BestCupcake

Sprinkles Wins the Readers' Choice Award for Best Cupcake

Filed under: Dining

Los Angeles, Ca.-based Sprinkles is the winner of the Readers' Choice Award for Best Cupcake.

Sprinkles is a favorite of Hollywood stars from Tyra Banks, Russell Crowe and Paris Hilton to Katie Holmes, Oprah Winfrey and Teri Hatcher, all of who proclaim love for the sumptuous treats. "I love Sprinkles Cupcakes," says Banks. "I am addicted to them." Ryan Seacrest is a fan, too. "These are not just cupcakes, they're a lifestyle," he says. Barbra Streisand once sent a box of Sprinkle's cupcakes to Oprah Winfrey. Oprah enjoyed them so much she ordered enough to share with her entire studio audience. Sprinkles is also known for its star topped variety served at Oscar parties.

Luxist readers describe the cupcakes this way:

"Amazingly delicious and beautiful with a variety of flavors."
"The best cupcakes anywhere! Long lines, but worth the wait. Their butter with vanilla frosting will change your life."
"The original luxury cupcake store."
"Their entire range of flavors is executed masterfully, from classics like Red Velvet to more exotic editions like chai latte. The cake is light and not too sweet with rich frostings that balance each other perfectly."

Company founders Candace and Charles Nelson opened the first Sprinkles in Beverly Hills in April 2005. People thought the couple were crazy to open a cupcakes-only bakery in the middle of "thin city" at a time with low carb mania was at its peak. Despite naysayers, they sold out within hours of opening, and sales haven't slowed since. Today, Sprinkles is known as much for its long lines and devoted fans as for its delicious cupcakes. Sprinkles is credited with inspiring a national cupcake craze as reported by the New York Times, USA Today, the Today Show and Nightline.

Gallery: More from Sprinkles

Tags: awards-main, bakery, best bakery, best cupcake, BestBakery, BestCupcake, cupcake, cupcakes, luxist-awards, sprinkles, winners-sweets

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Nominees for Best in Sweets

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Best Cake
Nominees for best cake include a five-year old upstart that has already been selected as a "favorite thing" by Oprah, herself. The cakes of the second nominee are bound to evoke memories of your childhood. The third nominee was started by a former NYC caterer who fled for warmer climates where he makes mouth-watering desserts. The fourth nominee is a New York institution with a line that wraps around the block while the final nominee has a motto that baked goods are a hallmark of happiness.

Baked
Crumbs
Ice Box Cafe
Magnolia Bakery
SusieCakes

Best Chocolate
The first nominee has a name that is nothing short of iconic, while the second is known for the incredible detail paid to the component parts of its chocolates--details that are noticed at first bite. The third nominee was founded in 1987 by an American after he spent years studying the art of chocolate in France and Switzerland. The fourth nominee was founded in the Holy Land and is now a global company while the last nominee has kitchens in Switzerland that make over 100 varieties of chocolates.

Godiva
L.A. Burdick
La Maison du Chocolat
Max Brenner
Teuscher

Best Cookies
Best cookie nominees include one that bakes recipes originating from the founder's mother. The second nominee is a NYC darling while the third nominee is a favorite in the Bay Area. The fourth nominee was founded by a enterprising woman who started baking when she was only 11 years old. The last nominee is a bakery in the Midwest with a loyal following all over the country--some of its customers have even used its cookies as wedding cakes.

Eleni's New York
Levain Bakery
Sweet Adeline Bakeshop
Tate's Bake Shop
Tom's Mom's Cookies

Best Cupcakes
The first nominee for best cupcake was started in Brooklyn by two former advertising executives and is now nationally recognized while the second offers cupcakes in three different mouth-watering sizes. The third nominee hasn't been the same since it was featured on Sex & the City, while the fourth nominee is a favorite of Hollywood stars. The last nominee is known for its frosting filling---after one bite, you will never be the same.

Baked
Crumbs
Magnolia Bakery
Sprinkles
SusieCakes

Best Truffles
Some of the finest chocolatiers are nominees for best truffles. The packaging of the first nominee is as famous as its chocolate delicacies while the second nominee started in Brooklyn 23 years ago after its founder spent years studying the art of chocolate in France and Switzerland. The third nominee pays a great deal of attention toward the ingredients it uses, subtlety of balance, richness of taste and palette of flavors. The fourth nominee's roots date back 70 years ago in the Alps, while the final nominee is a relative newcomer founded in 1998.

Godiva
L.A. Burdick
La Maison du Chocolat
Teuscher
Vosges Haut-Chocolat

Tags: best cake, best chocolate, best cupcake, best in sweets, BestCake, BestChocolate, BestCupcake, BestInSweets, luxist-awards, luxsit-awards, winners-sweets

Best Cupcakes in the U.S.

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Luxist Readers have nominated their favorite cupcake bakeries and the top five are:

Baked (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Crumbs Bake Shop (New York, N.Y.)
Magnolia Bakery (New York, N.Y.)
Sprinkles (Los Angeles, Ca.)
SusieCakes (Los Angeles, Ca.)

Gallery: America's Best Cupcakes

Vote for the company you believe makes the best cupcakes. Readers' Choice Winners will be announced on March 1st.

Tags: awards-main, baked, baked new york, BakedNewYork, best bakeries, best bakery, best cupcake, best sweets, BestBakeries, BestBakery, BestCupcake, BestSweets, crumbs, Crumbs Bake Shop, CrumbsBakeShop, katie holmes, KatieHolmes, luxist-awards, magnolia bakery, MagnoliaBakery, russell crowe, RussellCrowe, sprinkles, sprinkles cupcakes, SprinklesCupcakes, susiecakes, sweets-main, tyra banks, TyraBanks

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SusieCakes: Cupcakes That Take you Back to Your Childhood

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

SusieCakes is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cupcake.

The Los Angeles, Ca.-based company was launched in 2006 by Susan Sarich. The inspiration behind the company's founding was Sarich's childhood in Chicago. Each day, she used to arrive home from school to a warm kitchen filled with the smell of baking and treats fresh from the oven. Her two grandmothers, who were also neighbors, loved to bake, from frosted sugar cookies to Whoopie pies and chocolate layer cakes.

To this day, Sarich is captivated by what those desserts symbolized. "Baked goods are hallmarks of happiness," says Sarich. "Whether we're celebrating a holiday or a specific event, we want them to be as unique as the day." It was a combination of Sarich's sweet tooth and nostalgia for the homemade desserts of her childhood that led her to open SusieCakes.

SusieCakes' cupcakes are known for their "frosting filling". Flavors include chocolate chocolate, luscious lemon, strawberry, peanut butter, fluffy coconut, and vanilla with pastel-blue vanilla frosting. The most popular cupcake is SusieCake's Southern Red Velvet, an award-winning dessert, including the "Best Traditional" category of the 2009 Nesquick Cupcake Challenge in Los Angeles. Cupcakes cost $3 each.

Gallery: More from SusieCakes

Other speciality items include the Whoopie Pie, seasonal fruit pies, classic chocolate brownies, lemon bars, sour cream cheesecake, and homemade pudding. SusieCakes also makes custom layer, stacked and sheet cakes, as well as its signature six-layer "Cupcake" cake. Custom orders are also accepted with advance notice.

Tags: awards-main, bakery, best cupcake, BestCupcake, brentwood, cake, cakes, cupcake, cupcakes, luxist-awards, susiecakes, sweets-main

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Crumbs Bake Shop: Cupcakes Like Mom Used to Bake

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Crumbs Bake Shop is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cupcake.

Crumbs is famous for its Signature size cupcakes. At each of its bake shops, it offers more than 50 varieties baked fresh daily and a new cupcake of the week every Monday. Crumbs also offers a variety of delicious cakes, from Red Velvet to Vanilla Cake and Chocolate. Accordingly, Crumbs Bake Shop is also a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake.

Made with the finest ingredients, Crumbs' cupcakes remind us that the best things in life are simple. Crumbs offers a selection in three different sizes: Classic, Signature and Taste size cupcakes. "Classic" cupcakes are the largest variety and are sold individually. The medium sized cupcakes, "Signature", are sold individually in stores, and can be ordered online in increments of six. Customers can create their own individual six packs or choose a pre-selected assortment. The smallest size, the "Taste" size cupcakes are offered by the dozen in single flavors and pre-selected favorite assortments. At this time Crumbs is not shipping its classic size.

Gallery: More from Crumbs

Its founders, Mia and Jason Bauer, opened their first Crumbs bakery in March of 2003 on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Mia had been an avid baker since first discovering her fierce sweet tooth as a child while helping her mother bake when living on a farm in Israel. An attorney by training, owning a bakery is the culmination of a life-long quest to combine her passion for baking with building a successful business that is both a neighborhood meeting place and a destination for all New Yorkers. Mia's husband, Jason, is a true entrepreneur who has spent his career building businesses in various fields. Prior to opening Crumbs, Jason started Famous Fixins, a manufacturer of celebrity licensed products.

Currently, Crumbs has locations in California, Connecticut and New Jersey. Crumbs treats can also be ordered online.

Tags: awards-main, best bakery, best cake, best cupcake, BestBakery, BestCake, BestCupcake, crumbs, Crumbs Bake Shop, CrumbsBakeShop, luxist-awards, sweets-awards, sweets-main

SusieCakes: California Dreamin' About Cakes

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

SusieCakes is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake.

The Los Angeles, Ca.-based company was launched in 2006 by Susan Sarich. The inspiration behind the company's founding was Sarich's childhood in Chicago. Each day, she used to arrive home from school to a warm kitchen filled with the smell of baking and treats fresh from the oven. Her two grandmothers, who were also neighbors, loved to bake, from frosted sugar cookies to Whoopie pies and chocolate layer cakes.

To this day, Sarich is captivated by what those desserts symbolized. "Baked goods are hallmarks of happiness," says Sarich. "Whether we're celebrating a holiday or a specific event, we want them to be as unique as the day." It was a combination of Sarich's sweet tooth and nostalgia for the homemade desserts of her childhood that led her to open SusieCakes.

Gallery: More from SusieCakes

SusieCakes is famous for its custom layer, stacked and sheet cakes, as well as its signature six-layer "Cupcake" cake. Custom orders are also accepted with advance notice.

Tags: awards-main, best cake, best cupcake, best sweets, BestCake, BestCupcake, BestSweets, luxist-awards, susiecakes, sweets-main

Continue reading “SusieCakes: California Dreamin' About Cakes”

Sprinkles: The Original Cupcake Bakery

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Los Angeles, Ca.-based Sprinkles has been nominated for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cupcake.

Sprinkles is a favorite of Hollywood stars from Tyra Banks, Russell Crowe and Paris Hilton to Katie Holmes, Oprah Winfrey and Teri Hatcher, all of who proclaim love for the sumptuous treats. "I love Sprinkles Cupcakes," says Banks. "I am addicted to them." Ryan Seacrest is a fan, too. "These are not just cupcakes, they're a lifestyle," he says. Barbra Streisand once sent a box of Sprinkle's cupcakes to Oprah Winfrey. Oprah enjoyed them so much she ordered enough to share with her entire studio audience. Sprinkles is also known for its star topped variety served at Oscar parties.

Luxist readers describe the cupcakes this way:

"Amazingly delicious and beautiful with a variety of flavors."
"The best cupcakes anywhere! Long lines, but worth the wait. Their butter with vanilla frosting will change your life."
"The original luxury cupcake store."
"Their entire range of flavors is executed masterfully, from classics like Red Velvet to more exotic editions like chai latte. The cake is light and not too sweet with rich frostings that balance each other perfectly."

Company founders Candace and Charles Nelson opened the first Sprinkles in Beverly Hills in April 2005. People thought the couple were crazy to open a cupcakes-only bakery in the middle of "thin city" at a time with low carb mania was at its peak. Despite naysayers, they sold out within hours of opening, and sales haven't slowed since. Today, Sprinkles is known as much for its long lines and devoted fans as for its delicious cupcakes. Sprinkles is credited with inspiring a national cupcake craze as reported by the New York Times, USA Today, the Today Show and Nightline.

Gallery: More from Sprinkles

Sprinkles evokes the memory of European bakeries flooded with the smell of baked goods and awash in natural light, with a modern touch. Its cupcakes are baked in small batches throughout the day, so that they will be as fresh as possible for Sprinkles' devoted customers. The cupcakes are handcrafted from the finest ingredients, including sweet cream butter, bittersweet Belgian chocolate, pure Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, fresh bananas and carrots, real strawberries and natural citrus zests.

Sprinkles offers more than 20 tantalizing flavors (15 or so of which are on sale on any given day), from simple vanilla to creative chai latte. Topped with Sprinkles' trademark modern dots, rich chocolate sprinkles from France or seasonal sugar decorations, Sprinkles Cupcakes are perfect for occasions of any kind.

Sprinkles' famous gift box is a sleek rectangular box that holds one dozen freshly baked cupcakes. The bakery also offers a tray, produced by Heller in a variety of colors, that fits right into the gift box and can be kept to display the cupcakes.

Sprinkles also offers signature cupcake mixes in red velvet, vanilla, dark chocolate and lemon. The mixes are made from the same high quality ingredients used in Sprinkles bakeries and are complete with Sprinkle's trademark modern dots. In addition to Sprinkles shops, the mixes are sold at Williams-Sonoma's 250 stores nationwide and in Canada.

Its original store is two blocks west of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, but today, Sprinkles has six additional locations in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Newport Beach, Scottsdale and Palo Alto. More locations will be opening soon in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Denver, Kansas City, London, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.

Vote for the company you believe makes the best cupcakes. Readers' Choice Winners will be announced on March 1st.

Tags: awards-main, Barbra Streisand, BarbraStreisand, best cupcake, BestCupcake, beverly hills, BeverlyHills, candace nelson, CandaceNelson, charles nelson, CharlesNelson, katie holmes, KatieHolmes, luxist-awards, oprah winfrey, Oprah Winfrey Show, OprahWinfrey, OprahWinfreyShow, oscars, paris hilton, ParisHilton, russell crowe, RussellCrowe, ryan seacrest, RyanSeacrest, sprinkles, sweets-main, teri hatcher, TeriHatcher, tyra banks, TyraBanks

Baked: Cupcakes to Die For

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Baked, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based bakery is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cupcake.

The company's founders, Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, came from the world of advertising, in which Matt was a producer while Renato was a graphic designer. Their thoughts were never too far from cake and coffee, and slowly (even unbeknownst to them) the idea for Baked was born.

Matt wanted to open a bakery that celebrated American desserts beyond the cupcake, and Renato had always been hankering to open a neighborhood cafe, so together they scoured New York City for the perfect location. They found a small, storefront church in the largely industrialized and gritty section of Brooklyn, and together with Rafi Avramovitz, set about building their inspiration. Finally, after many long delays, they opened Baked in 2005 on the shores of Red Hook, Brooklyn with just a few ovens, some mixers, and an espresso machine.

Gallery: More from Baked NYC

Baked is both a neighborhood spot, and a nationally recognized bakery. Baked has been featured on the Martha Stewart Show, the Today Show, the Food Network, and the Style Network. Baked has also received an awards from Time Out, French Culinary Institute, Citysearch, and America's Test Kitchen. Oprah recognized their brownies as a "favorite thing" and they have written recipes for Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, and many more.

Tags: awards-main, baked, best bakery, best cupcake, BestBakery, BestCupcake, luxist-awards, oprah winfrey, oprahs favorite things, OprahsFavoriteThings, OprahWinfrey, sweets-awards, sweets-main

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Crumbs: An Oasis of Delicious Cakes

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Crumbs Bake Shop is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Cake.

Its founders, Mia and Jason Bauer, opened their first Crumbs bakery in March of 2003 on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Mia had been an avid baker since first discovering her fierce sweet tooth as a child while helping her mother bake when living on a farm in Israel. An attorney by training, owning a bakery is the culmination of a life-long quest to combine her passion for baking with building a successful business that is both a neighborhood meeting place and a destination for all New Yorkers. Mia's husband, Jason, is a true entrepreneur who has spent his career building businesses in various fields. Prior to opening Crumbs, Jason started Famous Fixins, a manufacturer of celebrity licensed products.

Gallery: More from Crumbs

Crumbs offers an irresistible blend of comfort-oriented classics and elegant baked goods. Crumbs homemade cakes come in a variety of delicious flavors, from Red Velvet to Vanilla Cake and Chocolate. The bakery is also famous for its cupcakes (and has been nominated for a Readers' Choice Award in the cupcake category, accordingly).

Currently, Crumbs has locations in California, Connecticut and New Jersey. Its baked goods can also available by placing an order online.

Vote for the company you believe makes the best cakes. Readers' Choice Winners will be announced on March 1st.

Tags: awards-main, best bakery, best cake, best cupcake, BestBakery, BestCake, BestCupcake, cakes, crumbs, Crumbs Bake Shop, CrumbsBakeShop, cupcakes, luxist-awards, sweets-awards, sweets-main

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