12 Michigan Cupcakes You Need To Try
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Cupcakes might be the next best thing since sliced bread. For starters, who doesn’t love cake? Cake is great. But even better yet, we then had to one-up cake with its adorable counterpart: the cupcake.
With so many styles, flavors, and fillings, we set out to find the best tasty places to get cupcakes in Michigan. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.
East Michigan:
Sugar High Bakery– Frankenmuth
This German Christmas town is world-famous for its chicken. But after a nice hearty homestyle meal, what’s better than topping it off with a cupcake? Nothing, absolutely nothing. SugarHigh Bakery has seen plenty of accolades for its oh-so-sweet confections, including television success on Season 7 of The Food Network’s ‘Cupcake Wars.’ The team beat out other contestants and was named the winner with its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles themed creation.
The pink-and-black decorated bakery has won local people’s choice awards for their jumbo cupcakes. Don’t let the name fool you, though, the bakery does offer gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free options as well. Unique flavors include banana pudding, Samoa, birthday cake, cherry cheesecake, strawberry lemonade, pizza pie, and more.
The Gourmet Cupcake Shoppe – Saginaw, Bay City, Mt.Pleasant, Midland
Fruits and veggies are good for you, right? Just remember that as you bite into one of The Gourmet Cupcake Shoppe’s delightful fruity flavors. Daily options include blueberry cream cake, peach cobbler, strawberry white chocolate, chocolate raspberry truffle, and old fashioned lemon drop.
There’s even a Harry Potter butterbeer flavor. They also have vegan french vanilla and gluten-free grandma’s chocolate cake. The Gourmet Cupcake Shoppe prides themselves on giving back to the community, and a percentage of purchases are donated to local charities. Rest assured knowing that even if you can’t give the extra calories or pounds back, you’re just taking one for the team. Your purchases are greatly appreciated.
West Michigan:
Ryke’s Bakery – Muskegon
Muskegon has known about its hometown hero of a bakery since 1937, but it’s time the rest of the state gets privy to it! Ryke’s Bakery is an award-winning family business noted in The Knot’s ‘Best of Weddings,’ FlipKey by Tripadvisor’s winner of ‘Best Bakery in 2015,’ and a local favorite. Classic batters include vanilla cream, chocolate, and marble. Unique specialty flavors include banana, maple nut, orange creamsicle, Bavarian cream-filled, Holland cream, pina-colada, or the famous Ryke’s recipe: buttercream. Of course, these are just a few options. Cupcake connoisseurs, rejoice and revel in the freedom of choices
The Salted Cupcake– Grand Rapids
This tiny bakery offers a different menu each day. They even accommodate special requests one week in advance for those inevitable cupcake cravings that occur. This Grand Rapids business knows that sometimes desserts can be too sweet, and for that, they combat it with a little bit of salt. The combination is deadly, but more in that “died and gone to heaven” sort of way.
Sample flavors include almond joy, animal cracker, bacon chocolate chip, beer, bourbon butter pecan, chicken and waffles, churro, fruity pebbles, gin and tonic, Jack Daniels, Moscow mule, pina colada, Nutella cookie butter, pineapple upside down cake, ultimate Reese’s, and more. They’ve even included treats for your furry friends, the Puppycake. Consider us impressed. Each day consists of five everyday flavors, five specialty, and two wheat-free flavors. Get there early though, as flavors sell out quickly and only a limited amount is made daily. Consider yourself warned. Don’t get salty with us when your favorite Salted Cupcake flavor is sold out.
Southeast Michigan
The Cupcake Station– Ann Arbor
Boasting itself as Michigan’s first and one of the nation’s earliest cupcake shops, The Cupcake Station has locations in Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Ferndale, Plymouth, and Rochester. From the beginning, they’ve focused on making gourmet cupcakes from scratch. They offer an impressive 24 flavors EACH DAY. They’re also considered pioneers in the industry for the “bump-a-licious.” This is a cupcake dipped in chocolate. August’s specials include blackberries & cream, strawberry delight, rocky road, strawberry lemonade, drumstick, banana pudding, Twix, and cappuccino. Bonus: They ship nationwide. Aaaand, they have minis in case you want to try allllll the flavors.
Rockin’ Cupcakes– Rochester
This bakery believes in the power of butter. They are proud to serve Michigan-made products exclusively, including homemade ice cream from Cook’s Dairy Farm in Ortonville. Although they are not a gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, or egg-free, there is absolutely no lack of flavor at Rockin’ Cupcakes. Like their namesake, many of the culinary creations are inspired by rock’n’roll songs and icons.
Flavors include Paint it Black (chocolate cupcake, chocolate ganache, buttercream, and chocolate curls on top), The King (chocolate cupcake, peanut butter frosting, chocolate ganache, and a banana chip), The Yellow Submarine (lemon cupcake, homemade lemon curd filling, buttercream), and Brown Eyed Girl (vanilla cupcake, chocolate buttercream). Those are just the first few tasty tracks, visit their shop to see the full collection.
Southwest Michigan:
The Flour Shop Bakery & Pizza– Stevensville
This little bakery in the Southwest Michigan town of Stevensville is known for its Bavarian cream cakes. They are well-liked for not being too sweet. They also feature custom-designed cupcake cakes with special decorations, fondant additions, and more. Fillings include white cream, raspberry, lemon, or strawberry. Gourmet flavors include red velvet, carrot, key lime, and strawberry.
Mid-Michigan:
Whipped – Lansing
People say getting whipped is a bad thing, but clearly, they haven’t been to Whipped. It’s nothing but decadent dessert goodness. Honestly, when are gourmet cupcakes ever a bad thing?
They offer 12 varieties on a daily basis. Whipped specialties include carrot, raspberry, dark chocolate, German chocolate, peanut butter chocolate, and lemon. Also, their custom cakes and catering pieces look beautiful. What’s the best part of a wedding or a birthday party? The cake.
Sometimes, when you hear the word gourmet cupcake, you think you’re gonna be shelling out enough money to buy an entire grocery store sheet cake. Whipped keeps it reasonably priced, starting at $1.50-$2.00 a cupcake. Permission to step aboard the cupcake cruise.
Sweetie-licious Bakery Cafe – Dewitt location + Grand Rapids downtown market
This vintage-inspired bakery is known for its pies, but holy cow, do they also have delicious cupcakes to boot. The bakery idea grew from the owner’s love for her very first Easy Bake Oven and the rest is history. The red and white striped awning, bubblegum pink aprons, vintage rolling pins, and classic pastel mixers evoke retro feelings of nostalgia. Somehow these feelings make dessert taste that much sweeter.
Cupcake flavors include Shari’s Cherry cherry chip, radiant red velvet, lemon raspberry, strawberry shortcake, creamy coconut cloud, carrot cake, and more.
Mandy’s Cupcakes – Lansing
This one is a bit of a wildcard bonus since it’s not a traditional brick-and-mortar shop. However, this cupcake business operates out of a home address. Online orders are highly recommended. The end result tastes even better than it looks, which is hard to do considering each sweet treat is an Instagram-worthy level of beauty. #nofilter needed.
Northern Michigan:
Crescent Bakery – Frankfort
Main Street has never steered us wrong before, especially thanks to Bob Seger. This bakery in the quaint town of Frankfort is no exception. It is also featured in our list of best grilled cheeses in Michigan. This time around, they got sweet on us. Personalized, professional cakes and cupcakes also arise from the batterfields of Crescent Bakery.
Upper Peninsula:
Gophers Bakery – Marquette
This U.P. establishment has been around since 1997 when the current owner was just a waitress. A passion for baking is at the heart of this Yooper business. It shows. Cupcake options include French and European artisan and superior flavors like vanilla kirsch, vanilla raspberry, fruited Euro-vanilla sponge cake, vanilla mocha, pina colada, caramel apple, pumpkin, and more.
Now that you’re reeling from a sugar high, tell us – who makes Michigan’s best cupcakes?