The Country's Best Cupcakes

The Country's Best Cupcakes
With cupcake frenzy on the rise, it’s clear this treat isn’t just for kids and birthdays anymore. Here’s our list of where to find the country’s best and boldest cupcakes.

By Amanda Petrusich for MSN City GuidesEver since 2000, when Magnolia Bakery’s pastel cupcakes upstaged Sarah Jessica Parker’s knee-socks on an episode of ‘Sex and the City’, cupcakes have undergone an unexpected (and well-chronicled) renaissance. Over the last eight years, cupcakes have been celebrated and re-imagined in countless ways, with new, cupcake-only bakeshops – inspired by Magnolia and Los Angeles’ Sprinkles Bakery – popping up all across the country. Rachel Kramer Bussel, co-author of cupcake blog Cupcake Takes the Cake, admits that the glut of new cupcake boutiques means bakers have to work harder to stand out. “I think personalizing the cupcake with a unique flavor or flavors in addition to the usual ones is always nice,” Bussel says. “Increasingly, cities are seeing more than one bakery open so they have to do something to differentiate.” So, here are 11 of the most original (and delicious!) new cupcakes in America.

Saint Cupcake - Portland, Ore. The Fat Elvis (Sweet banana and chocolate chip cake, smeared with peanut butter fudge frosting and topped with a fried banana chip)In November 2005, Jami Curl quit her day job as a marketer for the Oregon State Bar, dropped out of graduate school, and opened Saint Cupcake with her husband, Matthew. The (now-thriving) Portland bakery’s Fat Elvis cupcake is a delectable homage to the King’s favorite snack. “The cupcake started out as a simple banana chocolate chip cupcake with a peanut butter and hot fudge topping, but then our true love of Elvis took over and Matthew decided we should call it The Fat Elvis, given Elvis’ love of fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches,” Curl explains. “So, it’s true. We love Elvis. Not only did we name a cupcake after him, but we also celebrate the days of his birth and death at the bakery,” Curl laughs. “And just in case you’re wondering, ‘Suspicious Minds’ is my favorite Elvis song,” she adds. “I actually sing it as a lullaby to get my 10-month-old son to fall asleep at night.”

Baked - Brooklyn, N.Y.Sweet and Salty Cupcake (Dark chocolate cake infused with salty caramel, topped with caramel chocolate ganache and fleur de sel)Baked opened in Brooklyn’s waterfront Red Hook neighborhood in January 2005, and before long, googly-eyed customers were flocking to the converted storefront-church space, eager to sample the bakery’s luscious cakes, brownies, cookies, granolas, and coffee. Baked’s Sweet and Salty cupcake was born from their popular full-sized cake of the same name. “I was talking to a customer about the glory of sweet and salty together,” Baked co-owner Ronalto Poliafito says. “So we started with a dark chocolate base and then added the salted caramel. There’s something satisfying about the combination of salty and sweet.” Like a honey-roasted peanut? “Exactly!” Poliafito smiles.

Cupcakes - Hudson, Ohio Half-Baked (Dark chocolate cake stuffed with chocolate chips and chocolate chip cookie dough, then finished with chocolate buttercream)It’s been just over a year since Kimberly Martin and her husband Sean Nock left their jobs running a hotel to launch this Cleveland-area bakeshop. “We had read all about the shops in New York and Los Angeles, but Ohio had never had a cupcake bakery. We thought it would be perfect. And it kind of just took off,” Martin says. Main Street boasts an impressive roster of flavors, from the cocktail-inspired (Mojito, Margarita, Bellini, Champagne and Strawberries) to the downright decadent (Half-Baked, one of their most popular offerings, is at least as satisfying as digging into a tube of chocolate chip cookie dough, and way more elegant.) Martin and Nock are constantly brainstorming new flavor combinations and testing cupcakes out on customers. “When we opened, we had 15 flavors. Now, we’re at 90. We try to release two new ones a month,” Martin explains. “People will come in and say ‘How about this?’ and we’ll say “Done it.’”

Cupcakes - Chicago Peanut Butter & Jelly (Peanut butter cake with mixed berry buttercream topped with a chocolate-covered potato chip)Chicago’s Cupcakes changes its featured flavors every week, and while plenty of their gourmet offerings are drool-worthy (the shop’s Salted Caramel cupcake consists of yellow cake soaked in caramel, a caramel buttercream frosting, and a sprinkle of Imported Rose sea salt, while their Chocolate Merlot cupcake pairs dark chocolate cake with a Merlot buttercream), the Peanut Butter & Jelly best encapsulates why America loves cupcakes: They remind us of being a kid. Cupcakes’ PB&J cupcake embraces the classic peanut butter and jelly pairing, but manages to take it one step further by topping the treat with a chocolate covered potato chip – it’s enough to make you want to permanently ditch work for the sandbox.

Cupcake Royale ­- Seattle Lavender (Lavender-infused vanilla cake with lavender buttercream frosting)With taglines like “Legalize Frostitution” and “Rock Out With Your Cupcake Out” it’s hard not to be charmed by Seattle’s quirky Cupcake Royale. The shop’s three locations also serve Verité Coffee (brewed from Portland’s Stumptown beans) which goes remarkably well with the bakery’s fragrant lavender cupcake, the favorite of owner Jody Hall. “We start with our vanilla buttercake and bake it with a bit of a crown to carmelize the butter and sugars,” Hall explains. “We top this off by hand-frosting a delicious swirl of our lavender buttercream, [which is] basically lavender flower mixed into our vanilla buttercream. Pair that with a delicious doppio espresso and you're in heaven,” Hall adds. Cupcake Royale is also active in the community, donating cupcakes to local schools, non-profits, arts organizations, and other worthy causes. “We donate about 2,000 cupcakes a month,” Hall says. “It feels so great to give back to the great folks that have supported our business for so many years.”

Dozen Cupcakes - Pittsburgh East End Chocolate Stout (Dark chocolate cake made with East End Brewing Co.’s Black Strap Stout, covered with dark chocolate ganache and topped with Irish cream buttercream)“The East End Chocolate Stout is a total Pittsburgh favorite,” promises Michelle Horton, general manager of Pittsburgh’s popular Dozen Cupcakes bakeshop. The cupcake’s dark chocolate batter is infused with a molasses stout beer from Pittsburgh’s East End Brewery; the cake is then dipped in dark chocolate ganache, sprinkled with dark cocoa powder, and finished with an Irish Cream buttercream. “The idea for the Stout cupcake was sparked by the bitter-sweet-chocolaty-richness of the East End Brewery’s Black Strap Stout,” Horton explains. “It even looks like a beer, with the Irish Cream buttercream symbolizing the lighter colored foam on top.”

Love at First Bite - Berkeley, Calif. Ginger Babycake (Gingerbread cake with Limoncello-cream cheese frosting)This Bay-area favorite prides itself on its use of fresh, high-quality ingredients, including butter, eggs, and milk culled from local dairies and farms, fresh fruit, Madagascar bourbon and Mexican vanillas, Saigon cinnamon, and fine, small-batch chocolates. All cupcakes are made from scratch daily, and while Love at First Bite’s menu offers plenty of innovative, temping combinations – the Hummingbird mixes pineapple, pecans, and bananas, while the Pretty in Pink pairs luscious strawberry cake with a light strawberry buttercream – their Ginger Babycake is a perfect balance of sweet and spice.

Sugar Sweet Sunshine - New York Pistachio Cupcake (Pistachio cake with “The Moose,” a satin buttercream frosting)In late 2002, before the cupcake craze reached its peak, old pals Peg Williams and Deb Weiner opened this little shop on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. “We wanted to create an atmosphere that allowed us to share a piece of who we are and invite people in to our comfort zone,” Weiner says. “We didn’t want to create another generic looking/feeling bakery. We knew the Power of the Cupcake – that little bit of happiness and nostalgia that people associate with purchasing a cupcake. It is awesome to be able to share that with people.” Aside from their stellar banana pudding and too-cute-to-eat birthday cakes, Sugar Sweet also serves up a perfectly nutty Pistachio-flavored cupcake. “When Peg and I were discussing what items to have on our menu, I had two that I knew I wanted to serve in the store, and my mom’s Pistachio bundt cake was one of them,” Weiner says. “I asked her to send me the recipe, and to my surprise it was a cake mix. Heck, what did I know – I was a kid when she made that cake. We couldn’t use [a mix] – we make everything from scratch. So from scratch I started recreating the cake,” Weiner explains. “No one does Pistachio. We couldn’t give that little fella away when we first opened,” she jokes. “It is my unsung hero of cupcakes."

Cake Fetish - Albuquerque, N.M.Fluffer Nutter (Vanilla cake stuffed with marshmallow filling and topped with peanut butter buttercream and a marshmallow)Caryn Koerner took over Albuquerque’s Cake Fetish in August 2007, launched a second location this past December, and is already plotting a third installment of the cupcake-focused café. Cake Fetish, which rotates its specialty flavors according to the day of the week (Creamsicle on Wednesday, Hot Chocolate on Saturday, Cherry Bomb on Monday), rolls out its delectable Fluffer Nutter cupcake – a vanilla cake stuffed with marshmallow, topped with peanut butter buttercream frosting, and finished with a marshmallow – each Thursday. “The Fluffer Nutter is a take on the Nutter Butter Cookie. It’s one of our staff favorites,” shares Koerner.

Lilly Jane’s Cupcakes - Eagle, IdahoOrange Ginger (Zesty orange cupcake, topped with a citrus-infused cream cheese frosting)Lilly Jane’s Caramel Apple cupcake (an apple cinnamon cake topped with caramel, vanilla buttercream, and more caramel) has been featured on 'Ellen', but it’s the Idaho bakeshop’s Orange Ginger cake that caught our attention: pairing a zesty orange base with a citrus-infused cream cheese frosting, it’s tart and full of zing, a welcome respite from the cupcake’s standard super-sweetness.

Back in the Day Bakery - Savannah, Ga.Lemon Coconut (Lemon cake with lemon buttercream frosting and topped with fresh coconut)Owner Cheryl Day opened this Savannah storefront with her husband in 2003, as a way of spreading a little cheer to the community. “The bakery began at a time when people needed a little more happiness,” Day explains. “And cupcakes give you that little bit of pleasure when you need a pick me up.” The batter for Back in the Day’s deliciously fluffy lemon-coconut cupcake is made with lots of butter and fresh lemon zest, and the cake is dipped in lemon syrup before being slathered with lemon buttercream frosting and finished with shards of fresh coconut. “It’s reminiscent of my favorite birthday cake as a child,” Day admits. “Icing running down the side, not quite perfect, and made with loving hands.”