Trader Joe’s Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes – Review from a Non-Vegan
Cupcakes Spotted at Trader Joe’s
I don’t see cupcakes very often at Trader Joe’s, and their baked goods tend to be seasonal treats as they have different things throughout the year. Vanilla is delicious, and I prefer it over chocolate. Trader Joe’s Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes are adorable in its packaging, and I decided to give them a try because I love a good vanilla cupcake and choices were slim during my recent Trader Joe’s trip.
Cute Packaging and Appearance
Wow, look at that packaging of these Trader Joe’s Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes! They are packaged very precisely and seem stable in the packaging. All the packages did not have any cupcakes toppled over and they all looked very consistent. The pink label feels rather good to the touch and the color goes so well with the white frosting and classic circle sprinkles. It reminds me of the generic grocery store cupcakes I first saw when I was a little girl at a Safeway or a Lucky’s. Ah, semi-nostalgia.
Cost and Nutrition
A pack of these cupcakes (4 in total) averages out to be around a dollar a cupcake. That price is not bad at all compared to going to a cupcake store or bakery and buying an individual cupcake for the same or similar price as a pack of these cupcakes. One cupcake comes in at 260 Calories, which 12 grams are fats, 36 grams of carbohydrates (25g of that are added sugars), and 1 gram of protein. The cupcake ingredients are –
For the Cake:
Water, sugar, unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), expeller pressed canola oil, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, cornstarch, monocalcium phosphate), vanilla extract (water, ethyl alcohol, vanilla bean extractives), fava bean protein, sea salt, beta carotene (for color).
For the Vanilla Frosting and Sprinkles:
Frosting – [Palm oil, shortening (palm oil, mono-and-diglycerides), powdered sugar (cane sugar, cornstarch, expeller pressed canola oil), vanilla extract (water, ethyl alcohol, vanilla bean extractives), water, sea salt], and Sprinkles – [sugar, palm soil, potato starch, rice flour, cornstarch, natural flavor, turmeric extract (for color), citric acid (to preserve),
Outside the Packaging
Look at that, the cupcakes are exposed without the cute pink label. They still look rather cute and delicious, but I think they looked better when the box was closed, showing the pink label.
First Touch
I lifted a cupcake out of the packaging, and my first thought was, “Wow, this is a sticky mess!” Imagine finish baking cupcakes and putting them in a closed container when they were still warm. That’s what these reminded me of, without the warmth. It seemed a lot of moisture got trapped, leaving the edges of the cake to be extremely sticky. Cake surface instantly stuck to my fingers. Wow, messy!
Cross-Section and Taste
Thankfully these cupcakes were somewhat easy to cut across, and the cross-section looks rather nice with the fluffy-ish frosting and evenly baked cake. The taste, on the other hand, reminded me a bit of boxed cake and under-baked cake. I was a bit turned off at first, but that rather interesting texture of squishiness and stickiness brought me back to another bite. The frosting was rather light and not dense and not overly sweet. The frosting and cake portions balance each other out quite well.
My Biggest Surprise
I shared a cupcake with my 2 kids, and surprisingly, they both liked it! My first impression from my initial bite was, “ugh, ok…” and since my kids prefer things sweeter than I do, I was rather surprised they thought the Trader Joe’s Vegan Cupcakes were good. My son enjoyed it more than my daughter though, as he asked to have a whole one for dessert after dinner.
Would I Buy Again?
Sure, given the convenience and the price. I could make my own vegan or non-vegan vanilla cupcakes, but washing those pans and bowls afterwards just suck. These aren’t terrible after the first taste, so I would get these again if I were in a mood for them. They are much cheaper than cupcake shop cupcakes, though I’d like a bit more variety. In other words, I would buy again, but I would not make these my sole vanilla cupcake purchase.
