By Jayla Anderson ’26
In 2020 during the height of quarantine, it was Thanksgiving and one of the only times when my immediate family was able to get together and have dinner. As a 12-year-old, seeing my family in the kitchen cooking made me want to be included and have something to do. After walking around the kitchen for a little while, I found a box of cake mix. I decided to bake and decorate it, and my love for baking blossomed from there.
After two years of trying new techniques, baking for family, and sharing with friends, a girl from my school who I wasn’t that close with at the time tried one of my cupcakes and told me it was really good and I should start selling them. Not long after, I decided to sell my cakes and cupcakes, and business began to boom.
It is still going well today. Recently, I wanted to host a focus group of seven individuals with four new cupcake flavors, to get feedback and see what I can improve on.
Photo by Jayla Anderson ‘26: The seven students and teachers who were part of the focus group.
Jayla Anderson (JA): Hi guys, welcome to my focus group. The flavors are cinnamon roll, pina colada, banana pudding, and Dubai chocolate. Which one do you guys want to do first?
Sara Mesavage (SM): What was this one with the cookie on top?
JA: Banana Pudding, do you guys want to try that one first?
SM: Yup!
Sara Poric (SP): Yeah.
BANANA PUDDING CUPCAKE
Photo by Jayla Anderson ‘26: The banana pudding cupcake the focus group tried.
The banana pudding cupcake has a banana cupcake, banana cream filling, and the frosting is a cream frosting with a chessman cookie on top, nilla crumble, and banana cream drizzle.
Did the flavors match your expectations?
Rebecca Socha (RS): It tastes just like banana pudding.
What are your first impressions of how it looks?
RS: I really like the cookie on top.
Joshua Diaz (JD): Looks nice.
What do you think about the texture?
SP: Fluffy, moist, soft.
SM: I like the mixture of banana pudding and the actual cupcake.
RS: It doesn’t feel too heavy, which is nice. It has a good balance.
SM: These cookies are usually crunchy, right?
JA: Yes, they usually are, but once the banana cream gets soaked up, it gets soft.
SM: I like the cookie melting in.
How would you guys describe the flavor?
Horatio Glover (HG): Banana.
Michael Einig (ME): Like light banana, though. I’m not a banana guy but I still like the cupcake.
SM: I don’t eat bananas, the smell makes me sick, I’m surprised how much I like it. It’s banana for sure, but I’m not like, “Oh God.” It’s chill. It’s not too much.
How is the sweetness?
HG: It’s pretty sweet, but it’s manageable.
RS: I think it’s on par with how banana pudding usually is, and I could eat a whole cupcake and not feel disgusted.
How did the cupcake make you feel?
SM: Like I could eat the other half.
JA: What do you want to try next?
HG Cinnamon Roll!
CINNAMON ROLL CUPCAKE
Photo by Jayla Anderson ‘26: The cinnamon roll cupcake the focus group tried.
This is a spice cake with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. The frosting is plain vanilla frosting drizzled with royal icing and cinnamon.
SP: It looks good.
Did the flavor match expectations?
All participants answered yes.
How is the texture?
ME: A little more solid.
RS: A little more like a muffin than the other one.
SM: Definitely taste the ginger and the nutmeg, though.
HG: This one was less sweet than the banana pudding.
ME: Definitely agree. It’s more like a muffin with frosting on it, and less like a cupcake, but it was good. I liked it.
How is the appearance?
SM: The drizzle on top makes it look extra fancy. In a good way.
JA: What do you guys want next?
SM: Can we all agree to leave the chocolate one last?
All participants answered yes.
JA. Okay, so pina colada.
PINA COLADA
Photo by Jayla Anderson ‘26: The pina colada cupcake the focus group tried.
This one is a pineapple cake with pineapple cream filling. The frosting is coconut cream with coconut flakes, a cherry & pineapple on top, and a mini umbrella.
How does this look?
RS: This one is the most fun!
SM: It looks like a vacation cupcake.
HG: Tropical.
Did the flavor match your expectations?
All participants answered yes.
SM: It tastes tropical, too. It’s a vacation dessert.
How is the texture?
HG: Soft.
AOB: Very moist.
SM: good with the flakes on top. They’re not crunchy but they’re hard so it’s a nice contrast with the cupcake.
How would you describe the flavor?
HG: You taste the pineapple and the coconut, but one doesn’t take over the other. Both are the same.
SP: I don’t really taste too much of the coconut, and I don’t personally like coconut, so I think it goes really well with the cupcake in general.
How is the sweetness?
SP: I think it was the most sweet.
ME: I’m not a big coconut guy so I didn’t really like it, but it wasn’t too sweet.
SM: I would have liked to taste more pineapple. I wanted more of the fruit to come through.
How did the cupcake make you feel?
SP: Good, I liked the cherry.
DUBAI CHOCOLATE
Photo by Jayla Anderson ‘26: The Dubai chocolate cupcake the focus group tried.
The last one is Dubai chocolate. The filling is kanafeh, which is a pastry dough fried in butter, mixed with pistachio cream. The topping is pistachio buttercream.
Did the flavor match your expectations?
HG: Yes.
ME: No, because I didn’t know what to expect. I tasted chocolate, but the stuff in the middle was not what I was expecting.
RS: I wish I tasted more chocolate.
SM: This tastes like Devil’s Food chocolate to me, not like regular chocolate. Not in a good or bad way but it doesn’t taste like regular chocolate. I’ve decided I don’t like pistachio.
ME: The frosting is really good.
RS: I think the pistachio came through nicely. I think the texture was a little bit more dry than the other ones.
AOB: I like how it was crunchy in the middle.
How was the sweetness?
ME: I wouldn’t call this one that sweet at all.
SP: I thought it was pretty sweet. The second most sweet to me.
HG: As sweet as chocolate is usually, it wasn’t too sweet.
Final Thoughts
Were there any flavors that stood out to you?
SP: My favorite was the banana pudding. I really love bananas. It was great.
HG: Cinnamon for me because I wasn’t expecting cinnamon to be sweet.
AOB: I’d also say the banana. The softness was really good.
ME: Mine was the banana too because I liked the filling.
RS: Me too.
SM: Between the banana and the cinnamon, the banana. I liked everything about it, and the presentation.
JD: I liked the chocolate. I thought it was a good blend of textures with the harder center and the soft cake.
What was your least favorite?
SP: Cinnamon. I’m not a huge cinnamon person.
HG: Chocolate. I don’t like pistachios that much.
ME: I think mine was the chocolate, too. I didn’t know what to expect, I normally like chocolate cupcakes but I didn’t like the pistachios that much.
RS: Chocolate was my last favorite, but would I eat all of these again? Absolutely.
SM: I thought the chocolate cupcake was actually okay, I have to put it at the bottom because the foundations of the other ones I liked better.
What occasion would you say each of these would be perfect for?
ME: Pina colada I can imagine at a beach in the Bahamas, the guy comes over on a platter and you’re just lying there.
RS: Even just a backyard barbeque.
SM: The coconut pineapple cupcake I also think is great for visuals for kids, but I don’t know how many kids like coconut. For a birthday party as well they’re also fun.
ME: I feel like the banana one, if you just brought a dessert for lunch, that would be a good one.
SM: Comfort.
HG: I feel like the chocolate is good for a fancy restaurant.
AOB: Cinnamon one gives fall vibes.
SM: If you took pictures with a harvest pumpkin in the background, it would look like what you get at Stop and Shop for fall.
If these cupcakes were people how would you describe their personalities?
SM: The pineapple coconut is definitely a beach bum that likes to enjoy its life.
RS: The Dubai chocolate one is mysterious because you’re not expecting the stuff on the inside. The cinnamon one would be classy. There’s not a lot added to it in a good way.
SP: Cinnamon Roll would be a bookworm.
RS: It has cozy vibes.
ME: The banana pudding, we were saying you’d bring it to a friend’s, so maybe friendly, comforting.
RS: It reminds me of a grandma but in the best way.
JA: I said that too, like someone’s aunt!
What started off as a simple moment of curiosity during quarantine has grown into something way more meaningful. A cute little hobby turned into a full-blown business, creative outlet, and a way to bring people together through amazing flavors.
Hosting this focus group not only allowed me to test out new cupcake flavors, but also an opportunity to hear real thoughtful, and honest feedback that will not only help me grow as a baker but also as an entrepreneur.
From the comforting flavor of banana pudding, the tropical fun of pina colada, to the cozy vibe of cinnamon roll, and the rich mysterious flavor of Dubai chocolate, each cupcake brought out unique reactions and feelings. I’m grateful for the honest insight from everyone who participated in the focus group. Thanks to the participants, I am extremely excited to continue experimenting, improving, and making people happy one treat at a time.
The Raider Press 