I used to think a cupcake was nothing more than a children’s birthday party trifle - small in size for little hands and paper-wrapped for easy clean-up. Then, in 2005, I witnessed the line that wraps around the block in front of popular NYC bakery Magnolia, but figured it was a passing novelty, certainly not a trend that weight-conscious Angelenos could ever support.
I was clearly wrong, and today a Google search for “Los Angeles cupcakes bakery” will give you links to 445,000 results. This is no passing novelty – Los Angeles is overrun with trendy bakeries. If all of these bakeries are dependent upon the same business model - a mere half cup of sweet batter and sugary frosting - how do you tell them apart? How do you decide what makes one cupcake good and another not?
You sample the cupcakes. One by one, until you eat every last crumb.
First on my list was Vanilla Bake Shop on Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica. The glass façade is topped with a chic damask awning and a simple sign that says “vanilla.” The interior is as expected – large glass display cases flaunt both traditional and more exotic cupcake flavors in regular and miniature sizes. It was the end of the day and choices were slim so I went with two regular sized cupcakes, one strawberry & cream and the other southern red velvet. The strawberry & cream is frosted with fresh Madagascar vanilla whipped cream and dotted with a slice of strawberry. The white cake was dense and dry (perhaps its moment to shine was that morning?), though the vanilla scent and flavor was obviously present. The red velvet was moister, light on the cocoa with a deep red color and iced with a cream cheese frosting that was neither too sweet nor too rich.
The two cupcakes cost me $3.25 each, $6.50 total. And while that certainly won’t break the proverbial bank, it is a bit steep for cupcakes, especially ones that didn’t WOW me with flavor. The entire experience was completely underwhelming. The store is adorable, the staff friendly enough, but is this the bakery I’ll turn to when I’m in dire need of a sugary cupcake fix? Unlikely, but the selection of icebox desserts including banana pudding, “dirt” cake and tiramisu might just force me to give them a second chance.
And so begins the search for the best cupcake in Los Angeles! Please leave suggestions, comments and directions to secret unknown bakeries below and together we’ll find the absolute best cupcake in town.
Vanilla Bake Shop 512 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Ph: 310.458.6644
Fax:310.458.1199
www.vanillabakeshop.com
Photo by www.vanillabakeshop.com
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0 responses so far ↓
1 Lindsay // Jan 18, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Great post! Can’t wait to come on the cupcake challenge with you! Completely agree….was underwhelmed with Vanilla Bakeshop. For a cupcake that rules, go just a few blocks down Wilshire to Yummy Cupcakes….insanely good, inventive flavors and about half the price of Vanilla! I promise you will be impressed. It’s my go to sugar fix for sure. But then there is always Susie Cakes in Brentwood….there red velvet is out of this world! I digress, try Yummy first, then head over to Brentwood. God bless cupcakes!
2 Mali Elfman // Jan 18, 2008 at 12:36 pm
The Red Velvet at Yummy is to die for but I’ve seen this place…must find an excuse to eat one now!
3 Christianne // Jan 18, 2008 at 12:43 pm
oh, this is gonna be fun!
4 bob // Jan 18, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Ah! Great post. As luck would have it, today was office cupcake day (you know you work for a dot-com when…). Red Velvet from “Sprinkles:” Soft and not as moist as I’d like; perfect frosting, but the candy thingy was a little more than I wanted to deal with.
Let me know what you think of them, Cupcake Lady? Looking forward to the rest of your series!!
5 Robert // Jan 18, 2008 at 1:54 pm
sounds tasty…you should check out DK’s donuts on Santa Monica blvd…I’ve had their guava filled and they’re grrrrreaaat!
6 Jameson // Jan 18, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Great read! Excited to read who the grand champion of them all will be. When is the next piece?
7 Mark // Jan 18, 2008 at 4:49 pm
A friend of mine went to Sprinkles but didn’t want to wait in the line. They ended up going down the street to Crumbs and bought a wide assortment. I liked the Oreo the best.
8 Jimmy // Jan 18, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Now I know where to get great cupcakes! Thank you!
9 Kendra // Jan 18, 2008 at 6:00 pm
now i NEED a cupcake. thanks!
10 Michelle Moore // Jan 23, 2008 at 9:09 am
Love the review! Unfortunately being out of the LA scene, I’ve only really tasted the Sprinkles cupcakes here in Newport Beach. I’ll have to make my way up there to taste more cupcake heaven.
11 Clo // Jan 29, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Have you had the red velvet at Doughboys?? Mmmmm….
12 Rose // Apr 15, 2008 at 9:21 am
I am hoping to open up my own cupcake shop here in the south bay area (San Pedro/Torrance) within this year. My cupcakes are to die for! Moist, tasty and will leave you with a great impression!
13 Free Vanilla Bake Shop Cupcakes (sort of)! | LA.CityZine.com - Los Angeles // Jul 9, 2008 at 11:15 pm
[...] might not be quite as exciting as a straight-up free cupcake giveaway, this is still worth noting: Vanilla Bake Shop in celebrating their one year anniversary with a giveaway of [...]
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