Cupcake Caramel by Sweets Bakeshop

I like this place a lot. Granted, the cake part of the cupcakes is generally a bit dry, but the frosting is great! They also have a lot of different flavors to choose from. My husband and I got a half dozen, and I liked the red velvet and Better than Dot Dot Dot the best.

Sweets Bakeshop was the last stop on the great cake tasting for my sister’s wedding 2012. Being last sucks because we’re definitely comparing to everything else, and we had sort of already decided that Sweet Retreat and Cocoa & Fig were the bee’s knees. I found these guys on Unilocal and decided we should give it a last minute try just to MAKE SURE.
ICCKKK!!! This place is jacked UP! Unilocal almost never steers me wrong, but this was an exception. I don’t know what the frilly heck that frosting is made out of but ICK!!! NOT a fan. Funny enough the cake part of every single flavor we tried was good. The lemon in particular was great, even. But that frosting was WEIRD. Not sweet enough, wrong texture, am I even eating something edible?, why is it so thick, why is there so MUCH, is this actually made out of plastic? I daren’t go on.
The shop is actually the cutest of all the ones we tried. I didn’t actually go into Cocoa & Fig though, but otherwise, it’s cute! I like. But those cupcakes were nasty, the macarons were WAY too sweet (yes, I’m a macaron snob, I don’t care). No no no no no no no no blehhhhhhhhhh gross. Sorry. But really. Worst cupcakes ever.

I ordered 2 dozen cupcakes for a meeting and had high hopes. Let me tell you they were beautiful but when I bit into the frosting it literally tasted like a stick of butter. Not good. Not good at all! The cake part was delicious and the craftsmanship was top notch… but they really need to do something about that frosting. The texture and flavor is exactly like a cold stick of butter! I don’t think they are tasting the frosting before applying on the cakes. Please do!

Just saw another special deal being offered and was reminded of my horrible groupon experience. It is a bakery and they want to specialize in cupcakes. Three other people in line had the same bad service and attitude since very little is available for purchase. It seems they want you to custom order everything rather than buy from the case. Cupcakes are not special. Several different flavors were dry and lacking in flavor. Buttercream icing tastes like Crisco and sugar here. The display pieces not for sale were beautiful though.

Hit up Sweets for a cake tasting appt. one Saturday morning a couple weeks ago.
The shop is adorable and is located right next to a BBQ joint. Seems like the makings of a perfect night. They have a bunch of gorgeous looking macaroons and cupcakes on display as well as different wedding cakes they had done. They really do gorgeous work that is full of color and simplicity.
The girl that gave our cake tasting brought over about 10 different mini cupcakes for us to try, all with varying icing flavors. We got right down to business and started scarfing down. Sweets’ buttercream frosting is extremely rich and buttery, I enjoyed this as I don’t think there is enough butter in the world, my man however did not. They have some really funky flavors that are awesome to try. I particularly loved the chocolate peanut butter option and the «pucker up» oh, and the salted caramel icing with chocolate cake. I did think all of the cupcakes were a little dry and I was a little put off that we were given cupcakes to taste instead of real cake. We would not be ordering cupcakes and I don’t know how well the cupcakes would transfer to a real wedding cake. I was also extremely thirsty as we were not given anything to drink with all of those cupcakes! A cup of coffee would have been lovely.
All in all, Sweets was just ok, they have unique flavors, pretty baked goods and reasonable wedding cake prices.

Thanks to Cupcake Wars, I’ve been craving a cupcake for a long time. So we met up with some friends for some treats and coffee. Well, Sweets Bakeshop is take out only, even though there’s room for you to stay and have a coffee. (We took our cupcakes to Caribou instead)
Our friends had a Groupon and we each got a variety pack of mini cupcakes so we could share. Our sampling included Red Velvet, Lemon, Salted Caramel, Vanilla, and Chocolate. We also picked up a few Macaroons.
The reason for the lower rating is because we all had higher expectations. Sadly, we all thought the cupcakes were dry. We’re not sure if they were day old or just over baked. The frosting was the best part, but we all said that we were glad we got the mini cupcakes, because any more would have been too rich.
I guess Christopher Garren’s Cake in Costa Mesa has spoiled me. They have a nice place to sit, have a coffee or tea, and the desserts are super fresh. I’m glad my friends had a Groupon for Sweets Bakeshop. I might be back, but I’ll try one of the other cupcake places around the Metro first. Wish I hit up the Chinese restaurant next door instead.

Well they have a Four Square deal, so that’s cool… I was trying to be fancy on Saturday and brought macaroons and bubbly to a dinner party. The macaroons were just average though. Which was sad. I’m guessing the salted caramel is the best flavor, since they were sold out. I tried pistachio, usually my hands down fave, and though it looked amazing, it was basically flavorless. My dining friends tried both lavender & choc raspberry and said they were good but just overpowered by chocolate. The cupcakes looked good, maybe I’ll try them next time and head to Patisserie 46 for my mac attack.

We stumbled upon this sister store of the Sweets on Marshall Avenue in St. Paul when we were in the hood getting some BBQ next door. While we were waiting for our Q to go, my daughter ran over to get some mini cupcakes.
I did not personally go into this store but she said it was cute, just like the one on Marshall and they had the same cakes and macarons. The cupcakes tasted the same but I did notice they stuck to the wrappers more so than the ones on Marshall. I see other Unilocalers have noticed that at this location too, I wonder why?
They had better «sad macs».If you don’t know what «sad macs» are, they are the macarons that are defective, if you will, and are not pretty enough to be sold at the $ 2 price, so they sell these sad ones for $ 1. She picked up some really good ones here compared to the St. Paul location.
Stop by and get a salted caramel macaron or cupcake. I love that flavor!

Three cupcakes down 1 Togo, so that tells you they are great tasting cupcakes but I am not a piggy. The building and staff were awesome, it seems as if they specialize on parties and weddings so for that I say Your Awesome keep up the good work.

My fiancé and I met with Sweets event coordinator, Anne, yesterday, to see about wedding cake or cupcake possibilities.
I really hemmed and hawed about 2 stars vs 3 stars. There were some great things about the experience… and some not-​so-​great things. First, the good:
Their prices are so reasonable! Or they would be, if the quality were better… more on that below.
Their flavors are inventive and, in many cases, tasty. Try the «Pucker Up,» a lemon flavored cupcake with light, sweet-​tart icing. Also the «Worthy Adversary,» a dark chocolate cupcake made with Fulton, a locally-​brewed beer. The flavor was unique but delicious — you could taste the beer, but it made the chocolate flavor richer. Also, the Salted Caramel flavor was excellent, because they weren’t afraid to actually have a little salty flavor come through.
And now, the bad:
For all their fun flavors, I got the sense that they didn’t have the basics down. Many of the cupcakes we tried were visibly dry around the edges — I don’t know if they were stale, or just left in the oven a little too long — but either way, I was surprised at this. On the other hand, some of the others wouldn’t come out of the wrapper in one piece. It was kind of awkward to sit there with the event coordinator, who all along has been gushing about how amazing their treats are, and unwrap a cupcake only to have the top third of it come out and the rest remain stuck inside the wrapper.
I hate to give two stars, because Sweets Bakeshop tries really hard. Anne was kind and attentive, and when we told her the size of our miniscule budget, she was wonderful and only recommended things we’d be able to afford. At the end, she sent us home with a box of macarons and some more cupcakes, which was very thoughtful… but then we ate them. One of the macarons was so stale that it crumbled to a powder with the first bite. And one of the others was what Anne had called a «chili and cocoa» flavor that basically tasted like someone put Sriracha inside a cookie to play a mean trick on someone. So… great customer service, innovative flavors, but a little off overall. I don’t think we’ll be going back.

The company gave some samples to my workplace. I tried the mudslice and pucker up, They had a good quality cupcakes, frosting were airy, not too sweet which was very good for me and no after taste, but the downside were they were dry. I don’t know if that because of sit inside the box too long or what. And also there were not really distiction if it was chocolate cake or yellow cake, the difference was slim. I read each mini cupcake IS $ 2 I think it is overpriced.

I hit up Sweets Bakeshop after purchasing a Groupon certificate for it…
With Groupon in hand, I opted for an 8-​pack of cupcakes. My chosen «variety pack» was delicious and satisfying. However, I do agree with some of the commentary from other reviews… The frosting is a bit buttery and slightly softens the sweetness I expected from the treats.
With that said, I would still strongly suggest trying out Sweets Bakeshop.

Sooo… what to say. It’s far from the worst cupcake or french macaroons I’ve had, but I think they’re in trouble.
Pure food perspective: The taste is great! Fun and pure flavors. Best salted caramel I’ve had because they’re actually not afraid of salty caramel! Problem is the craftsmanship is seriously lacking because they’re trying to hit a high technical level, but the skill is lacking. The cupcakes stick to the wrapper and never really strikes amazing. The macaroons crack and crumble way too easily and the filling is either too much or too little. There’s a obvious lack of consistency in the products.
Consumer perspective: Way over priced for something that doesn’t hit the spot. 2 dollars for a unsatisfying cupcake and 2 dollars for a falling apart macaroon is really not okay especially when Patisserie 46 is blocks away.
Business perspective: Their new plan is to move away from mostly wedding cakes and special order to gift shop and stop-​by dessert place. I have little faith they’re going to cut it in the gift/​dessert shop because they’re not in the right location for it, and their prices don’t match the expectations of the area. The St. Paul location might be a completely different story, but the Minneapolis shop is just off.

I really like Sweets! The mini cupcakes are great for an after dinner treat, and it’s been a go-​to place for birthday celebrations. Faves include the coconut cupcake (wish they had it every day!) and peanut butter/​chocolate.
I will say this — while the cupcakes are delicious, the layout of the store is a joke. Sorry. The photo of the interior in the Unilocal files is the old, better way. Now, it’s different. When I walked in today, the lovely display of cupcakes was on the side of the space, barely noticeable. Instead, what I first saw was a huge display case filled with… bottled water. The hell? Seriously, a large display case with about 4 dozen bottles of water. If I had never been in there before, I would have been very, very confused. t also didn’t have that enticing bakery smell. I can’t really describe the smell, it just wasn’t good. Perhaps they’re going through a remodel, but I hope they do something in there to make it smell and look like a bakery!

Sweets, you have turned me into a cupcake snob!
I was a weekly visitor to the St Paul location, and I love having this one right in my neck of the woods. I have yet to have anything here that I didn’t like, but my all time favorite is the Pucker Up cupcake. Seriously, I would probably punch my mom if she got in between me and one of those magical lemony cupcakes!
The only bad thing I can say is that after falling in love with this place I will never be able to eat another cupcake from Byerly’s. Life is hard that way sometimes.

This place is a hidden gem! Fortunately or unfortunately my biz happens to be located across the street from this bakery. so I had no excuse for not going there. I had a mini sampler of four different cupcakes, and they were yummy. What a lovely way to sample the goods! The buttercream frosting is über rich so it may not be for the slight of heart. I especially liked their «weekly» selection which was a chocolate cupcake with a ganache and goat cheese frosting. It seems a peculiar selection but the contrast between sweet and a bit stinky made it feel a slight bit naughtier. Who could resist? The best thing I had though was a French macaroon. Wow! These are completely new to me but it was filled with a dark chocolate and the «cookie» like shell was a dream. I couldn’t believe how delicate and delicious it was. There are a couple little tables to sit and dreamy, guaze curtains. It’s great.

I’ve been sitting here trying to think of something helpful to write, but all I can think about is how I felt like I was wearing butter lipstick after eating cupcakes from Sweets. Seriously, that frosting was just like biting into a stick of butter. Ugh.
The cake one one of the cupcakes actually stuck to the wrapper, so I had to shove the whole thing into my mouth and chew the cake off of the paper like I was some kind of savage. And I don’t know what I was thinking when I got the kettlecorn cupcake. It tasted exactly like those evil buttered popcorn Jelly Bellies, and we all know those are some of the worst things ever created. Am I right?
But yeah, straight-​up butter lipstick.

Opening day! I’d been waiting for this for awhile. The place was peculiar; it is set back from the road in a little strip mall right next to a gas station. Kind of easy to miss.
I had to walk away with a sampling of cupcakes and macarons. Those macarons were just too cute! The lavender one was my favorite; pretty in purple and melts in my mouth. The cupcakes were good, but at those prices I will make my way to a closer cupcakery… Just don’t skip on the macarons, that is an order!