The Cupcake Stakes
The Boston Globe Magazine by Janice O'Leary

Tasting the best from each of four new bakeries: which will rise above the rest?

OVEN: Kickass Cupcakes, 378 Highland Avenue, Somerville, 617-628-2877, kickasscupcakes.com

BATTER UP: The $2.75 chocolate brownie cupcake is topped with rich ganache and slivers of dark chocolate.

FLOUR POWER: As rich and flavorful as a brownie, though a little small for it's price tag. Good ratio of topping to cupcake.

TAKES THE CAKE? Best in bake-off, Kickass sells a dozen varieties (you should try them all, including the vegan option), for a total of a thousand cupcakes a day.

OVEN: The Spotted Apron, 326 Cambridge Street, Boston, 617-624-9700, thespottedapron.com

BATTER UP: The red velvet cupcake (secret ingredients: buttermilk and cocoa powder) sells for $3.35. The mascarpone icing is topped with chocolate pearls.

FLOUR POWER: The high price is justified, since this cupcake runneth over. It's big enough to split, but yummy enough that you won't want to.

TAKES THE CAKE? The runner-up, And shoppers should know that the bakery makes only three kinds of cupcakes: white, chocolate buttermilk, and red velvet.

OVEN: Babycakes, 163 Beale Street, Quincy, 617-773-4458

BATTER UP: A specialty item that's only sometimes on the menu, the $2.25 "snowball" is a vanilla cupcake with vanilla butter-cream icing that's rolled in coconut.

FLOUR POWER: Yellow cake made with butter can be divine, and this one tastes just right. But it's a bit crumbly and, with thick icing, hard to eat.

TAKES THE CAKE? Not quite, but there's a silver lining: Regular cupcakes sell for a bargain $1.50 at the bakery, and you don't want to miss the knock-your slippers-off bread pudding, either.

OVEN: Yum Bunnies Cakery, 241 Belmont Street, Belmont, 617-484-3300, yumbunnies.com

BATTER UP: Red velvet cake with traditional cream cheese frosting for $2.

FLOUR POWER: Tha cake is flavorful and moist, but the giant frosting dollop overwhelms the cake.

TAKES THE CAKE? Not quite, but this unpretentious little cupcake is very good - and it's the bargain of the premier bunch.