Cupcake and Cookie Bakery [General]

2008 May 12
Hi!

My friend talked to me about a new bakery that would have opened in Ottawa specializing only in cupcakes and cookies. I'm guessing something along the lines of The Cupcake Shoppe - www.thecupcakeshoppe.ca - in Toronto. She tells me they were featured on t.v. either yesterday or a few nights ago. Does anyone know who she's referring to?

Thanks!

2008 May 12
Hmmmm that sounds like something that may have been featured on Regional Contact. It is a locally produced show that is broadcast on CTV at 6:30pm on Saturdays. They usually feature two or three Ottawa area businesses. I missed the beginning of the show last Saturday but visited their website and found out they featured a company called "Judy's Magic Mixes": www.magicmixes.com/index.html. As the name implies they only sell cookie and muffin mixes not the finished product. Other than that I'm stumped. (BTW for anyone travelling to Kingston this summer you might be interested in knowing about the second business they featured. It is a bed and breakfast in Gananoque which is owned and operated by a couple formerly of the Glebe: www.victoriaroseinn.com/. The dinner menu looks delicious but given their location it is disappointing to see how few Canadian wines made it onto their wine list...)

2008 May 12
Pasta Lover - Ok I did a little research re: The Victoria Rose Inn. This is a B&B (no dining on site). The restaurants recommended are all in the Gananoque / Kingston area. Yes the ones listed don't offer much of a Canadian wine selection, The Captains Table however did feature Huff Estates Wine (from PE County). Unfortunately, sometimes a restaurant and a local winery will "make a deal" where only the wines from their winery will be featured, this could be the case.

More interesting though, is the fact that the Victoria Rose Inn website mentions a soon to be open Olivea Restaurant operated by Stev George. After googling this establishment I discovered it will be opening in Kingston in June 2008, I also discovered that the Casa Bella Restaurant in Gananoque has gone out of business.

:-(

For more info see www.eatatbella.com

2008 May 14
I haven't heard of it but I knew it was only a matter of time before Ottawa jumped on the cupcake bandwagon. We should have done it first! :P

2008 May 14
I know!!! ;)

2008 May 14
If you like cupcakes they have some yummy looking ones at the Rideau Bakery. I haven't tried them yet but they sure look good!

2008 May 14
Ottawa has a severe boutique cupcake supply issue - someone needs to set up shop and make a name for themselves!

2008 May 14
There's a new place in Bell's Corners, the Bohemian Kitchen, that advertises cupcakes. I haven't been there but their web page makes me want to visit sometime.

www.bohemiankitchen.org


2008 May 15
i am always on the lookout for good cupcakes. here is my review of ones i have tried so far. as a note, i hate icing made with shortening. i realize why places use shortening, but if the ratio is mostly shortening don't call it a buttercream icing!

three bakers and a bike: vanilla and lemon cupcakes. the cake is lovely and moist, the icing though is heavy on the shortening and leaves a greasy mouth feel. the price is very good for the size of cake you get. i did have a vanilla one recently that was iced with whipped cream and fresh berries. this was very, very good.

second avenue sweets: expensive cupcakes! and small! i had the vanilla cupcake with buttercream icing. this was one of the worst cupcakes i have had - small, dense cake, terrible icing. i tasted no butter in the icing. yeck.

ottawa bagel shop: duflet vanilla bean cupcake. this was the worst cupcake i have ever had. the cake itself was dry and hard and very crumbly. the icing was very vanilla-ish, but also dry with a hardened shell from sitting out. these come from toronto i think, so perhaps it was old?

harvest loaf: very tiny and expensive cupcakes, but the best icing i have tasted so far. the icing is the closest to homemade with real buttery taste and smooth feel. no greasy mouth.

so far the best cupcakes i have had in ottawa were at the eco-artisian fair in gatineau. they were made by two young women and were light, moist, the perfect amount of sweetness and decorated with lively colours (which wouldn't appeal to everyone, but i loved!).

i will have to think on where i have had more cupcakes and then report back. my favourite variety of cakes is from vancouver's cupcakes. this is what we need. i always bring a box home with me, plus they offer mini's which allows you to eat more cake! www.cupcakesonline.com/

2008 May 17
Don't eat bad cupcakes! Make your own. I just added two recipes to the wiki. The cake is a good all purpose cake, but you can use another one if it's not to your liking. The chocolate buttercream is the best one I've ever tried. It has to be used right away while it's still soft, so it's not one I use at work, but it's the one I always make at home.

2008 May 17
make my own? that is way too dangerous. i can never eat just one cupcake and my freezer is already jam-packed. my favourite treat is to go for a nice walk, then find a cupcake or lemon square, excellent coffee (these two things i can never find in the same place) and sit outdoors.

my signature icing is a pomegranite rosewater buttercream. a great shade of pale pink and delicious on vanilla cupcakes with a touch of grated orange rind in them.

the next time i have to make cupcakes, i will check your recipe, but until then i will continue to pound the pavement!

2008 May 17
All this talk is prepping me for maximum cake consumption at the Carp farmers market!!! Ack!

2008 May 17
Hipfunkyfun....the best way to avoid eating all the cupcakes yourself is to invite people over to help you eat them.
Pomegranate rosewater buttercream sounds interesting. One of my favourites is Brown Butter and Cocoa Nib buttercream.

2008 May 17
Was at the Carp Farmers Market today and noticed an empty booth (inside)with a sign "Little Cakes" --coming next week.

2008 Jun 25
there is a new online business called ottawa cupcakery. it seems a bit steep to me, $30 for a dozen cupcakes. even in a fancy box.

it is on etsy:
www.etsy.com

2008 Nov 23
The cupcake and cookie place that you are asking about will be located on Beechwood across from the Pet Value. I can't wait for it to open (which should be soon).

:)

2008 Nov 23
Mmmmm is right about the new vendor in Beechwood, which I'm super excited about.

Ottawa cupcakery sells online through etsy, but also through The Candy Store (I don't know yet how to link vendors), in Westboro on weekends. The cupcakes are closer in size to very large muffins, and I found them fairly good--the type of thing you splurge on once in a while.

2008 Nov 23
The best cup cakes I have had to date are from The Cake Shop, they have all kinds of flavours and decorated in very colourful designs sure to please the kids and the kid in us. I also bought the gourmet cupcakes from them, they are mini versions of there great cakes, cant get enough of the lemon poppyseed with the creamcheese frosting.

Also the frosting is real butter cream, no shortening here and a great plus for my family is the fact that they are 100% Peanut and Nut Free so we can also take them to school for parties etc. I also got egg free cup cake as a special request for one of the kids who has an allergy, they were very accommodating and helpful in this way.

2008 Nov 23
My wife lamented the lack of a proper high-end cupcake shop in Ottawa a couple of years ago (yes, we *have* tried cupcakes from the Cake Shop and found them to be nothing special). It's fun to see that Ottawa is finally getting a real cupcake shop with a storefront. This city is growing up -- I only hope that the current economic hiccups don't interfere with the proliferation of such specialty shops!

2008 Nov 24
I have to say, for all that the economic hiccups are causing most people to scale down, I've found it to be in a sense of quantity, rather than quality. We're eating less meat, but better quality meats, and buying sweets but less often. Hopefully, this will continue!

2008 Nov 24
Apparently the Candy Store in Westboro sells cupcakes from the Ottawa Cupcakery every Saturday. Their website lists the cupcakes that will be featured each weekend. Wish I could go this weekend, they're offering tiramisu cupcakes!

2008 Nov 24
i tried 2 cupcakes from the cupcakery last weekend. i bought them on sunday at the candy shoppe (noteable because they may have been sitting there since saturday and been thusly affected by age). the only flavours left were chocolate and vanilla.

cost: $3.50 per cupcake.
size: normal cupcake/muffin size. i found the cake portion small

icing: good flavour on the vanilla. the chocolate was not very chocolatey or rich. it did not taste of a chocolate base, but almost a plain base with a bit of cocoa and melted chocolate, not a rich, creamy chocolate.

cake: blah. no flavour in the vanilla cake at all. the chocolate had a light chocolate flavour. the cake was slightly dense and leaned more towards dry than moist. the chocolate really tasted like a vanilla trying to disguise itself as a chocolate with minimal effort.

feelings:
for $3.50 a cupcake i want to be impressed, whether it be chocolate, vanilla or an exotic flavour. i have no plans to try these cupcakes again. i am put off by the price and the lack of flavour.

on the plus side, the icing is better than most of the cupcakes i have had so far in this town.

2008 Nov 24
hipfunkyfun: i agree with you, tha vanilla was sort of mediocre. however, a few weeks back they had strawberry as one flavour and pumpkin as the other. both were rather delightful, especially the icings! my feeling is that the cake was too dense, but not dry (ironic, given my feelings towards other peoples baked goods).

i think there's something notable about the cupcakery, if nothing other than the fact that they have unique flavours. when i first heard about them, i thought, "hey! a good idea for wedding cake". i don't think i'd go that far now.

2008 Dec 19
I just discovered a new cupcake company: L'Oven.

Right now they don't have a store. You e-mail for the menu but what I've tried has been amazing! The icing is unreal!

L-Oven@live.ca is their e-mail.

$12 for six

If you like cupcakes they're worth a try. Too bad there's no store to buy them one at a time!

I haven't tried the cupcakery yet. Maybe it's worth a comparison!

2009 Jan 9
greetings

I love cupcakes! The best ones I've ever had was from The Cupcake Shoppe (www.thecupcakeshoppe.ca) in Toronto near Yonge and Eglinton. Their cake is absolutely the best. I remember biting into it and this huge waft of butter smell came out of it, makes me swoon just thinking of it. It's a denser cake (yet still moist and fluffy), which I like, and it is bursting with wonderful 'thick' real cake texture and flavour. I don't tend to eat all the icing as I don't tend to eat a lot of sugar, but the icing on these are fun...and heh, it makes the cupcake so delightful. The icing on the cupcakes at the Cupcake Shoppe are relatively simple but creative. I love the names of the cupcakes - e.g. pretty in pink and young 'n eligible.

I have been in Ottawa now for over 15 years, but still crave these cupcakes in Toronto!!! Every once in awhile when I visit family in Scarborough I make the trek there. I tried the Cake Shop cupcakes, and the cake is too light and fluffy for me...no substance, feel like I'm eating air. Just not my style. To be fair though, The Cake Shop has great imaginative things...fun cookies, creative cakes..I like the homey ambiance of the store. I also tried cupcakes from Harvest Loaf, Second Avenue Sweets, and Three Bakers and a Bike. I had a chocolate cupcake at Second Avenue Sweets,it was quite enjoyable but somehow I find the cake a bit too dense with no waft of satisfying buttery aroma coming from it. Maybe when I try a basic white cake one it'll be better. Three Bakers and a Bike has nice icing, but the cake is just so-so - tastes just like basic cake recipe, maybe made with oil. I'm no expert in baking, I just know what I like. I'm amazed that i haven't found a similar texture yet in Ottawa..but I'll keep on trying...I'll go to Isobel and going to get me some Cupcakery cupcakes tomorrow at The Candy Store!

Now I'm wondering what the secret of the Cupcake Shoppe is...any ideas?

:-)

2009 Jan 12
It was with a great sense of excitement and expectation that we drove on Sunday from Manotick to Isobel's, on Beechwood. I'd just gone through a dozen really bad cupcakes from Cho'Cola in Montreal that a friend had gifted me with at a dinner party -- those were insane, HARD cupcakes, more like muffins, and one of the frostings actually was made of rancid Crisco. It was amazing - each cupcake was worse than the one before it - dry, hard, never seen a dribble of butter...

So Isobel's was shining like a a beacon of hope. I'd heard it was wonderful, that they were featured in WIlliams-Sonoma (or something with WS)...

They were out of vanilla cupcakes, but some were just coming out of the oven, so I waited. I got two chocolate - one with white chocolate and one with chocolate orange (? I don't do chocolate so I don't remember, and gave them to my husband). I had six with vanilla cupcake bases, two with lemon frosting (and a great TART lemon filling), two with vanilla two with a milky chocolate.

Three are in the box to go to my office, where our receptionist will get them. He will eat anything.

My disappointment was huge. Massive.

The white cake is okay, that was good.
The lemon filling was amazing, a great contrast to the sweeter cake.
But the frosting was like pure sweet butter - little flavour and a bit too much.

The vanilla frosting was 12 hours old when I got to it - having eaten the lemon first.
And it was like a gummy cream cheese? Hard to describe, but a definite surprise for this vanilla-lover.
The milky chocolate had dark sprinkles on them, and they were SO bitter (I am not a dark chocolate person) that I just put them in the box to go to the office.

I still await a magnificent white cake, with a semi-sweet (not Crisco, not a stick of sweet butter, but the perfect balance) frosting - somewhere in Ottawa.

2009 Jan 13
foodiekunstler: This is a really wonderful review of Isobel & Co. (in so far as the descriptions were wonderful). My only criticism is that this forum topic is slowly turning into a set of reviews. ottawafoodies.com/vendor/1603 is the best place to review Isobel & Co, because it means that all the reviews go in one place, making it easier to find later!

Cheers!

2009 May 10
We are headed over to Isobel's right now so that my kids can take some back to Toronto.

The cupcakes are made from scratch ( not cake mixes ), using butter ( not shortening ), with lots of other real (not artificial) flavors.

Great addition to a dinner party.
Instead of one cake get a grouping of different cupcakes.

Isobel's also has unique plastic domes for individual cupcakes or special boxes for more than one cupcake so that the cupcakes don't shift around.

These delicious cupcakes are created with great care and attention to detail.




2009 May 10
I was at a wedding reception event last night that had cupcakes from the Ottawa Cupcakery. I only had one, but it was delicious. The stand-out was definitely the icing!

2009 May 18
Reading all these cupcake posts made me crave some for myself..but I wasn't near any bakeries or specialty shops! Thankfully, Loblaws saved the day. I was there getting my weekly rations when, lo and behold - a tray of cupcakes! I got a chocolate for my husband and a vanilla for me (well, I was hoping I would get to eat both of them, but my husband spotted them so I was forced to share. But only because it was his birthday). Here's a photo of my pretty vanilla one.

What, you say their cupcakes are the epitome in trans-fat, stale icing, cake mix batter-iness? Oh well. I am no cupcake snob. It was tasty and sugary and that was enough for me.

2009 May 18
You have to try the cup cakes from the Cake Shop on Greenbank road, we love the gourmet selection of lemon poppyseed with cream cheese frosting as well as the carrot cake, the rolo, which is a rich dark chocolate with a filling of dulce de leche and then dipped in ganache. The black magic has chocolate fudge and chocolate shavings on top. I think they are mini versions of there dessert cakes if my memory serves me well.
No fancy packaging though, they come in clam shell containers. I am not fussy on packaging as we inevitably pay for the nice packaging and not the contents.btw the cupcakes all have filling inside so you get an added treat when you bite into them.
Also noticed they have Churros on Saturdays.

2009 May 19
Ms Foodie, I agree with you. Every so often, I have to get a cupcake from Blah-blahs. Even if I feel gross afterwards, it's worth it at the time.

The Cake Shop is meh, IMHO. There's nothing special about their cakes compared with other bakeries in the city. My sister-in-law raves about them though, so that's all we had for birthday cake for a while (I'm now making our birthday cakes! Ha ha!!). The one thing I did notice though, back when we both from TCS, is that there were three hairs in one cake. Someone wasn't wearing their hairnet...we haven't bought from them since, so I haven't had the chance to mention this to them.

Cupcakes from Three Bakers and a Bike have been my favourite a long time coming, but I'm finding their service is lacking these days.

Like I said, I've been making the cakes/cupcakes in our house for a bit over two months now, to much success (see my blog for photos/recipes: www.butter-and-patience.blogspot.co)

2009 May 19
LWB, you should really bring it to there attention as I am sure they would want to know so they can address the issue.

2009 May 22
Bad service at Three Bakers and a Bike?I am very surprised!

As a someone new to Ottawa I have always been treated very well by baker/owner Lule and lovely Colleen at the counter.
It is always service with a smile with a nice word attached.

The cupcakes are good too................


2009 May 22
Actually, I'm a bit surprised as well. I've always had friendly service, and they've given me free cupcakes from time to time. Perhaps consistency is the issue here?

2009 May 22
Consistency is, I think, the issue...About two years ago when we started getting cakes and cupcakes from them they were friendly as all get out, and again giving free cupcakes from time to time.

Twice in the last six months though, I've been snapped at when asking a simple question (such as the two different pricing shown). And not just "well, it's this one" with a tone, but with a full-blown explanation and the-customer-shouldn't-ask-questions tone. It was a bit of turn-off. Needless to say, both times it was different people, and not Lule.

Either way, I plan on having my birthday cake ordered from 3 bakers, because their cake is the best in town IMHO (other than girl with the most cake) so they'll have a chance to win us over again.

Mmmm lemon cake!

2009 May 24
i have only had wonderful service at three bakers. i go for lunch a couple times a month. i skip the cake and cupcakes though, i dislike the icing. too strong a shortening taste and it leaves a greasy feel in my mouth.

2009 May 25
I have been disappointed with cupcakes from Isobel's - contrary to the post above I found the icing left a lot to be desired.
I also tried the Cupcakery and thought I must have been given the wrong thing when I bit in to the so-called chocolate morsel. I was hoping for a rich, dark chocolate but instead got a rather wimpy flavour.
I've heard good things about Three Cheers Cupcakes but I don't know where to buy them. Does anyone know anything about them?

Maybe the winners of the cupcake camp I read about (Jack Purcell CC) are foodies and have some tips to share?


2009 May 25
Just had a cupcake today at Bread & Sons bakery on Bank St. (Bank at Gloucester). I went in for their feta cheese borekas (very salty and tasty - so hard to get savoury baked snacks in Ottawa!) I noticed they had some "vegan cupcakes" in the cooler. It was chocolate and had a pretty pink rosebud on it, so I thought I'd try it for, y'know, research.

Alas, it was dry and dense. It did have a nice chocolatey flavour, though. So a disappointment, taste-wise. However there was one big plus to visiting this bakery: sitting in a comfy chair on their door step, eating my vegan cupcake in the May sunshine. Aaahhh!

And the boreka was great, as usual.

2009 May 27
Are you sure you had a chocolate cupcake from the Ottawa Cupcakery ECK? I was finally able to get my hands on one at The Candy Store this past Saturday and all I can say is WOW! Their chocolate dulce de leche cupcake was to die for! Nothing wimpy about it! Now I know why their cupcakes are always sold out. Plus, the icing was the best I've tasted in the city. I think I'm going to try and place an order through their website and see how that goes.

2009 Sep 20
Isobel's is off our list.

The cupcakes are inconsistent.
I do not mind paying more for quality but I do not like being "taken".

The day we went the cupcakes were different sizes with the small ones being the same price as the larger ones.The icing is buttery but way too much crowning the cake.

The vanilla cupcakes at Life Of Pie on Leonard Avenue in Old Ottawa South are wonderful.
Buttery, moist vanilla cake and delicious icing.
What I call " an earnest cupcake ".
Give them a try.Only on Saturdays and they sell out quickly.

What candy store sells Cupcakery?


2009 Sep 20
The Candy Store on Richmond *used* to sell Cupcakery cupcakes, but are Cupcakery has stopped because it was getting to be too much; I believe they're only doing special orders (www.etsy.com)

Also, liza, I would recommend putting what you wrote in the forum topic into two individual reviews: One for Isobels, one for Life of Pi.


2009 Sep 21
hey, i didnt get a chance to read the whole forum

however, i just wanted to promote some great cupcake entrepreneurs in ottawa. despite ms. foodie's experience with vegan cupcakes, herb&spice and the organic store in the market sell some great fresh vegan cupcakes, i think from three cheers, and they make all sorts of speciality cupcakes.
check out their site
www.threecheerscupcakes.com

also, morsel foods is another great entrepreneur on the rise that makes devilishly delicious vegan and fair-trade cupcakes. here is the website: www.morselfoods.com/Home. she does catering too.

anyway, i think its safe to say that, in terms of cakes and cupcakes, ottawa is VERY VERY RICH! now all we need is a few more pretzel shops and creperies and i think we`ll be set!

2009 Sep 22
The cupcakes from 3 bakers and a bike on Wellington are pretty good and nicely priced! They even have mini cupcakes (~the size of a muffin) I think they were ~ a looney each. I had their chocolate with the white, the chocolate and the purple icing (for the chocolate icing and cake both tasted very cholaty/cocoa yummy to me:) and I've always been welcomed with very friendly service there. If you are looking for cupcakes, it's definitly a great place to try ;)

2009 Sep 23
little foodista, i like the cake at three bakers and prefer the carrot cake with icing. i find their regular cake and cupcake icing has a weird greasy feel to it, like they have used a shortening base. the chocolate also tastes like cocoa, not rich, melted chocolate. regardless, i still like their food and their lunch special often comes with a cupcake, which i never say no too :)

2009 Sep 23
i find their regular cake and cupcake icing has a weird greasy feel to it, like they have used a shortening base.

HFF and I don't always agree, but I'm with her on that one! it's strange because I ask every so often and tehy always say "it's buttercream! we swear!" but it doesn't taste like buttercream.

Also, they have really inconvenient hours, unless you work at Tunney's. (I know, I vent about hours a lot, but it's an accessibility thing in a way)

2009 Sep 23
It's funny how no icing seems to satisfy everyone ;-) I prefer the more 'whipped creamy' texture myself, but I know people that hate 'heavy' icing and just love flavoured/coloured Crisco.

2009 Sep 25
I like Duncan Hines icing :-P I've never made a homemade icing that's as good as that. Except for cream cheese icing - but that stuff is easy-peasy.

2009 Sep 30
There is also an amazing little shop called The Flour Shoppe! It specializes in Cupcakes and cookies - www.theflourshoppe.com They are amazing!!

2009 Oct 1
i read a great review of the flour shoppe from the cherry pie event. i think you have the wrong website though. it should be .ca

www.theflourshoppe.ca/

i haven't tried their product, but should i ever see it in downtown ottawa, i will definitely stop what i am doing and rush right over.

2009 Oct 2
just wanted to mention that i had the pleasure of sampling some ottawa cupcakery cupcakes at a friends's wedding 2 weeks ago. once again they were phenomenal! i was so surprised to see them because i had read a post here that said they were out of business. my friend said they were in fact still in business. I had a chocolate cupcake with chocolate filling and chocolate icing and it was sublime! my friend's still on her honeymoon so i can't get contact info from her. does anyone have a phone # or email address for the cupcakery? i was hoping to place an order for thanksgiving

2009 Oct 2
They accept orders through etsy.com, I think? See the link below:
www.etsy.com

2009 Oct 2
I attended a focus group for a new cookie company last night so thought I would chim in on the cookie end of things.
They were absolutely amazing! So tender & flavourful not to mention tastefully decorated. Unique flavours as well.
Puts Isobel's to shame! Not drenched in cheap looking icing.
More sophisticated in their design making them appropriate for both adult and children's gifts/events.
The concept seems to be very eco-conscious as well which is always a nice bonus.
She has no name yet but does do orders via email right now. wraoux@hotmail.com
Highly recommend them and am looking forward to seeing her work in shops soon!

2009 Oct 2
I'm curious how they are "eco conscious"

2009 Oct 2
Thanks Chimichimi! Went to the Esty site and found out you can email directly at ottawacupcakery.gmail.com. Also, if you go to www.ottawacupcakery.com it will take you directly to the Etsy site.

2009 Oct 4
I'm curious how they are "eco conscious"

anything can be eco-conscious if they try hard enough #branding #greenwashing.

as for cupcakery, they are still in business but not selling through the candy store any longer. that said, candy store has a new cupcake vendor, the cupcake lounge. i have yet to try any of the sale ones, but the managers gave andrew & i a pair to taste-test. i will definitely be giving these another shot (expecially giving the dismal hours of operation for 3 bakers).

2009 Oct 5
I don't mean to be a negative nancy, but I'm amazed that anyone would speak highly of the Cupcake Shoppe in Toronto at Yonge and Eglinton. I had a work colleague recommend them to me, so me and Kat, a friend of mine who lived in the area, decided to pop in and check them out. We ordered a dozen cupcakes so we could each try the six flavours available when we went in, and excitedly galloped back to Kat's place. They were utterly gorgeous and smelled lovely, and we took our first bite with a huge amount of excitement... only to be met with grim disappointment. They weren't *bad*, certainly, but they were frightfully boring and our previous aspirations to eat them all in one sitting transformed into the dilemma of wondering if we should bravely proceed through all that dessert or simply toss them. We decided that if we were going to indulge in that many calories, we could think of better ways to do so, so we chucked them.

Also, Rideau Bakery makes pretty nice looking cupcakes, but last time I had one a couple years back, the icing was pretty nasty: if I remember correctly, there was a huge amount of it and it had no taste and something of an unpleasant mouth feel.

I don't think I'm particularly picky when it comes to cupcakes, either, or have high expectations. I can appreciate lots of different types of cupcakes, frostings, etc, and I'm super-excited to try some of the suggestions on this list and see if I find something that satisfies!

2009 Oct 6
I'm with you Vorpal, I don't really get the cupcake fad. Just give me a piece of cake instead please. They look cute but are not interesting at all to eat. The good ones are at best...just good. And the bad ones...yuck.

FYI a large part of Rideau Bakery's production is dairy-free. I always send people that come in to the French Baker looking for dairy-free stuff over to them because it's something I just don't do. So if you get a cupcake from there, it's is highly unlikely that it's real buttercream on top.

2009 Oct 6
how is a cupcake different than a slice of cake? it is the same batter, same preparation and cooking techniques, just different pan.

i like it for portion control, easy to eat - no plate required, and they can be darn cute ;)

2009 Oct 6
When I make a cake, I can put almost anything in it. A plain chocolate layer cake at my work has cake layers, syrup, chocolate mousse and chocolate buttercream.

They can have ganache layers, mousseline, mousses, fruit fillings etc...once when a co-worker screwed up some Bailey's cheesecakes I cut the crusts off and put a layer of cheesecake in the middle of a layer cake.

I like making cakes for the versatility, and I like eating them more because there is usually at least one more element than just cake + frosting. I wasn't talking about eating Duncan Hines at home. Sorry for the confusion.


2009 Oct 6
well cupcakes can have layers and fillings, but generally are kept very simple, at least in this town. i think to be fair, you can't really compare a tiny cupcake to a full size cake with cheesecake layers.

perhaps you need to challenge yourself to make decadent cupcakes that can compete with your cake making skills. i would be very happy to come and judge the finished project :)

speaking of duncan hines, i am very certain that one cupcake seller in town uses cake mix and canned frosting. they still look adorable and are well portioned and priced. it does seem a bit like cheating to me. i don't want to pay for a cake mix cupcake.

2009 Oct 6
i use this blog as a starting point for flavour ideas when baking my own cupcakes.

cupcakeblog.com/

2009 Oct 6
Mousse - your baileys-cheesecake-mistake-filled-cake sounds delightful.

Re: cake in general, I <3 cake. All kinds. Ultra rich chocolate cake & a glass of milk is one of my ultimate comfort foods.

2009 Oct 7
LOL, I am just a fan of icing (good buttercream)... what it comes with is pretty much irrelevant in my eyes.

;-)

2009 Oct 8
I’m going to add another cupcake vendor to this thread – last week I had a tasty chocolate cupcake at Thyme and Again! The cake was a little dense, which I’ve decided is what I like in a cupcake, but the real wow factor came from the icing. I think it was ganache (chocolate plus whipping cream) as it had a wonderful chocolaty flavour and good mouth feel. There was none of that “is it butter or is it Crisco” worry with this one. It was so satisfying!

This cupcake made up for the 2 very disappoint cupcakes I had from the Cake Shop a few weeks ago. They were pretty cupcakes – I had one lemon and one chocolate, and they were each adorned with a pansy sugar flower, but the cake part was bland and too light (reminded me of cake mix, really it did!) and the icing was unremarkable. I bought a bunch of mini pastries there, and each of them was a let down too. I love the ambience (and the aroma!) of this shop, but I didn’t love any of its baked goods…

So here’s my cupcake tally to date (all prompted by this forum post!)

-Loblaws vanilla cupcake – cute, tasty and unpretentious
-Isobel’s cupcakes – tried about 6 and found them all underwhelming, particularly that flavourless butter icing
-Bread & Sons vegan choco cupcake – dry cake, icing was okay, pretty flower on top
-Cake Shop – nicely decorated, too light, and underwhelming
-Thyme and Again – best cupcake I’ve had yet! Go for the chocolate!

2009 Oct 14
Has anybody else tried cupcakes from the Cupcake Lounge at The Candy Store?

2009 Oct 14
little j I have. I'm not going to voice my opinion, however, because I was a taster for the Candy Store when they were considering whether or not to sell the Cupcake Lounge's cupcakes. I will only say that I'm delighted to see more cake options in the area (small or large), given that Three Bakers and a Bike have really difficult hours and I don't find their staff to be at all friendly.

2009 Oct 14
little j,
I have too. It pains me to say this since I have a weird loyalty to isobels, but Cupcake Lounge is better. Way better. I had a red velvet cupcake (or two) and it has a delicate and moist cake with a tangy cream cheese icing. I almost died they were so good. I have thought about ordering a dozen of them to eat myself, but that's so wrong. ... Or is it? I just wish they had a storefront, or a way to order less cupcakes without stalking the candy store every saturday.

2009 Oct 15
kiwiw, i think you might be confused? i don't know if the cupcake lounge sells online in dozens, but i'm pretty sure that the candy store has yet to sell red velvet from the cupcake lounge.

basically, the first cupcake vendor, ottawa cupcakery, stopped selling through the candy store back in the summer, in part because the demand was more than they were anticipating. they still sell online.

the cupcake lounge came about in september or so, and the candy store has now taken them on as regular vendors for saturday cupcakes.

i could be wrong though...

ETA: turns out the candy store's cupcakes for the weekend of the 3rd were in fact red velvet. anyway, not sure if you can order them by the dozen, but you might be able to ask the candy store to bring in a few extra of some for you if there's a kind you like?

2009 Oct 24
You can pre-order Cupcake Lounge cupcakes for weekend pick up at The Candy Store (as few as one even!). If the flavour you want isn't on offer that weekend, you can order specialty flavours, but those can only be ordered by the dozen.

Hope that clears up a few things! :)

2010 Mar 9
Finally got a chance to taste the cupcakes at Isobel Bakery and found that the buttercream icing is a little flavourless. It just seemed to be like a regular cupcake that was nothing spectacular.

2010 Mar 10
I had been wondering why there weren't any cupcake bakeries in Ottawa since they are huge everywhere else. It seems there is a cupcakery on every corner in Vancouver!
I didn't know about Isobele's until recently but a few folks I know weren't raving about them either (particularly the frosting). Their cupcakes certainly look good though...
I just saw the Flour Shoppe very close to Bank/Queensway in the Glebe and didn't know if they were open yet (it was a Sunday and they looked closed...and I was just driving by), do they have another location in Ottawa? They don't post much info on their website (or facebook group page), so I'm guessing their storefront isn't open yet (?)

The Cupcake Lounge's flavours do sounds really good, and unique too. I thought they are a bit pricey but I have a hard time paying $2.50-$3 for a cupcake anywhere since I make them often. Apparently they are available Saturday but they sell out fast so if you like their flavour of the week, you have to get there in the morning before they're gone. I wonder how they are doing without a storefront though, it must be a little tricky but at least they are available at such a popular store.

Now I really want to try the chocolate cupcakes at Thyme and Again, everything I've had from there is really good.

This is a great thread, nice to see there is more cupcake options here in Ottawa :)

2010 Aug 29
The Flour Shoppe is opened now. www.theflourshoppe.ca/
Loblaws at college square also sells good cupcakes from Dufflet www.dufflet.com/home.asp

2010 Dec 28
Besides my own cupcakes, I have to say that the Flour Shoppe on Bank Street is fantastically delicious!