I'm getting married in May and planning on having cupcakes instead of a regular cake. My first choice is Molly's, but only because they're the only cupcake-specific bakery I've been to and they're damn tasty, but I am open to suggestions. Swirlz has had some mixed reviews here, but a friend whose taste I trust said they were very good (but if their frosting is not so good, they're out!) Cost is a concern because we need about 200 cupcakes.

Anyone know why Swirlz is $40/dozen and Molly's is $22? Molly's cupcakes are generously sized...are Swirlz even bigger? I'm only looking at standard cupcakes, not the center-filled ones (I don't think Swirlz has center-filled, do they?)

Just want to make sure I'm not missing something....

My thought: maybe there's an "old-school" type bakery out there (something like Reuter's) that would be willing to work with you to ensure the quality was what you need. I would guess they would be cheaper than some of the specialty cupcake shops. Just an idea.

abe_froeman wrote:I'm getting married in May and planning on having cupcakes instead of a regular cake. My first choice is Molly's, but only because they're the only cupcake-specific bakery I've been to and they're damn tasty, but I am open to suggestions. Swirlz has had some mixed reviews here, but a friend whose taste I trust said they were very good (but if their frosting is not so good, they're out!) Cost is a concern because we need about 200 cupcakes.

Anyone know why Swirlz is $40/dozen and Molly's is $22? Molly's cupcakes are generously sized...are Swirlz even bigger? I'm only looking at standard cupcakes, not the center-filled ones (I don't think Swirlz has center-filled, do they?)

Just want to make sure I'm not missing something....

I went to a wedding where Molly's cupcakes were served in lieu of a cake and I thought they did a very nice job.

I would be stunned (STUNNED) if there's a bakery out there anywhere who has not done an order like this. Cupcake-only places have you by the short hairs; why not follow the above advice and go to a check out a few generalized bakeries and see what they can offer.

spinynorman99 wrote:I would be stunned (STUNNED) if there's a bakery out there anywhere who has not done an order like this. Cupcake-only places have you by the short hairs; why not follow the above advice and go to a check out a few generalized bakeries and see what they can offer.

I agree. There are plenty of bakeries out there that make tasty desserts that don't charge extra because it's a "cupcake boutique." Also, check out restaurants that do catering and have great cupcakes or cakes, ie Big Jones apparently has a great red velvet cake (so I've heard) and they cater; perhaps you can work out a deal for cupcakes.

Swirlz does have some "filled" cupcakes, if you call a nonpareil-sized squirt filled. I am also not a fan of theirs but Phoebe's are very tasty and I believe cheaper than Molly's.

Phoebe's Cupcakes
3327 North Broadway
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 868-4000

I like the cupcakes at Sweet Honeybee - 1918 W. Montrose. They're not huge, but they're also not expensive. They don't have as many varieties as the specialty cupcake places, but they're always moist and fresh.

I like Molly's and it's my most convenient cupcake purveyor (2 blocks away), but I think my favorites are still Sweet Mandy B's.

I also really like Sweet Mandy B's & Phoebe's. Molly's, I never bothered going back. It's like Sugar Bliss, not a destination but perfectly acceptable if I'm in the vicinity.

I think following teatpuller's suggestion is the best way to go. I've had beautiful & delicious cake from Alliance. I've also enjoyed goods from Roeser's & Lutz. These are old school bakeries.

If you are in the northwest suburbs, or don't find something to your liking here, I would strongly recommend Jarosch Bakery in Elk Grove Village. I haven't been in years but they did a great job with standards.

Good Luck and I'm confident you can get lovely & delicious cupcakes for less than approximately $3-5 per cupcake at the aforementioned places.

Let us know what you decide & the price if you don't mind.

Yeah, you're all probably right. Molly's has some sentimental significance for for us, though, and their cream cheese frosting is AMAZING. I'll still look into other options, too, though.

I used to work down the street from Jarosch, so I'm quite familiar with them. Their chocolate coffee cake...OMG. With the layers of chocolate between the layers of pastry.

The wedding's out in Grayslake. I now work in Lake Zurich and some co-workers who live in LZ have brought in stuff from Old World Bakery that's pretty good. Maybe I'll try going there.

Old World Bakery
64 N. Old Rand Rd.
Lake Zurich, IL 60047
847-438-7233

I've tasted almost all the cupcakes discussed on this page and some that aren't -- and my highly subjective findings are totally in favor of Phoebe's. I think they make one of the finest cupcakes in town -- really good balance of light delicious cake against knock out frostings. Reasonable size -- bigger than small but not so big you think you're getting your own cake and the best part is the price. Very affordable.

And I swear I do not work for them, nor are any of their employees my kith nor kin.

Of the cupcake bakeries mentioned so far, Molly's seems to be the least expensive. When bought by the dozen, Swirlz is over $3 each and Phoebe's prices start at $2.50 if it's one of their daily cupcakes, or on the weekly specials. I looked at their website and they have over 200 flavors they'll make for weddings (wow! some look amazing!), and if you order one they're not making that week, it can be $3.50. Molly's come to about $1.84 each when bought in a dozen, unless you get the center-filled ones (which we weren't going to get.)

I'm still going to check out the other bakeries I mentioned- any excuse to go try some cupcakes this weekend!

I did cupcakes for my wedding a couple of years ago. We considered getting them from Sweet Mandy B's, Fox & Obel, Southport Grocery and Vanille. We ended up going with Vanille and I could not have been happier with them. The people there were very easy to work with. The cucapkes were delicious -- and if this matters to you they were also very pretty as opposed to the more homey/comfort food look of something like Sweet Mandy B's. Also, Vanille made little sugar discs to put on top of them that matched the monogram-type symbol we used on the invitations and place cards.

I have a friend that had Phoebe do her wedding and was thrilled. They are probably the best when it comes to the combination of taste, price, and the big difference is, unlike Molly's and Mandy's and the others, they go out and do the set up and arrangement make it look beautiful. Other places just let you pick up the cupcakes or ship them, and then you have to figure out how to arrange it. Also, Phoebe was personally involved in the one wedding..not sure if you can get her to do yours but she might.

Ok, so we went to Oak Mill Bakery, Bennison's Bakery, Jarosch Bakery and Molly's.

Here's what we found. Oak Mill charged $25 to do the tasting. This was the first tasting we went on and we didn't know any better, so we paid it. We tried their vanilla, chocolate, red velvet and carrot cakes, pre-frosted with their chocolate and vanilla butter cream frostings and their cream cheese frostings. It was all adequate...not great. A little dry. Their carrot cake was more spice cake than carrot. I've had other stuff from Oak Mill that's been very good, though. They charged $2.75 for the red velvet and carrot and $2.25 for the chocolate and vanilla and there was no discount for buying in quantity. The cupcakes were slightly larger than the standard size, but not huge. We also wanted a cake to go on top of our cupcake stand, so could cut a cake at our reception. They wanted $75 for a 9" chocolate cake with mousse filling and chocolate ganache over it, and a few flower decorations. Plus $65 to deliver it to Grayslake. About $590, total, including tax for 175 cupcakes and a 9" cake.

On to Bennison's. Free tasting. They gave us unfrosted chocolate, vanilla, red velvet and carrot cake cupcakes and little sample cups of chocolate and vanilla butter cream, fudge, whipped cream and cream cheese frosting and we could mix and match however we wanted. Everything was very good, especially the fudge frosting. The chocolate and vanilla cupcakes were only .95 each, no matter what frosting you got, and were the standard size. The red velvet and carrot, which were larger (but could be made smaller), were $2.96 each, or $1.51 if they did the smaller size. There was a 20% discount once you hit a certain amount. The woman who helped us was going to get back to us on what that quota was, as well as letting us know what the delivery charge would be. The 9" cake would have been $15 (!) and any of their fruit/custard fillings would have been $3, except for the fresh strawberries, which would have added $7. Decorating was included in that price. Because there were some unknowns (the woman wasn't sure about the delivery charge, either), they didn't give us an official quote, just wrote down the prices.

Then I went to Jarosch. When I set up the appointment, all I asked for was a "tasting", the same as what I asked for at all the other places. I told them I was interested in chocolate, vanilla, red velvet and carrot cupcakes. When I got there, they gave me and my mom each a slice of three-layer cake with a chocolate, red velvet and carrot layer. There was vanilla butter cream over and in-between each layer, except the carrot layer, which had cream cheese on it. The woman who presented all of this to us gave us a cake box and said, "and here's the rest of your cake for you to take home!" We thought that was really generous of them. They left us alone with our cake and their portfolio. Again, it was adequate, not great. Their chocolate frosting is a slightly chocolate-y light brown version of the vanilla butter cream- not nearly the amount of chocolate-y-ness I require. After a few minutes, another woman came over and we talked about what we wanted. She got to the end and asked if we had any questions. I said I just wanted a copy of a quote so we could look at it and make a decision. She said she'd have to talk to the head decorator and see what they'd charge for all of it and then she'd type it up. We were in no hurry, so we waited for it. Then she came back and presented the quote. $4.75 for the red velvet and carrot and $4.25 for the chocolate and vanilla. $65 for the 9" cake on top. $75 for delivery. Almost $1000 for 175 cupcakes and a 9" cake.

Then she says, "now all I need from you is a deposit."

"Um, we were just here to taste today- I still have to talk to my in-laws who are paying for this."

"Oh, so you're not buying today?"

"No, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, but I just requested a tasting and no one asked me what my intentions were."

She handled it well, but just the presumption that I was going to walk in there and make a decision on the spot, let alone plop down a deposit for $1000 worth of baked goods, was ridiculous. Not to mention when she was writing down our order, she wrote down "vanilla butter cream on all" and I had to correct her, that we wanted cream cheese frosting on the carrot cake and red velvet. The assumption that we'd want butter cream on red velvet I can forgive....but any bakery that defaults to butter cream on carrot cake loses some major points with me.

In trying to get in for a tasting at Molly's, there was some miscommunications. The person who handles the tastings is only there in the mornings and when I called to get her information, no one bothered to mention this to me, nor that the next day was her day off. I was trying to coordinate the tasting with a dinner thing I had going on in the neighborhood later that week, and the coordinator didn't get back to me in time ("someone must not have printed out your email, so it didn't get put into her to do pile") so I was ready to scrap the whole thing and go with Bennison's. I decided we should go for an unofficial tasting this past Saturday morning. We got in there and got our four standard cupcakes. It was pretty busy when we got there, so we assumed that we wouldn't be able to talk to anyone. My in-laws loved the cupcakes, though, especially the cream cheese frosting. It's just how we like it- more like sweetened cream cheese than sugar with a little cream cheese added. After a little while, it started to clear out and we were able to talk with the girls behind the counter. None of them were the person who handles the scheduling of the tastings, but they were able to give us some good information. We're not sure if they deliver to Grayslake, though- that's the only potential problem. My matron of honor, who lives in Rogers Park, may be able to pick them all up the morning of the wedding. They seem to do a pretty good job packing them up, so as long as it's either not too warm that day or they can keep their car cool enough, we shouldn't have a problem with them melting. Anyway, like I said above, their cupcakes are $1.80 each for the regular size, non-filled ones and they charge $35 for a 9" cake. The other downside is that they don't really specialize in cake decorating, to we may not get to do the decorations we want. We just want a simple cherry blossom decoration on the cake and a single cherry blossom on each cupcake, so we'll see. I'm going to email the coordinator this week and see if she can give me a real quote and if they can do the decoration. Either way, they're by far the best cupcakes we tried (seconded by Bennison's), so I'm willing sacrifice a little.

Oak Mill Bakery
(multiple locations, but this is the one we went to)
8012 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Niles, IL 60714
(847) 318-6400

Bennison's Bakery
1000 Davis Street
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 328-9434

Jarosch Bakery
35 North Arlington Heights Road
Elk Grove Vlg, IL 60007-1480
(847) 437-1234

HI,

The beauty of comparison shopping is when you come upon an overpriced vendor, you can comfortably walk away. I am a big rule of three estimates (at least) fan.

Regards,

abe_froeman wrote:Then she came back and presented the quote. $4.75 for the red velvet and carrot and $4.25 for the chocolate and vanilla. $65 for the 9" cake on top. $75 for delivery. Almost $1000 for 175 cupcakes and a 9" cake.

Seems like they should have given a quote,
or at least an estimate, from the start, and
avoided the hassle and wasted effort.

Have you checked out Luscious Layers bakery? A friend got cupcakes for her wedding from there...the tasting was free (and very, very extensive...I was stuffed), some good, smooth coffee was provided, and the prices were quite reasonable (in the $1-per-cupcake range, even for fancy fillings & whatnot, if I recall correctly). I thought their cupcakes were really good...moist, not to crumbly, good flavors, good frostings.

For the top tier, they can do either giant cupcakes or traditional cakes for cutting (my friend opted not to get a top tier for the cake-cutting, however...she and her new husband just fed each other cupcakes for the camera).

Luscious Layers
2315 North Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647-3321
(773) 661-1335

Khaopaat wrote:For the top tier, they can do either giant cupcakes or traditional cakes for cutting

Wait... when you shrink a cake down, you get a cupcake. When you super-size it, how do you get a giant cupcake and not a regular cake back?

-Dan

dansch wrote:

Khaopaat wrote:For the top tier, they can do either giant cupcakes or traditional cakes for cutting

Wait... when you shrink a cake down, you get a cupcake. When you super-size it, how do you get a giant cupcake and not a regular cake back?

-Dan

By putting a paper wrapper around it

Kennyz wrote:

dansch wrote:

Khaopaat wrote:For the top tier, they can do either giant cupcakes or traditional cakes for cutting

Wait... when you shrink a cake down, you get a cupcake. When you super-size it, how do you get a giant cupcake and not a regular cake back?

-Dan

By putting a paper wrapper around it

And giving it a domed top, yes. Gimmickry, gotta love it

I can't believe there are such things as free tastings.

SCUBAchef wrote:

abe_froeman wrote:Then she came back and presented the quote. $4.75 for the red velvet and carrot and $4.25 for the chocolate and vanilla. $65 for the 9" cake on top. $75 for delivery. Almost $1000 for 175 cupcakes and a 9" cake.

Seems like they should have given a quote,
or at least an estimate, from the start, and
avoided the hassle and wasted effort.

Or asked me on the phone when I set up the appointment, like Oak Mill did, "were you planning on placing an order today, or are you just looking around?"

Khaopaat wrote:Have you checked out Luscious Layers bakery? A friend got cupcakes for her wedding from there...the tasting was free (and very, very extensive...I was stuffed), some good, smooth coffee was provided, and the prices were quite reasonable (in the $1-per-cupcake range, even for fancy fillings & whatnot, if I recall correctly). I thought their cupcakes were really good...moist, not to crumbly, good flavors, good frostings.

For the top tier, they can do either giant cupcakes or traditional cakes for cutting (my friend opted not to get a top tier for the cake-cutting, however...she and her new husband just fed each other cupcakes for the camera).

Luscious Layers
2315 North Damen Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647-3321
(773) 661-1335

I have three and a half weeks from the wedding and I'm just too busy to try another place. From looking at their website, their prices are about the same as Molly's. They do have gluten-free, which Molly's doesn't, and we have a guest with Celiac's. I was just going to order a single cupcake or brownie or something from Rose's bakery in Evanston, which is all wheat-free.

Deal on TwoBuck Duck: buy a coupon for $2, get 24 cupcakes from Tipsycake and pay only $9. Get either Red Velvet, Chocolate, or Vanilla or the "tri-assortment": 8 of each.
http://www.twobuckduck.com/may5.html

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:I visited the Cupcake Gallery yesterday. I didn't get to try any since they haven't started making the GF cupcakes yet, but I picked up a red velvet for my husband and a caramel creme for a friend. The cupcakes received rave reviews - they both licked the wrappers!

The space is not great, though. While I was there I tried visualizing how to make it cozier - ditch the orange walls, get works from local artists on the walls, etc etc.

I just got the following email from Groupon:

Groupon wrote:Unfortunately, our deal with The Cupcake Gallery is no longer meeting the standards of quality that we aim to provide our customers. Our apologies for the inconvenience, but we have decided to close this deal.

If you have not been able to redeem your Groupon, please email us at support@groupon.com and we’ll be happy to issue a refund to the original credit card used for the purchase or to your Groupon account to be used for future purchases.

Very unusual. I wonder what that's all about. Did they just have a change of heart and decide to stop accepting the Groupons they'd already sold or something?

Chuckle if you must, but I was at da jewel buying a few things I can't get at Fresh Farms or the various ethnic groceries I frequent, clear All laundry soap for one, and I spied 3 German chocolate cupcakes for $1.99, German Chocolate is my brides favorite so I bought 6 cupcakes for $4. Were they as good as the single $4.50 German chocolate cupcake we recently had from Alliance, nope, but close enough not to warrant buying one for the price of six.

I recently purchased some cupcakes for my wife from the MORE truck.

They were $3.50 each, but she said it was the best Red Velvet she had ever had. I am not a cupcake person, but I tasted it and it was pretty darn good. Some girls from the office have also sampled them, and they agreed that they are the best - far better than Flirty Cupcake. They are also very creative, making flavors like Corona and Lime and Amaretto Coconut.

They have a store near the Hancock building I think, but their truck roams around the loop during the week. You can find them on Twitter.
http://twitter.com/#!/themoremobile

Speaking of More, I recently tried their cupcakes for the first time and thought they were pretty awesome. I REALLY liked the raspberry vanilla. Vanilla cake with a kinda raspberry puree filling and raspberry frosting. Of all the cupcakes I tried, I thought the ones that contained a filling were better than the non-filled ones, but the non-filled ones were still good. (They don't have cupcake descriptions on their website or in the store so you have to ask). I like that their frosting is incredibly smooth and soft in texture. Not firm like Sprinkles. Not gritty like Sweet Mandy B's. The fillings are somewhat liquid-y like a molten chocolate cake (The caramel filling in the salted caramel is a little more viscous). Finally, I found these cupcakes to be less sugary sweet compared to other cupcakes around the city.

Most to least favorite:

vanilla raspberry
cappuccino
chocolate hazelnut
bacon maple (no filling but tiny bacon bits sprinkled throughout the cake)
salted caramel
coconut (no filling)
chocolate vanilla cream

The staff during my first visit were really friendly and welcomed questions about the various flavors. The second time, not so much, but I still asked questions haha

Somewhat trivial but I prefer the packaging at More over Sprinkles, Crumbs, etc. If I were giving cupcakes as a gift, I would choose More.

If you go to More, I HIGHLY recommend trying the vanilla raspberry! My friend said the chocolate champagne and s'mores cupcakes were really good too.

I also adore More, particularly their smooth whipped frosting, and how moist their cakes are. As opposed to some cupcake places, where the frosting overwhelms the cake, most of More's cupcakes hit the balance just right. And I wholeheartedly agree that the filled cupcakes are even better than the non-filled, although a few times I've had the salted caramel where the caramel filling was just too much and the cake was a little dry.

The cocktail cupcakes in particular are my favorite - Mojito, Margarita, and Baileys...yum! I disagree about the packaging though. While the Chinese takeout containers are very cute, on many occasions, my cupcake has "fallen through" the hole and getting it out to eat has been a very messy challenge. In this case, the frosting gets all mashed up and it kind of ruin the visual appeal of the cupcake. Something to keep in mind if you're giving a gift.

Of all the cupcake places in the city, I think More and Swirlz are tied in my mind as number one.

More
1 E Delaware Pl.
Chicago, Illinois 60611
(312) 951-0001

Swirlz
705 West Belden Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 404-2253

We went on a Chicago Chocolate Tour last weekend (won a gift certificate) and More was one of the stops- it was very good. We were given a sample of the double chocolate on the tour, and we bought a valrhona, salted caramel, carrot, goat cheese walnut pear and strawberry cheesecake. They were very good- great, smooth frosting. Rich, intense flavors. Dense, but moist cake. We agreed that the Valrhona was our favorite.