Sprinkles [Newport Beach]

Luckily, there wasn't a long winding line when I arrived and I was only subjected to about 5 minutes of wait. But, that doesn't mean these cupcakes weren't selling like hot cakes. With each order, the number of cupcakes left waiting for purchase seemed to fall quite speedily. The cupcakes are featured behind a glass wall in perfect row, and the menu includes a long list of flavors but only a few are selected for sale each day, save the popular ones like red velvet or black and white, which are attainable every day.

The milk chocolate had a delicious milk chocolate cream cheese frosting that spread over your tongue with a lick. The cake itself was advertised as a dark chocolate cake which I did not get a hint of. The cake was light like that of a flourless cake. For once, I thought that I may have liked frosting over cake but further contemplation made me realize that too much cake would definitely be better than too much frosting.

The lemon coconut cream cheese frosting was equally smooth and although I enjoyed the subtle lemon flavor of it, it was overwhelmingly sweet. The shredded coconut was topped with sparkling granulated sugar, adding a crunch. The vanilla cake was almost indescribable; it wasn't moist, but it wasn't dry either. I think it can best be characterized as slightly dense and soggy. But whatever the description, it was unmistakeably a bland and imperfect cake.

I had high expectations for the red velvet as it has drawn the adoration of the public. The red southern-style cake was divinely moist and the cream cheese frosting matched the excellence of its base. However, it must be mentioned that I had managed to catch the red velvet right after it had been produced from the bakers oven, giving it an advantage over the other cupcakes. Toward the end, I started to get a headache from all the sugar consumption and I left some of the frosting untouched. Warning: the cake will make your tongue fuchsia as if you had just finished a cherry Blow Pop.

At $3.25 a pop, these are expensive cupcakes for the true addicts. Buying a dozen at $39 will save you $3 (almost one free cupcake). And while the decor of both the store and the desserts themselves are charming, the taste fails to impress me and I'm forced to conclude, from my first visit, that the accolade is near puffery. However, I'm curious about the other flavors and everybody deserves a second chance.

Sprinkles
944 Avocado Ave.
Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 760-0003