Cupcake smackdown!

patticakes from Schaumburg - June 23, 2009 at 2:01 PM

I like to consider myself a cupcake fancier and I've been to every cupcake specialty joint in the city and I must say that Molly's Cupcakes are the bottom of the barrell. I've gone 3-4 times in the hope that I just got the wrong flavor but I've literally tried every single flavor and they're not even decent. Their buttercream just tastes like butter without suger and not sweet creamy butter, the kind of butter that's been sitting open in your fridge collecting the odors of all the other foods in the fridge. Swirlz was a huge disappointment as was Sweet Mandy B's (not to mention the customer service there - yikes!). If you're going to run a business that specializes in something as whimsical as a cupcake, I suggest your staff act the part. The best cupcakes are the plain jane vanilla and chocolate ones at Southport Grocery and Cafe. Now that's a cupcake!

breckenridge reaty from Summit County - March 04, 2009 at 7:43 PM

he Boston Cream is probably one of the best things I have ever eaten.

breckenridge reaty from Summit County - March 04, 2009 at 7:41 PM

The cupcakes were fresh with good crumb, the hazelnut mousse cake was mouthwatering, and the chocolate-dipped bacon is probably the most wonderful thing

cmsanti from Bronzeville - February 13, 2009 at 1:04 PM

Steve, I agree with you, Fox and Obel's red velvet cupcakes are the BEST!

Steve from Skokie - December 07, 2008 at 12:45 PM

Fox and Obel red velvet cupcakes are the best!

red37fraggle from West Loop - November 14, 2008 at 8:09 PM

I'm tied on my favrotie - More's cupcakes are made with deliciously yummy ingredients, but the reliving your childhood experience at Molly's is fantastic! I visited both places as part of a market research project on the cupcake trend. Read all about it here: www.medillimc.tumlr.com

Kerry from Rountree - October 31, 2008 at 2:31 PM

Sweet Mandy B's are dang good, but thinking about Southport Grocery's cupcakes actually keeps me up at night. They are naugh-ty. Oh, how I miss them.

sandra from River West - October 21, 2008 at 5:23 PM

I have to agree with Shawn. Sweet Mandy B's is definitely my top pick for cupcakes.

Shawn from Gold Coast - October 21, 2008 at 4:22 PM

Jill and John - You have obviously never been to Sweet Mandy B's!!!!!!! The vanilla cake and vanilla frosting is to die for.

John from River North - October 21, 2008 at 2:41 PM

MORE Please!!!! More is more in every sense of the word. Perfect cupcakes in beautiful environment with a friendly, attentive staff. Each is better than the last. They are the only place that I have found that truly "gets" and successfully produces a savory cupcake. Other places seem to throw ingredients together and hope for the best, but at More, the flavors are perfectly balanced and delicious. I'm a huge fan of the bacon maple and served the brie grape as an appetizer at a dinner party. For sweets, nothing in the city compares to any of their chocolate cupcakes which are moist and delicious. Try the straight up chocolate, or for a more intense rush, go for the intensely rich Valrhona, which is filled with a sinful valrhona ganache. The MORE is a playful take on a hostess cupcake only much, much better. The salted caramel is the definition of ecstasy! I'll definitely be back for More!

Jill from Gold Coast - October 21, 2008 at 2:08 AM

MORE takes the cake. Easily surpassing the rest on all fronts, sweet and savory.

Nolan from Lincoln Park - October 20, 2008 at 10:06 PM

Molly's Cupcakes is a great, warming, and charming spot along clark street. Great long hours welcoming guests at all times throughout the day. Great customer service with down to earth welcoming staff that greets you as a longtime missed friend. Fun board games to play while sipping on tea or great cofee bring you back to the days of youth where a cupcake could melt your worries away. A must see of the northern Lincoln Park area. Grat place! Will certainly return!

Debbie Wolf from Lincoln Park - October 20, 2008 at 7:32 PM

Mollys Cupcakes Hands DOWN! Love the cupcakes especially the red velvet minis with cream cheese or brown butter icing, and the Ron Bennington (yummm peanut butter)! But in addition to great cupcakes they also have the best coffee in the city -- intelligentia and their capuccinos are perfection, and swings! Love the staff too, they add to the environment in a big big way.

ATK from Wicker Park - October 20, 2008 at 5:33 PM

Sweet Mandy B's cupcakes are great and so are the cupcakes from Letizia's on Division. The cupcakes at the Goddess and the Grocer are really good, too. Molly's cupcakes are awful--not worth the money or trip.

Abegirl from Andersonville - October 20, 2008 at 2:08 PM

Absolutely, positively SWEET MANDY B's on Webster and Racine. Best cupcakes in the city, and possibly, the country.

whyvon from albany park - October 20, 2008 at 1:43 PM

Angel Food Bakery- hands down!!!! Their red velvet cupcake is awesome

whyvon from albany park - October 20, 2008 at 1:42 PM

Angel Food Bakery- hands down!!!! Their red velvet cupcake is awesome

J from Old Town - October 20, 2008 at 11:27 AM

Duncan Hines Super Moist!!!

shaukom from Avondale - October 20, 2008 at 11:05 AM

Angel Food Bakery on Montrose and Paulina has the BEST cupcakes! They are made with real sugar, butter and eggs and NOT from a mix like other bakeries in Chicago. The Boston Cream is probably one of the best things I have ever eaten. Also, they have a Malted Milk Ball cupcake with homemade malted milk balls on top that is fantastic and I don't even LIKE malted milk balls. I've had the cupcakes from Bleeding Heart, Sweet Honey Bee's and More and I have to say Angel Food has best.

Shawn from Gold Coast - October 20, 2008 at 9:23 AM

I think of myself as a cake connoisseur, so here is my take. The Hershey Store on Michigan avenue has really great chocolate cupcakes, if you go, opt for the bigger cupcake! Sweet Mandy B's also has amazing cake, so of course, the cupcakes will be just as yummy. But eat them within a day or 2, b/c the frosting will go bad. I have been to More, and was not really that impressed, the cupcakes were expensive and not very soft and moist. Molly's is next on my list to visit!