556. Cake Mitten Bake Shop – April 22, 2022 – Clinton Township, MI

You don’t need an excuse to visit Cake Mitten Bake Shop!

I felt like I needed an excuse to visit the Clinton Township-based bakery back in April – and a friend’s birthday celebration was the perfect one. I got her – and myself – some cupcakes. The two I chose for myself, a chocolate bumpy cake and a carrot cake, were delicious! The cupcakes were moist, and the cream cheese frosting on the carrot cake was especially decadent. I could eat a vat of that cream cheese frosting!

Special occasions such as a birthday are an excellent reason to visit Cake Mitten. Check its website and Yelp page for photos of its work. Cake Mitten’s bakers are TALENTED! The intricately decorated cookies and cakes are works of art. Favorites of mine include the wedding cakes festooned with fresh flowers, cookies decorated like mini pizzas (and cut into mini pizza slices!), and a cake shaped like a giant cheeseburger.

Besides cupcakes and custom cakes and cookies, Cake Mitten offers cake pops, cake jars, chocolate-covered strawberries, and pretzels dipped in chocolate and caramel. Look to this bakery to celebrate your next special occasion – or your next everyday Tuesday. Because life is hard, but places such as Cake Mitten remind us that every day is an occasion to celebrate – especially when chocolate and cream-cheese frosting are involved!

40750 Garfield Rd.

Clinton Twp., MI 48038

www.cakemitten.com

504. Yell Sweets – March 30, 2021 – Shelby Township, MI

I have such sweet memories of Yell Sweets! The Shelby Township-based bakery makes PHENOMENAL cupcakes, which I learned from my March visit.

I went to Yell Sweets to purchase a birthday gift for a friend – and a gift for myself (because I couldn’t leave that bakery without something for little old me, as well!). The timing of my visit was fortuitous because it was a Tuesday, and Tuesdays at Yell Sweets are $2 cupcake day! Once I learned that, I asked the kind staff member assisting me to please add more cupcakes to the for-me pile.

That for-me order consisted of Peanut Butter Cup, Strawberry Crunch, Banana Pudding, and Carrot cupcakes. I purchased nearly the same order for my friend, swapping the Carrot cupcake for a Solder Boi (a red-white-and-blue-hued melding of cherry, blue raspberry, and vanilla flavors).

All four of the cupcakes I got were AMAZING, so it’s hard to pick a favorite. If I had to, I’d go with the Carrot, which was a super-moist carrot cake cupcake dotted with raisins and nuts and slathered with Yell Sweet’s oh-so-good cream cheese frosting. The Peanut Butter Cup also stole my heart with its rich chocolate cupcake and swirl of peanut butter frosting topped with a bunny-shaped, peanut-butter-filled chocolate candy (love that finishing touch!). The Strawberry Crunch was a tasty melding of strawberry-and-vanilla marbled cake, cream cheese frosting, and a strawberry crumb crust. And the Banana Pudding cupcake wasn’t messing around with its sumptuous banana pudding center!

These flavors are only a drop in the bucket when it comes to Yell Sweets cake offerings. Check out the bakery’s website for more enticing choices and for pictures of its pretty cupcakes and elaborate custom cakes.

14142 Lakeside Blvd. North

Shelby Twp., MI 48315

www.yellsweets.com

464. Good Cakes and Bakes – February 4, 2020 – Detroit, MI

I love a good baked good! I can resist candy, but put a spongy little nugget of frosted cake in front of me, and I have a much harder time resisting. This is especially true of spongy little nuggets of frosted cake that come from stellar establishments such as Good Cakes and Bakes.

The bakery based in the Avenue of Fashion neighborhood of Detroit offers enticing house-made treats; cakes, cupcakes, cookies, brownies, muffins, sweet breads, cinnamon rolls, and scones are offerings, as are homemade soups and coffee. Vegan options are also available.

According to its website, Good Cakes and Bakes uses organic and/or locally-sourced ingredients for its wares whenever possible, which I love! Organic ingredients = one more justification I can use to cram a baked good into my mouth. 🙂

Walking into the storefront of Good Cakes and Bakes, I was greeted not only by the gleaming displays of goodies but the vibrancy of its interior. Whimsical dessert-centric murals grace the walls, and the whole place is teeming with color and welcoming vibes. Tables provide ample seating for guests to sit and enjoy the tasty treats they’ve purchased.

The woman working the counter was friendly – and a good salesperson. She convinced me to purchase four cupcakes based off of the number of slots in the cardboard box she was using to pack my order (I was only going to order three, but . . . twist my arm!).

Good Cakes and Bakes offers cupcakes in varieties as varied as Banana Pudding and Frutti Pebbles. Being the chocolate lover that I am, I zeroed in on the ones that featured that ingredient, opting for the Chocolate, Chocolate Salted Caramel, German Chocolate, and Red Velvet varieties.

I sat and enjoyed the Red Velvet cupcake right then and there, savoring its rich cream-cheese frosting. The other three, the Chocolate, Chocolate Salted Caramel, and German Chocolate, were enjoyed later at home. And WOW, did those three especially blow me away! They were total beacons of deliciousness with their moist, tender-crumbed cake and ample amounts of sumptuous frosting.

The German Chocolate was so decadent with its delightfully sticky, coconut-laced frosting, while the Chocolate Salted Caramel surprised me with the vibrancy of its flavor, from the melding of the savory sea salt and sweet caramel flavors with the rich vanilla frosting and moist, decadent chocolate cake to the chewy caramel square that bedecked it. And the Chocolate was a supreme example in less being more with its harmonious melding of moist cake and luxurious frosting festooned with sprinkles and a chocolate drizzle.

As if those delectable cupcakes weren’t incentive enough to return to Good Cakes and Bakes: I was also signed up for the bakery’s rewards program during my visit. This program allows customers to accrue points every time they make purchases at Good Cakes and Bakes and earn redeemable rewards. MORE motivation to enjoy baked goods? I’LL TAKE IT – thanks, Good Cakes and Bakes!

19363 Livernois Ave.

Detroit, MI 48221

(Closed Sundays and Mondays)

www.goodcakesandbakes.com

227. Rockin’ Cupcakes – January 27, 2017 – Rochester Hills, MI

Ummm . . . I feel like the cupcakes in the photo above speak for themselves. Are they glorious or what??? That is SIX different varieties of chocolate cupcake you are seeing, including one with a caramel center; one with peanut butter buttercream, chocolate coating, and crushed pretzels; and another, as the menu describes it, with “Red wine infused chocolate cake, filled with red wine chocolate ganache, and topped with wine infused buttercream” – YOW! (That one was AWESOME.)

I had a Groupon for Rockin’ Cupcakes, the place where I got these exquisite dollops of perfection, and the Friday before last, on my brother’s birthday, I thought, here is an excuse to use this bad boy. On my lunch break, I headed out to Rochester Hills and the bakery’s tiny, colorful storefront, tucked within a sprawling plaza next to Papa Joe’s market.

I already knew its cupcakes were going to be awesome because I’d tried them before. For my birthday last October, a coworker brought me some of Rockin’ Cupcakes’ wares. Because I didn’t set foot in the place to get those baked goods, I didn’t count it then for my blog (my rule is that I have to physically visit a new-to-me place in order for it to be valid). But the moist and decadent cupcakes I had then convinced me I needed to go.

It was so fun to step away from work and into this cheery shop to muse over which mouthwatering varieties with the classic rock-themed names (Paint it Black, Yellow Submarine, The Rolling Stone) I was going to pick for my half-dozen. The pleasant young woman working the counter took the time to describe the cupcakes, helping me to decide. In the end, I purchased the chocolate assortment, because chocolate is LIIIIIFE. Luckily, my brother and other family members I shared them with are pretty keen on it, too.

Everyone exclaimed over how rich and moist the cupcakes were. That buttercream frosting – killer!

Worth noting: Rockin’ Cupcakes is open Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., but according to its website, if it runs out of cupcakes before the formal closing time, it will close early. So it wouldn’t hurt to call the shop before you visit to make sure it’s open.

6906 N. Rochester Rd.

Rochester Hills, MI 48306

www.rockincupcakesrochester.com

103. Red Velvet Cakes and Pastries – February 14, 2015 – Clinton Township, MI

I’m rather delayed in getting this one and the next post out. And I really haven’t done much visiting of new places lately, as you can see. I miss it. But it’s February, and the truth is that I just don’t feel like venturing out after work or going very far afield. And I spent so much time hassling family and friends about trying new places last year that I’m trying to ease up on that – for now. So. This is where I’m at right now.

It makes me feel better that when I started my blog last February, I had a really slow start. February is not really a ripping-and-running type of month. It’s a let’s-endure-this type of month in my mind. Valentine’s Day is a small bright spot.

I am not the kind of person who likes to take a crap on Valentine’s Day because it is a commercial holiday. I enjoy it. I think any day that encourages us to show love toward those who are special to us (and that includes ourselves!) is a more than worthwhile one. And I’ll welcome any excuse to indulge in chocolate and delicious baked goods in these dreary, negative-wind-chill times.

Red Velvet Cakes and Pastries is in my neighborhood, and I’d driven by it many times and thought about how I needed to check it out pretty much every time I’d done so. I finally did on Valentine’s Day and got some of their delicious cupcakes, all plump with frosting and decadence. There are bumpy-cake cupcakes and salted caramel cupcakes and German chocolate cupcakes and white-chocolate bumpy-cake cupcakes . . . so much cupcake-y goodness! It was a worthwhile visit, indeed.

42948 Hayes Rd.

Clinton Twp., MI 48038
http://www.redvelvetcakeshop.com/

52. Union General – August 28, 2014 – Clarkston, MI

What a delightful little store! It’s owned by the same people who own the Union Woodshop and the Clarkston Union (which I also hope to visit). There are lots of cute little trinkets and delicious cupcakes and frozen custard here. I bought a PB&J cupcake with peanut-butter buttercream frosting and a jelly center and a devil’s food cupcake with white-chocolate buttercream frosting – and wow, the icing on both was amazing. I also got some Anne Taintor crazy cat-lady napkins, because if being a cat lady is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.

50 S. Main St.

Clarkston, MI 48346

http://www.uniongeneralstore.com

20. Cupcake Station – May 16, 2014 – Ferndale, MI

I’m a huuuugge fan of cupcakes – and cake in general (definitely one of my Top Ten Favorite Things in Life) – so of course I had to check out the Cupcake Station. Much love to this local cupcake chain that cranks out 24 different flavors of cupcakes from scratch daily. Check out its website and drool – and then hit up one of its five locations (Rochester, Plymouth, Ann Arbor, and Birmingham are the other sites).

Fun fact: according to its website, Cupcake Station was one of the very first businesses in the United States to open a cupcake shop and was the first to do so in Michigan. So they’ve played a huge part in the modern-day cupcake craze.

301 West Nine Mile Rd.
Ferndale, MI 48220

http://www.cupcakestation.com/index.asp