on... The pastel pink is a shade that I am sure little girls who love all things Princess and Barbie would be thrilled to have in their lunch boxes/snack boxes etc. I am not a fan of pink, but even I have to admit it was kind of a fun color for a snack. Like if Mattel made Hannibal Lecter dolls, his anatomically correct polystyrene snacks (fava beans and Chianti sold separately) would probably be this color. And that's pretty darned cool, doncha think?



The smell is all fake strawberry. And, to be lazy and steal from my own review, it does indeed still remind me of children's vitamins. The cake is moist, and while again it has that fake strawberry flavor going on, the taste is better than I remember the 100 calorie version to be.

The filling, not surprisingly, is the standard Hostess filling -- and as such it barely merits a mention. The fondant top was my favorite part. It's just so bad that it's...well, I dunno about good, but it's...well, maybe "interesting" is the right word.



I will admit that much like the first box of the 100 Calorie version, I can't say I will probably ever get another box. But there is something about them that is just so horrible that it's almost good.

Almost.



PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

PRICE:
$2.50

CALORIES:
190 calories per cupcake

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Contains eggs, milk, and soy

OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
hostess.com

Betty Crocker Super Moist Cherry Chip Cake Mix

I got the yearning for some cupcakes this weekend...

So I thought I would try something new. The Cherry Chip box mix seemed to fit the bill so I got that.

I gotta admit it did pass the first test- the raw batter test. I think I am one of those weird people who actually prefer cake batter raw rather then baked. The raw batter was rich and strongly vanilla tasting. The cherry flavor in the raw mix tasted more towards the candy side then say fresh cherries- but that's OK. I like that overly sweet candy cherry flavor. So far, so good.

As predicted the mix bakes up perfectly (I think you have to try pretty hard to screw up a box mix) moist, great crumb etc.

The taste... I don't know what happened once the batter was baked but the sweet cherry taste went from candy to cough drops in 25 minutes! The vanilla was still there but it was over powered by the medicinal cherry flavor. It was as if an evil version of the Kebler elves snuck into my kitchen and stole the good cupcakes leaving me with that nasty batch of cough suppresenty blach! Again not bad raw but that doesn't really help over all.

PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

Philly Swirl Ice Cream Cupcakes

Cupcakes AND ice cream in one snack!

I admit I am a fan of the ice cream cake. Sadly I am the only one in my immediate family who likes them. Since I can't eat a whole cake by myself (OK, I could. But just because I could does not mean I should!) when I got an email from Debby with Philly Swirl asking if I would like to try a sample of the new Ice Cream Cupcakes I jumped at the chance.

The cup cakes come in classic chocolate and vanilla.

The Chocolate:
The "frosting" on top of the cup cake was good. It reminded me of frozen chocolate mousse. The sprinkles added a nice crunch. The ice cream is smooth and sweet but doesn't have much flavor. The cupcake had a weird combination texture of dry and oily. It reminded me of off brand knock offs of Hostess Cupcakes.

The Vanilla:
The frosting on the vanilla reminded me vaguely of cotton candy. Very, VERY sweet. Sort of like Cool Whip with extra sugar added. The sprinkles in this case just make it even sweeter. The ice cream is still flavorless. The cupcake texture on the vanilla is better, more like real cake. It tasted like bad wedding cake though.

I love the IDEA of this snack I just did not like the cupcakes themselves.

PURCHASED FROM:
Sample From Company

Hostess Orange Cupcakes

This is the 200'th post!!

Wow! that sort of snuck up on me. Once again let me say thank you to everyone out there who reads this. I have more fun then I probably should admit too putting this blog up.

I thought that it would be fitting that for the 200'th post I review one of my childhood favorites. And that would be the Hostess Orange Cupcake.

My first memories of the orange Hostess stems around grocery shopping. Way back when I was much, much younger and my parents would select me as the lucky kid out of three that got to go to the grocery store with them, somewhere around kid time hour seven of the task it went from being fun to being about as boring as the ingredient list on a bottle of water. I am not not really sure if my Father was also as bored (my Mother could and still does spend about a half an hour in the detergent aisle alone)or if he was simply sensing that whining was about to start had sort of a seventh inning stretch up his sleeve.
It was at that point that a package of Hostess Orange Cupcakes would make an appearance. There are few things that bring as much joy to a bored kid as sugar. Because they were as far as I ever knew only sold in the two cupcake packs they never seemed to make their way home and were a covert snack- not to be shared or even mentioned to my Brother and Sister at home (an even number of snack and an odd number of kids is a recipe for diaster). Ever since them I have been in love with the things! When I see them at convince stores or once and a while at the grocery store I can't resist getting a package.

They are still sold two to a pack. Much like their better known chocolate sibling they feature a fondant like frosting top (complete with squiggle)and a filling of too sweet "cream".

The base cake is vaguely orange flavored and spongy. The main orange flavor come from the frosted top. And I do love those frosted tops... Yes, I have been known to pull it off and eat it on it's own. The orange flavor is zesty, yes it is on the artificial side but it's one of those cases were if it is wrong then I would rather not be right. The texture is gritty and sugary but again that is one of the charms as far as I am concerned.

These will also be a childhood guilty pleasure, and I will always love them.

PURCHASED FROM:
Kroger (Ralph's depending on your location)