Cupcake Craving
Ste 169
Sacramento, CA 95825 (916) 923-5995
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
54 Reviews for Cupcake Craving
Someone brought a box of these cupcakes to work one day and we were all shocked by the overwhelming flavor of food coloring and shortening. i like that they have a big variety and selection each day but they seem to stay in their case for days before selling. They need to improve on freshness and quality.
Cupcake Craving kind of leaves a lot to be wanted. I truly think my cupcakes taste better and I am not biased in the least! Roomie loves these and buys Cupcake Craving almost every week, but this is a guy who eats Taco Bell every day...yes, EVERY day! But I guess this place is alright.
The Red Velvet is hardly that. The cream cheese frosting is delicious and I am still trying to get mine that good. However, the actual cupcake tasted plain and it was hard to pick up any chocolate flavor in it as opposed to a good Red Velvet. The Vanilla is nicely plain and purely vanilla and has yummy frosting. The Champagne, although pretty, was not champagne-y enough for me. I know I've had other flavors, but sadly, none were memorable. That says a lot now, doesn't it?
The only thing I love about this place is the cream cheese frosting on the red velvet. It seems like everyone else hated it, but I loved it! I tried several cupcakes: red velvet, monkey mania, 24k, and 10k. So, the only one worth getting again is the red velvet. I thought the flavor was good. All the other cupcakes' frosting was a little hard?! You kinda of had to chip away at it, rather than sink your teeth into the frosting.
Their prices are a little high, considering that their cupcakes are small and not freshly baked on a day to day basis. I have yet to try a to find a joint in Sacramento that will fulfill my sweet tooth.
I'm really not that picky with my cupcakes, but I do agree with what fellow yelpers have commented about this place - too much icky frosting, too much hype.
I used to be adamant about scraping frosting off (unless it's the packaged kind from the grocery store because I can eat that on its own. Gross, I know) - but something about buttercream really grosses me out, and I didn't understand why a majority of cupcakeries use it. Oh how young and naive I was... I tried Kara's Cupcakes in SF and it was like I had a cupcake epiphany - a buttload of frosting can be delicious! I would've jumped over the counter and stolen the frosting bin, but unfortunately that was tucked away. Plus, the cakes were dense, and rich, but still super moist.
Wow, that was quite a tangent. Anyhow, Cupcake Cravery's are much more fluffy, kinda like the ones you can buy in a box at Safeway. The good thing is that the cupcakes are a lot bigger; you'll make up for all the calories you saved from scraping off the frosting here.
I'll admit it, I'm a cupcake ho, so I'll likely be back soon. I mean, it wasn't like someone forced me to eat the cupcake today (I just sort of ate the cupcake whole in the privacy of my car). It seems like they have a variety of flavors, so I'm willing to give 'em another shot. I say give Cupcake Cravery a break, we're in Sac so don't expect a Sprinkles or Kara's.
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Two stars, and I'm being generous. Let's just say I DO NOT "CRAVE" THIS PLACE.
For one, the location sucks- strip mall much? But more importantly, the inside isn't even dolled up, save for a "cutesy" cupcake blackboard sign, all they have is a cupcake display and a gross Coca-cola soda refrigerator. No thnx.
Second, the guy who helped us did like not even care about cupcakes! I tried asking several questions about which ones were popular, etc etc and he wasn't even enthusiastic about any of it. If you're gonna be selling cupcakes for a living, you better at least sell them well.
Third, the cupcakes weren't good. Srsly. The frosting was ick and the only cool thing was mine had a pink hue (see pics of cupcakes left on a park bench to be devoured by vermin...).
Overall, not impressed or happy with Cupcake Craving. I actually called them after I went to ask about their standards on selling cupcake (ie: are they baked and sold fresh daily) I was told their cupcakes have a "24 hour shelf life" so they sell them all in that time standards. Hmmm. Yea, I don't think so, considering I was here at 2:00pm and they had a TON TON TON left, I would not be surprised if I had eaten a 3 day old cupcake (at least that would help explain the un-impressive taste).
I say save the calories for something else.
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Knowing I was on a quest for the perfect cupcake, my friend took me to Cupcake Craving while I was in town. The store is simple but quaint. The cupcakes are stored in a refrigerated case, and there is no where to hang out to enjoy a cupcake on the premises. This is a pick up and leave cupcakery.
We went back to the car and sliced our cupcakes in half so we could share the different flavors. Not liking the refrigerated effect, doesnt that dry out the cupcakes? I know a few cupcakeries down in OC/LB insist you never put them in the fridge.
I really can't remember much about the cupcakes except the smores flavored one which resembled a hostess cupcake. I remember thinking the carrot cake one was decent but a little on the dry side. I do believe we tried a red velvet, but I honestly don't recall what I liked or disliked about it.
I would recommend this for people who aren't cupcake snobs and would like to bring something different to a party. Maybe once these warm up they aren't so strange to eat.
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Below is an earlier review I wrote for Cupcake Craving, based on a pack of mini cupcakes someone brought to an event. I visited the actual store for The Great '08 Cupcake Escape (http://www.yelp.com/li...), and here's what I thought...
I was a little afraid of the location for this cupcake place. It's tucked into a busy strip mall, and has a pop machine inside. I felt like I was in a burger joint, except there was a pretty case filled with dreamy-looking cupcakes. Odd atmosphere. The cupcakes choices were a little overwhelming! We finally chose the peanut butter chocolate, a German chocolate, a mint chocolate, and a champagne.
The first we sampled was the peanut butter chocolate. Sadly, they had packed all the cupcakes in the same carton as the mint, and I couldn't taste the peanut butter through the mint flavoring that had wafted over. Not a pleasant experience. So, on to the next cupcake...
The German chocolate was icky. The topping looked like glossy hair gel--very unappealing, but my friend loves German chocolate, so we bought it anyway. Sadly, it tasted like it looked. The topping overwhelmed the cake, and the cake didn't leave us with any lasting adoration.
The champagne cupcake was a beauty!! She was so lovely with her pastel pink bottom and her fluffy white, glitter sparkle top of rainbow colors. She called me to rescue her from the display case--what a gem! But this drunken lady tasted a little odd--like lemony fruity pebbles cereal. I love that cereal, so I sort of liked the cupcake, but my friends were unimpressed.
Generally, all the cupcakes had a texture not unlike cake from a boxed mix. We wondered if there were any fresh ingredients inside. We had turned down other pretty flavors, like the strawberry, when the clerk in the store described the flavoring added. Overall, a strange experience.
And as a note to my below review, when I told the store clerk that I had eaten the mini cupcakes previously, she told me that they tasted quite different from the regular-sized treats. I might stick to the minis next time.
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Trying to type while licking frosting from my fingers... please excuse typos... YUMMY! YUM! YUM!
That's my assessment of Cupcake Craving. I have actually not visited the store yet (gasp!), but a friend had a box filled with mini treats from this establishment. I had the good fortune to try three flavors. I prefer these mini cupcakes! They are so cute! And they are the perfect size for a gal like me, who just wants a taste to satisfy the sweet tooth.
I am still licking the frosting off my lips from a luscious lemon baby. She had the cutest, pale yellow daisy-drop of frosting atop her curved physic. I took one bite and was covered in sweet bliss!--light, lemon sweet. The cupcake was moist, and inside: a surprise lemon curd. Joy!
I also tried a ho-ho ditty. Covered in gooey (not firm) melt-y chocolate, it also had a hidden dollop of creamy marshmallow-y filling. Tasted like the kind your mom used to pack in your lunch box, only fresh. Memories always taste good! And so do chocolate and marshmallows.
My final taste was some sort of caramel-y oddball. That wasn't as exciting as the others. It had a white dot of frosting on top, and then a smaller dot of brown... I'm not sure if it was chocolate or what? It didn't really serve any purpose other than cuteness, which is fine. But still unidentifiable. Inside was a filling of super-rich caramel, probably dulce de leche. I found it far too rich, especially for such a tiny bite-size cupcake. It just didn't blend for me.
Overall, I was impressed with these sweet treats. The lemon was definitely a favorite!
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This review is for months ago around the time this place opened. I've just now gotten around to starting an account so I can actually contribute my opinions on Yelp.
This place is all hype and no substance. I like cupcakes. I love, love, love Magnolia cupcakes and get them almost everytime I go to NYC. Down in LA I go to a place called Yummy cupcakes that also makes great cupcakes just with too much yummy frosting. I even like the cupcakes they used to sell at Starbucks so I was excited to try this new place. These cupcakes however were gross. They had tons of sweet frosting that wasn't even good all over them. The cake wasn't that good either. The worst part is that the people that work there are not very friendly. Skip this place.
Truly horrible in every way. I felt like I was imposing by ordering food in here, and the cupcakes were ridiculously vile. I had a red velvet cake, and it was like eating play dough. Can't remember the other flavor I got, but it was so bad I couldn't even finish it. And I eat gas station food, so my standards are pretty low. Plus...the cupcakes were ice cold all the way through. Who the hell wants a chilled cupcake? This place will be gone within a year, I guarantee.
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I love this place, I couple of different cupcake shops popped up around sac during the cupcake revival I will call it, this one is the best.
I absolutely love the smore's cupcake. I will make a note for those of you who DO NOT LOVE sugar, this place might not be for you.
My sister said it made her want to Puke.... But Ill take some cupcakes from here for VDAY anyday!
haha
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Their cupcakes aren't too bad if you let them warm up a bit (they serve them cold) and scrape off some of the frosting (they pile way too much on). I'm used to having the best cupcakes at Sprinkles in Beverly Hills so this place, Cupcake Craving, can't even compare. If I remember correctly, cupcakes here are $2.50 each and they have a decent selection. Don't order the red velvet flavor if you're really craving a good red velvet because theirs will let you down! The mint cupcake was pretty good but again, way too much frosting. I did like the s'more cupcake, which had significantly less frosting on top than the others and was also filled with gooey marshmallow inside. The people working there were kind of lifeless but I'm pretty sure they were in high school. I'm not sure if there's another cupcake place in Sacramento though, so this might be it if you need a cupcake.
Similar in composition and texture to a grocery store cupcake, only more expensive.
Out of curiosity I came here after shopping at the nearby party store. On a birthday party mission, of course.
My research subjects were the strawberry and the chocolate fix. I asked the man at the counter if they had an ingredient list. Answer: a somewhat incredulous look + "no, but what do you want to know?" I inquired further regarding what they used for fats -- oil? Shortening? Butter? Yes, they use these, depending on the cupcake. I was treated to an empty gigantic tub formerly filled with greasy goo which included the usual laboratory ingredients. Appetizing.
Unswayed by my knowledge of the esters and partially hydrogented oils and other scientific foodstuffs I do not remember, I let my subjects reach room temperature and tested each. They were OK. Good cake texture; not too dry -- thanks to the shelf-life oils. Fine, but not fabulous.
If you are looking for a wide variety of cupcakes, this is your place. Lots of flavors here. The value to price ratio isn't the greatest.
They do deliver for free within a five mile radius of their store. For my neighborhood it would be an extra ten bucks.
I don't think I'll be craving these cupcakes in the future. I'll stick with Selland's Market, Freeport Bakery, and Capital Cupcakes.
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I haven't been into the store, but a kindly coworker bought us a two dozen assortment of cupcakes from here. I was able to sample a smattering of them and I have to be frank--I was underwhelmed.
The cupcakes itself were very cute, but had no flavor. The frosting was too sweet and also lacked flavor. I consumed a whole Red Velvet Rescue, which was actually better than the other flavors I sampled. The cake was moist but did not have a mocha flavor like the website menu claims. At least the cream cheese frosting was tasty.
I was really drooling over the Monkey Mania, which I split with a coworker. I had no reason to drool, I couldn't really tell what I was eating other than sugar. I really wanted to like it too, because I have a weakness for banana. Monkey also has a caramel like center, which tasted, again, just like sugar :( I also tried a third of the Champagne. I was so curious as to what a Champagne cupcake tasted like and--yes it tasted like sugar. OK, so maybe I should have stopped there but I'm stupid, so I tried bites of the Strawberry Dream, Lemon Boost and Vanilla Bliss. Nothing but sugary sweetness and the weird slickness of buttercream coating my mouth.
In the end, I would NOT pass up trying the carrot cake flavors. If it was good, perhaps I would upgrade my review one more star. However, I would not willingly spend my money here.
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I stopped by yesterday since I was in the neighborhood. As others have already stated...the decor leaves a lot to be desired. It's a cupcake place for gawd's sake and it could use a lot more than some black chalkboards on the wall. The cupcake case itself was full of choices for everyone's palette and they all looked appealing to me!
I wanted to bring my hunny a treat so I opted for the PB and Joy for him. I was about to do an eenie meenie miney mo between the S'more and German Chocolate when I spotted the carrot cake cupcakes. They offer two types (which is AWESOME). The 20k has raisins and nuts and the 10k is without. I prefer my carrot cake in the middle..with nuts but sans raisins (yuck!)...so of course, I got the 10k.
I took these home and promptly forgot about them until today. I was really hoping that they didn't dry out in the plastic container we were provided. Well, the boyfriend who's usual comment about anything peanut butter and chocolate is "This is f*cking good" with a slow head nod was kinda quiet while eating his. He just said, "Oh, there's more frosting in the middle" and left it at that which isn't a good sign on that one.
Mine, I loved! The cupcake wasn't dry at all and the flavors were nice. The frosting wasn't overly sweet like some cream cheese frostings. I did take some off but I'd rather have more than not enough.
I like the cupcake concept as everyone has their own favorite kinds of cake. I don't like the $2.50 price per cupcake but really, a scoop of ice cream isn't much less these days.
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Okay, so, I'm not convinced that these cupcakes are made daily, every 24 hours and I'd be shocked if they were actually made every couple days. As they sit in a refrigerated glass case, they look awfully tasty, sprinkles and mounds of frosting beckoning your grasp ever-so-subtly.
The store itself looks like a converted Subway or Little Ceasars Pizza - small tiled foyer area (very clean and neat), counter and refrigerated cupcake case in the foyer and then a large back-store area that you cannot see. There's a Coke vending machine off to the corner, taking away from the charm of a true cupcakery. There are flyers for Cupcake Craving available in case you want more info and tons of cupcake flavors to choose from - macaroon, peanut butter, caramel, double chocolate, vanilla, you dream it? They've probably got it.
The guy who helped me in the store was completely unenthusiastic about his cupcakes, which scares me. Cupcakes are, by their very nature, inherently fun and fluffy. If I had a cupcakery, I would be stoked to share the nitty-gritty and the nuances of all of my delicious cupcake flavors - the warmth of the vanilla, the rich-and-spicy red velvet cake and the moist, chunky, nutty flavors swirling throughout the 24k carrot cupcake.
Unfortunately, the most I could get out of the guy was "My favorites are red velvet and carrot cake." in the most unexcited way ever. Either 1) these cupcakes knocked his socks off so much that he became paralyzed from the nose down (hence his totally unenthusiastic response), 2) he just had a double-dose of botox in his face giving it that perma-paralyzed look and or 3) these cupcakes just aren't that good.
So, it was #3, in case you were wondering. The cupcakes? They just weren't that good. We ordered one champagne cupcake (that had a nice surprise of a very light pink batter - cute) and one red velvet cupcake.
I'm not a big fan of cream cheese icing and my red velvet cupcake? Covered in it. I mean, the icing was literally SO THICK that there was no way I could get a good bite of the cupcake+icing until eating halfway through the icing thickness, and by then I was feeling queasy. The icing was very cold from it's uber-refrigeration state and I had to chew it. Kinda gnarly.
The cupcake itself had okay flavor but was dry, probably from sitting in the fridge for so long. I like a nice, thick, moist, dense cupcake, plus some delicious, finger-lickin' frosting. Cupcake Craving definitely didn't fulfill my cupcake craving (and trust me, I've been hardcore craving one since the last time I had a Sibby's delicious delicacy) and... well, to say the least... it didn't cut the mustard. Or the cupcake.
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Probably more of a 3.5
We were supposed to take my fiances god daughter here next time she comes over, she loves cupcakes, but we had never actually been before. We were driving by, and decided, why not?
The place is small, and not much for decor. They have a decent sized display case filled with different kinds of cupcakes. We were there just around 4 in the afternoon, and the display was still pretty full. Of course, they are in a mall area, in a corner that you can't really notice them.
The person behind the counter wasn't very personable, but he wasn't a jerk or anything like that. He was just kind of, well, there. We obviously were new to the place by stating things like "wow, they have a lot of different stuff here" and "what is in that one?". He didn't give any suggestions or anything like that. But, he was nice enough.
We decided on the Mocha Madness and Monkey Mania.
Mocha Madness: Icing is not overly sweet, light mocha flavor. Not
overly buttery either. I'm not a big fan of buttercream, but this was
pretty good. Fiance said that the cake itself was a little dry.
Monkey Mania: Icing is definitely sweeter than the Mocha Madness,
but I really liked it. Banana flavor of the icing was good also. Again,
not a big fan of buttercream, but I liked it. The cake part was a tiny bit
more moist, but not by a lot. Flavor for the cake was ok, but I think
most of the flavoring comes from the icing.
I think that these are meant to be eaten as a combination of each bite having both icing and cake to make the cake moist. When I did both, it really all seemed to come together.
I wonder if they save each days cupcakes or get rid of them at the end of the day?
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The cupcakes are decent, but very overpriced. The store feels very sterile: not like a local bakery, more like a chain store. I loved visiting the Magnolia Bakery in New York. Cupcake Craving seems like a cheap imitation in comparison. Magnolia's cupcakes were significantly better, very fresh, and far more affordable. Locally, I'd recommend baked goods from Freeport Bakery without hesitation.
We hit this one after visiting BabyCakes. Overall staff, service, presentation, scent of the store, open feeling and cake texture was amazing. I also liked that they offer sugar free cupcakes, which I noticed after the fact. 4.5-5, but I just thought the icing was too sugary. That's my personal preference.
Cupcake Craving had a great display, and we knew were were in a cupcake zone when we walked in. The place smells like vanilla and cake baking. I could see a giant mixer and the baker through the window, so we waved.
They had an extraordinary array of cupcakes.
We ordered the sample pack (8 teensy cupcakes with a touch of icing on each), as well as a few samples of the large sizes, including their version of the red velvet, a bavarian cream, a cherry vanilla, and a champagne. All of these cakes were light, cakey, not too crumbly, and "tender" (Buster's word for the M word so that my delicate sensibilities are not distressed.)
The icing, however, was a lot more sugary than I like it. I like sweet, but a few of them hurt my teeth. I did enjoy the champagne, because even though it was a super sweet frosting, it tasted different (like champagne, go figure.) The cherry one was Buster's fave, and it's quite yummy. The red velvet had great cream cheese icing, really obviously cream cheese and delicious. Also, we got the lemon meringue one (because of the one we tried at babycakes) and I have to say, that was pretty great. I was too stuffed to try the cake, but I grabbed some of the frosting. It was a frosted looking cupcake with a cooked meringue looking topping, and the frosting broke through the toasty part to a creamy almost normal (yet meringue flavored) icing. I've never had anything like it. It was great stuff.
I highly recommend this place. I think the snacky sized small packs are a great deal and the cakes themselves run about 2-3 bucks each, but honestly? I'd pay that much for a donut if it was any good.
This is the definite winner between the two cupcakeries.
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Okay so I'm searching for parking in the Nordstroms Rack parking lot, AKA the worst parking lot ever, and I drive past a sign "cupcake craving" it beckoned me. I did not even know I had a cupcake craving until that sign told me. Like a mosquito to an arm, I zipped over to this enticing and new "cupcake craving."
I walk in and ask the guy to level with me. I'm not here to dick around. I want the three best damn cupcakes this place has to offer and I don't want to have to guess the flavor. On recommendations, I took macaroon and smore. I also I have particular fondness for strawberry cake, so i snagged on one of those two.
Problem: Even though the cupcake man was more than willing to sell me three, the tray for three cupcakes was actually meant to hold FOUR. One container looked empty. I paid, walking away, not quite satisfied with life. Luckily, someone else walked in.
To the cupcake man and the lady in line: sorry if you think I'm a bit nuts.
I got in line behind her and ordered the same cupcake as her. I wanted to try a "guest recommendation." I opened my box back up and pointed to the one empty hole to try and explain it, but they just thought I was weird.
Anyway, the lady got the red velvet cupcake, which by far was my FAVORITO* Yum, Oh and I ADORE strawberry cupcake, Smore was delicious too, and I'm not a big fan of marshmallows! Over all freakin delicious.
CONS: Macaroon cupcake tasted like macaroon cornbread, but 3 outta 4 ain't bad.
Also, Server was a little intolerant. I would have rather had a jolly plump person, or an edgy tattooed girl with piercings and dyed hair. Or a grandpa and grandma affectionately snugglin each other when they though no one was looking. Instead he looked like he had WAY better things to be doing than serving cupcakes and wasn't very helpful at all.
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It's not the best thing to have the day before you start a master cleanse....
But I did anyway.
I'm giving them 4 stars because the cupcakes are delicious and the counter help was friendly.
I bought my mom a cupcake and she was astounded - how can a place stay in business that only sells cupcakes?
$18 - 1 dozen mini cupcakes
$2 - $3.50 - 1 regular sized cupcake
Not likely that I'll return because the last thing my ass needs is another cupcake.
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I stopped in here today to find something choclately in my usual, periodic attempt at suicide by calorie overdose. I gazed at the case full of options for what seemed like hours (to the other customers, no doubt) and finally decided upon the German Chocolate variation. I fully intended to share it with my co-worker who eyed it greedily when I brought it back to the office. However, the first bite told me that that just wasn't going to happen, for a couple of reasons:
1) The cupcakes are a little on the dry, crumbly side and the cupcake didn't take well to being sliced in half. After that, I had no choice but to eat the gooey mess myself.
2) The frosting was too yummy to leave me with any desire to share with others.
My opinion is: the cake part could and should be moister and denser, but the frosting makes up for it and you'll gobble it down despite its minor shortcomings. I would go back, especially to buy cupcakes for a party or office gathering or something.
Ehhh...
That's really all I've got for this place. I ordered 4 cupcakes; Red Velvet, Champagne, S'more, and PB and Joy. The Champagne was my favorite. My roommate ate the S'more and he said it tasted like a Hostess cupcake and he actually preferred Hostess. The Red Velvet was okay, a little dry but still edible. My least favorite was the PB and Joy. Dry cake with a ton of frosting. Not worth the calories. All in all, they weren't bad by any means but I won't be rushing back to eat here again...especially at $2.50 a piece.
Who doesn't love cupcakes! The price ranges from $2.00 - $2.50 per regular sized cake (they also make minis). These are a nice size and when all you want is one perfect serving, they do the job right. I've had cupcakes from babycakes for the same price, but those are about 1/3 smaller, drier and far less flavorful. Also, their website is great...I always love places that keep updated sites (flavor of the month, specials, etc).
So far I've tried a few flavors:
24K Craving: Fantastic! The cake is super moist full of carroty goodness, and lots of goodies. They also make a 10K without the raisins/nuts. The cream cheese frosting is the best part.
Chocolate Fix: Wonderful. Moist cake, lots of chocolate frosting. I can't think of what could be better.
Red Velvet: The cake was drier than the others, but still good. There seemed to be something missing...not quite sure what as I've had it just once and will probably try it again. Sometimes I just crave Red Velvet and hopefully it'll be exactly what I'm looking for.
EDIT: 4/4/08: I DID try it again yesterday and it was perfect. The cake was very tender, perfectly frangranced and the icing was just fantastic. I was debating whether or not to try that one again as I went in at the end of the day and figured that might not be a good time...but it was wonderful.
PB Joy: The cake was great...the frosting was a bit weird. Chocolate/peanut butter swirl. I couldn't really taste either distinctly enough.
Champagne: The cake is super airy and tender, almost like angel food, and perfectly champagne-scented. The frosting was also very light...I think just standard white buttercream. A very good one.
Lemon: I didn't expect the wonderful blob of lemon curd in the center! This one was less sweet than the others, very strong lemon-rind-flavor (as opposed to sour lemon). YUM!
I will be back!
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Can I just say RED VELVET??? We chose these and the lemon for our wedding and my god were they all great. Well, the day after as our friends and I stuffed ourselves silly with these things. Now we ordered a lot, and buy 11 get the 12th free makes a difference when you are ordering a lot. Especially when you are budget conscious. The cakes were delivered free of charge by super friendly staff and it all went without a hitch. I would recommend these for sure for any big event.
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Most cupcake bakeries I have been to have some sort of theme. The whole experience is a packaged, well thought out experience-- from the names of the cupcake to the frosting to the cute little box your tiny treat comes in. Most places I've been to sell you on the entire cupcake buying, taking home, and eating experience. I didn't get that so much here. It's a small bakery with a regular looking display case. No bells or whistles. I just felt like the place had no identity, and in my cupcake eyes thats what all cupcake specialty stores just have to have.
I ordered 2 tiny treats: Monkey Mania and red Velvet Rescue.
They were good. That's all.
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Vitals: If you've never been to a cupcake-exclusive place before, you'll like this place; the Falcon's server was friendly and explained the different cupcake flavors. Judging from the other reviews, it doesn't hold up against other cupcake-exclusives but the Falcon wouldn't know.
This was the first specialty cupcake place the Falcon and her mate had been to. When your nest is in the country, you become less picky about high-end suburban amenities.
My first thought was that the folks in charge were geniuses for locating their now seven-month-old store in the vicinity of a makeup store (Ulta) and a shopping mecca (Nordstrom Rack.) Estrogen, anyone? At first pass, we saw a pair of perfectly-kept matrons sitting on the bench outside Payless Shoes, eating their cupcakes. That's where we ended up too about an hour later; Cupcake Craving has no indoor seating. There are probably reasons for that, but Howe 'bout Arden as it stands is no place for R&R. Cupcake Craving would make a killing in an indoor mall.
Prices for the Falcon's cupcake and her mate's: $2.50 for the Caramel Comfort, $2.50 for the custard-eclair thingy.
The girlfriend's birthday was on Tuesday, and she suggested that we try cupcakes this year. She's a big fan of Carrot cake, so I "surprised" her with a dozen of the "10k" variety (there are two versions that involve carrot cake, but this version has no nuts or raisins).
Let's just say that the cupcakes were TOO good. Since our combined four kids don't like carrot cake, it's been up to the two of us to polish off the box, and last night we succeeded. The frosting is unbelievable! And the staff were VERY helpful. I placed my order via email, had them put a custom message on the cupcakes, and they were very friendly and attentive.
I'll be going back soon to check out some of the other varieties that left me drooling in their tiny little store.....
(minus one star for unfortunate location/parking)
I THREW AWAY two (almost) whole cupcakes. My first bite I thought I might be imagining the cold, stale, dense, foamy, flavorless crap I was consuming, and tried it again. Nope. It was confirmed by Paul that my lemon cupcake was terrible. Maybe the worst we've ever had. Far worse than grocery store cupcakes--even the really bad ones. It didn't even taste remotely like lemon. Hell, it didn't taste like anything!
P's german chocolate cupcake had decent frosting (tasted like the jar variety you buy at the store), but again, the cupcake was freezing cold, way too dense in this gross foam-rubber way, and lacked any distinguishable chocolate flavor.
At $2.50 a cupcake, this place is a joke.
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They had German chocolate and my hunny liked em. A little pricey, but well worth it to make my baby happy on his birthday. $2.50 a cupcake, and $3 for my sugar free, ouch!
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Went to Cupcake Craving today...the staff was very friendly. I like that they have some mini samples to try because they have a lot to choose from and its hard to choose. I tried the carrot cake and the Mint chocolate both were pretty good. I like their frosting better than other grocery stores....but in the end they are just cupcakes.
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I'd like to start the new year by Yelping about Cupcake Craving. What's with the rise of boutique bakeries? Aren't we trying to have less filling in our life? As soon as I entered Cupcake, my tooth started to ache. Nevertheless, I tried the Mint Meltdown and Red Velvet Rescue. These cupcakes look flawless- neatly decorated and attractive. I find the frostings very thick and super sweet (though they do offer sugar-free). The cake itself is fluffy, but not warm as I hoped- guess I went late in the day. Fortunately, the folks provide free samples via mini gourmet cakes and the service is terrific. So for these $2.50 cupcakes, my sweet tooth will only be crazing once every other month.
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The concept is very appealing - gourmet cupcakes! The decorations look like pieces of art that not many grocery store cupcakes can boast of. You'd think that a store dedicated solely to cupcakes would make some super delicious treats, but once you're left with the cupcake wrapper, you will feel a little jipped that you spent a few dollars for ONE cupcake.
It'd be really helpful if the person behind the counter acted more enthusiastic about what he's selling.
To be fair, I only tried one (the caramel whatever). I guess you'll either love it or not care for it. I'm sure I'll be back here again if I'm in the area to keep trying more until I am impressed by one.
Most people know my love of cupcakes, and when I found this store I was more than a little excited. They have quite a few varieties and have been very friendly every time I went. The price is a little high for an everyday venture there, but well worth it for a once in a while treat. I have tried almost all of the varieties they have to choose from, but my favorite has to be the carrot cake cupcake without the nuts or raisins. It is very good and moist.
As for people complaining about the cupcake being cold, I would have to disagree. I would rather have a slightly colder cupcake with frosting that doesn't make a mess than a warm cupcake that gets everywhere. Simple solution: if the cold is irritable let the cupcake sit out for a few minutes.
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Let's put it this way......I walk in and looked at all of them staring at me. I bought all 14 varieties on display and one of them become my secret lover on the way home....Bavarian Chocolate w/ a creamy custard right in the middle.
Having said this....between my secret lover and the rest of them we had a sex party before I got home.
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ohmygoodness!!!!!!!!!!! I ordered one lemon cupcake with lemon buttercream frosting and lemon curd hidden in the centre. That cute little cupcake didn't even stand a chance. I don't think I've eaten anything that fast in my life.
The cupcake tasted like it had just been made -pillowy soft with just the right amount of tart lemon and sweetness.
There are 14 cupcakes to choose from and it was nice to see that there weren't too many left in the case. That makes me think that they never let them sit out for more than a day...although I don't think that will be an issue once the word gets out about this place.
Cupcakes cost $2.00 to $2.50 or if you stop in during their grand opening you can buy 5 and get one free. There isn't anywhere inside to sit and eat, which is just as well because if you spend too much time there you'll want to try one of everything.
UPDATE February 2008: There's no day like ROTD to update your review! I've been here twice since my initial review and both times the cupcakes I chose were nowhere near as delicious and soft as the first one I tried here. I tried a peanut butter one and a cherry one and while the icing was delicious, the cupcake was a little dry. Maybe they should change their name to Icing Craving. I am downgrading my initial review from 5 stars to 3 stars.
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We came in right when they were closing and they were still nice enough to allow us to order. The store is small, quaint, and very welcoming. The staff was very helpful and patient.
I was kinda overwhelmed when I stepped in, I wasn't really sure where to begin, but I eventually decided on a 6 count of cupcakes--3 Red Velvet, 1 Peanut Butter & Joy, 10K carrot cake, and Pumpkin Spice.
I haven't been able to finish them yet, but I did have one of the red velvet cupcakes and it was good--the frosting was a bit too sweet but the cake was very moist. My boyfriend had the Peanut Butter & Joy which he described as moist and very chocolatey.
After having a bite of all the other cupcakes we bought, I've come to the decision that the frosting is really really really sweet. I could really do without it.
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The best cupcakes I've ever had! I've tried more varieties than I can count, and each is as delicious as the last. The owners bake the cupcakes and run the counter - you can tell they love their business by how they treat their customers. I've recommended Cupcake Cravings to many friends who've now become addicts themselves.
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