Wicked Bakery

If you are interested in Wicked Bakery … Luci’s Marketplace has baked goods by them FYI…

Picked up a couple dozen cupcakes for Super Bowl party.
Heard nothing but praise from all.
I personally sampled half of red velvet, very good.
I personally sampled a whole crème brûlée, very very good.
I personally sampled half of double molten chocolate, it was incredible.
After the party, I was told the carrot was the best which of course, I hadn’t tasted… c’est la vie… must return soon.
I also picked up a just out of the oven chocolate croissant for same day consumption and to reduce my temptation to any reductions of the 2 dozen before the party and it was to die for.
Don’t know about ‘wicked’ but I do know that I am grateful for Unilocal steering me there because it is a treasure.

I had high hopes for Wicked. All the product choices on their website got me excited. I also love supporting local businesses so I decided to give it a shot this weekend.
On my first attempt to visit I decided to call ahead to verify that they were open so I could swing by on my way home from work. I called on a Friday at 1:30 p.m. and the phone rang and rang. After three phone call attempts, I assumed they were closed. Weird.
Saturday morning I decided to try again. Went to the website this time and noticed they didn’t open until 10 a.m. A bakery that isn’t open early in the morning? Ok. No biggie. I go around 11 a.m.
Like many other reviews noted, the place is tiny. Slade was there and very nice. However, I was taken aback by the lack of selection. He had four muffin choices, a few croissants, and three (maybe four) cupcake choices. From the looks of the website, I assumed there would be cookies, cakes, etc. Not a big deal, I really only wanted muffins and cupcakes anyway. I bought a lemon poppy seed and chocolate muffin, as well as a red velvet and vanilla crème brûlée cupcake.
The muffins were ok. Nothing special. The lemon poppy seed was also kind of dry. Again, no biggie, I knew the cupcakes were what it was all about anyway.
I actually really enjoyed the look of the cupcakes. I liked the way the frosting was applied and the fact he used parchment paper instead of muffin cups. However, the red velvet cupcake was also just ok. The frosting was good, the cake was a little dry. BOO. I haven’t even bothered to try the vanilla cream brulee cupcake yet. Maybe my hopes were just too high.
I have read most of the other reviews and it’s clear with Wicked there are some inconsistencies. Maybe I just went on a bad day. Not sure if it’s worth it to try again though.

The first time I visited Wicked was exactly one year ago. My husband and I were in town visiting family and I remember hearing about Wicked on the Oprah show. In one of the Oprah shows Gayle King did a cross-​country cupcake/​dessert tour and she raved about Wicked, particularly the red velvet cupcakes. Figuring there must be something great about it I decided to check it out when we were in town.
The bakery is somewhat small with a tiny display and not much room to sit and enjoy the cupcake. Nothing against that, just wanted to point it out. I immediately honed in on the red velvet cupcake. Slade was there and he let us sample some lychee chewy treats he was trying out. I thought that was very nice of him. I decided to go on blind faith and order my father-in-law’s birthday cake there. Considering it was for the next day Slade was accommodating and offered suggestions on what type of cake to make.
Ok, so with the red velvet cupcake I found it to be so-​so. I have found that it is tough to make a moist red velvet (unless I’m just going to the wrong places) so I wasn’t too surprised that it wasn’t moist. I was a bit put off by all the cream cheese frosting on it. I much prefer Kara’s or Love at First Bite’s frosting since there’s less focus on the frosting on more on the quality of the cupcake. The birthday cake we ordered was a tiger cake. Basically it is a marble cake. It turned out pretty good, but not fabulous like I would expect from a favorite of Gayle and Oprah!
So fast forward to current times and we’re back in Phoenix. So we go back to Wicked and this time we try the vanilla crème brûlée, double chocolate, and the peppermint chocolate.
Vanilla crème brûlée: The cake part was not very moist. It was a bit spongy but not moist so it felt like a mouthful when I would take a bite. The frosting wasn’t overwhelming like the red velvet but also nothing to write home about. It had these little black balls sprinkled on top that gave it a crunch, which I assume is to represent the crunchy sugary cover on a crème brûlée. I wish there was a bit more though. The inside had a vanilla filling but there was so little of it you would blink and it’s already in your mouth.
Double chocolate: The cake part was super-​moist so it definitely made up for the disappointment of the crème brûlée. The frosting was not too sweet and overall the chocolate wasn’t overpowering.
Peppermint chocolate: This isn’t really a cupcake but it looked more like a muffin. It’s located in the glass display whereas the cupcakes are in plastic displays on top of the glass display. I LOVE peppermint almost to a point of obsession so I was very excited to try this one. Unfortunately that excitement didn’t last too long. I don’t know if I waited a day to eat it but it wasn’t very moist. There were chocolate chips but you wouldn’t know it because you couldn’t really taste it. And, I tasted almost no peppermint flavor in it. How disappointing!
I am extremely bummed that this place did NOT live up to it’s hype. I suggest you go here with very little expectations!
Update (1 day later):
Slade responded to my review. I like how his response was immediate. It shows he is concerned about the quality of his product and provided the solution to some of my concerns. According to him the fillings were not done correctly at the time and they will be taken care of. So if you do still plan to try Wicked out I hope your have plenty of filling in your cupcake! Also, apparently the employee did NOT give me a peppermint brownie because they didn’t make peppermint brownies that day. I apparently was given a double chocolate one. I guess that means I’ll have to return and try their peppermint choc. brownies!

I want to warn everyone out there to NOT use this bakery for any special event! I ordered 100 cupcakes for my recent wedding and confirmed my order (including the remainder of payment) with Slade, the owner, one week before. Slade assured me that although he would be out of town on the day of my event, my cupcakes would be delivered to the wedding site the morning of the ceremony/​reception. On the day of the wedding, however, there were no cupcakes! They never showed up. According to a bakery employee (the day after the event), the person responsible for bringing them did not have a key to get into the bakery, as the locks had recently been changed. I can understand that these things happen, but what really upset were two things… 1) no one from the bakery bothered to call us or even the location where the wedding was held to help problem solve a new dessert; we were left on our own to scramble at the last minute. 2) I had to call Slade (when I returned from my honeymoon to NO message from him and NO refund of my money as of yet) to insist upon my money back. And, to add insult to injury, NOT ONCE did he ever even apologize or attempt to express even the slightest tone of remorse for the troubles his business caused us on my wedding day. If anything, he sounded taken aback that I was upset and put-​out at my insistence that the money be refunded that day. I have never dealt with anyone who so blatantly cared less about his customers! I repeat… DO NOT USE THE WICKED WITCH BAKERY FOR ANY SPECIAL EVENT!
One additional note… I called Slade back on Thursday (¹⁰⁄₃₀) as no credit had yet showed pending on my account. He informed me that he had not put it through on Tuesday (as he had promised) but had «just done it this (Thurs) morning.» When I stated that I was perturbed that he had not found it a priority to refund my $$ for services that his business did not provide, he became defensive and nasty once again and basically hung up on me! He called me back about an hour later (all nice and sweet this time) giving me the credit invoice numbers and told me that he «had just put them through.» Sooo… not only did he not bother to refund my money the first time as promised, but then he lied to me about having done it Thursday morning before my call. This man can not be trusted! I don’t know about the rest of you Unilocalers, but I think business integrity is more important than cupcake taste. I plan to stay faaaaaaaaaaar away from the Wicked Bakery.

Ok, Slade, here it is…
Maybe the fact that the place is 39.5 miles from my house in Chandler, and yet I have the address memorized tells you something. Slade loved Unilocalers. The first time I went a few friends and the hubski ordered pastries– maybe $ 25 worth. Slade came back to the shop, saw a Unilocaler having a tasty good time with his scrumptious confections and sent out a plate– probably doubling our previous bounty.
Highlights? Red velvet cupcake, chocolate muffin («sugar is not a flavor»), the cheesecake was outstanding, the brownies were chewy and decadent.
I have since been back with various out– of– town visitors– any chance get. When hubski and I went with his parents, Slade was working hard on a new delightful delicacy– the new tequila lime tart. Lame– you might say. The tequila would cook off you might say. Slade has the enviable talent of making a liquor baked good that still hits you. More like a slow burn down the back of your throat following the tangy sweet flavor sensation of the lime.
It was a sensual experience.
Back to the red velvets… I am a fan of red velvet in general, but its easy to make the cake dry and the icing too sweet. Slade has it nailed. There is just something about eating a cupcake that makes you feel warm and fuzzy– a sense of accomplishment. Slade helps this along with a mini red v. option.
Highly recommended.
Slade should also be patted on the back for his plan to go kosher– the recipes won’t change, don’t worry. The product will be available to more people in the Phoenix area.

I bumped into Slade, Donna, and Nancy at a Suns Fundraiser last week at the W hotel. They were serving up some of their new treats, and boy were they ahhhhhmazing!
Slade insisted that I sample the salted caramel — one of a new line of gourmet chocolates… omg — incredible! It was bite size so I didn’t feel too much guilt from that one but it was smooth, creamy, salty, sweet, and chocolatey all in one bite. Yum!
I should’ve stopped myself there and walked away, but the new line of gourmet candy bars was staring me in the face. How could I not sample one of the ‘Rocky Rhode’ specials? This one was a bit bigger — more like the size of half a candy bar you buy at the store, and I polished it off no problem… here is the description straight from the menu:
«a wickedly sinful twist on the classic rocky road. beautiful classic flavors based on a rich milk and white chocolate peanut butter ganache and finished off with toasted marshmallows and candied pecans.»
There you have it… one of the most sinfully delectable gourmet treats I’ve ever had! Go check out Wicked’s new creations… and another FYI — I think that they are changing their name slightly as well, to Wicked Kitchen Gourmet. Either way, old skool or new skool, it’s all wickedly amazing!

I had the opportunity to get cupcakes from Wicked about a week ago and let me tell you… they are sooooo good. The Red Velvet is one of the best I have ever had, the Green Tea was so different and so yummy, and the «hot» Chocolate… well, let’s just say it has some heat to it. It was delicious, but be prepared for the bite of the pepper!
I was lucky enough to attend a cupcake class at Sur La Table that was being taught by the owner Slade Grove and it was by far one of the best classes I have ever taken. He is so funny, very easy to talk to, and has great tips and tricks! If you ever get the chance to take a class with him… DO IT!

I finally made it back here to try some new goodies and was not disappointed! The kid had a cheese danish and I grabbed some cupcakes the strawberry chocolate, red velvet of course, and some HOT chocolate habanero. I was totally warned of the hotness but I assured Slade and the cute counter girl I could handle it with my Hispanic-​ness. Lets just say that all these sweets didnt last long at my house everything was GONE that night! I had some family in from out of town and they were nice enough to leave me one red velvet cupcake. I was also lucky enough to try some of the Rocky Road candy bar it was pure peanutty goodness with fluffy little marshmallows inside, it was perfect and not too sweet yum. I am still drooling over it. I will be back very soon as I missed the Boba Tea! =’(

I think these rave reviews are from people who have never made a homemade cupcake. I was in there about two weeks ago thinking I was going to have an out of body experience when I tasted these cupcakes. I purchased one of every flavor and then drove 32 miles home so my wife and I could endulge. We were both very un impressed. The icing tasted just like Betty Crocker store bought icing and the same with the cake. Of all the ones I tried the lemon did have a good flavor but nothing to write home about.
I dont do too many reviews. I only review on places that blow my socks off and places that just blow. Lets just say this place did not blow my socks off.

I finally made my way into the Wicked Bakery.
I had first tried these heavenly cakes when Slade so graciously catered them to one our UYE’s at the Arizona Theater Company.
I had fallen absolutely in love with the Red Velvet.
What else could I possibly add, all these reviews have nailed it! Slade is a Wonderful host and Baker, Cupcakes and other goodies are amazing!
This time I grabbed a Red Velvet of course, a chocolate/​chocolate and a caramel pecan swirl pastry (see pics). All of which were just as I expected them to be, Fresh and Fabulous!
Stop in for a treat, and if your lucky the real treat will be getting to meet and talk with Slade in person.

stopped by to try out some cupcakes, since this place has earned such great reviews on Unilocal…
ordered: red velvet (good, but not great — icing not as creamy as i’d like) and crème brûlée (yum! fluffy, light and sweet — although not fond of the vanilla-​pudding-​ish filling) cupcakes, a slice of tiramisu (really too sweet), and a lemon scone (light, fluffy, AWESOME, but not very lemony).
pros: close to my house. fantastic staff. reasonable prices. 20% off on tuesdays! smells ridiculously awesome. and the desserts look amazing!
cons: tiny tiny tinyyyyyyyyy little shop, with no place to sit inside — hello! it’s PHOENIX!!! having to place orders ahead of time (which makes sense, from a business owners standpoint, not from a customer’s) and no price menu. it was also pretty messy in there (ie ran out of forks… papers everywhere, no business cards…) — and i didn’t even know they made actual food in there…
all in all, 4 stars because they were so nice, the scone rocked, and i love independent shops. but based on the cupcakes alone? 3.5
keep up the hard work! i’d love to give you guys a 5! i’ll be back…

I never click on ads, but the name drew me in. I’m so glad I took the bait. Wicked Bakery was a lovely find that I can’t stop talking about. First, the staff is very friendly but not overly obnoxious and fake. They genuinely love what they do and it shows in the baking. The café, like the website, is clean and neat and a delight to visit. It was packed, being the day before mother’s day I guess, but everyone was friendly and excited about being there.
I had ordered the cheese danish online but was drawn into furthers purchases once there. The Vermont Maple, Crème Brulee and Lemon-​Hibiscus cupcakes were screaming for me to take them home. Now I have grown quite annoyed with expensive cupcakes around the valley. Wicked renewed my love for the little confectionery. They were perfectly moist but not sticky. The frosting was perfectly sweetened with a rich flavor that did not over power the cake. The frosting was the perfect consistency without cheap airy quality or throat scratching sweetness.
Those danish need a separate explanation. They were the best danish I have had. The pastry dough was perfection with layer upon layer of buttery goodness. That filling I will have dreams about. It lacked the sickening sugar overload that most danish contain. Instead, Wicked’s is the perfect creamy mix of cheese and a light sweetness. The were pure heaven and lasted only a small while after being placed on the buffet table for Mother’s day.
You can read more about Wicked at
They are a gem here in the valley!

I stopped by Wicked on a Saturday afternoon to pick up an assortment of goodies for a brunch get-​together. Slade, the owner, immediately greeted me at the door and started taking me through my options. (helpful tip from Slade, the options get more and more limited during the day, so if you want the most variety, stop by early)
I was hesitant about Slade’s pecan bread pudding recommendation, so he promptly heated up a slice for me – the first bite convinced me on the spot, and it was a HUGE hit at my brunch! I am going to make that bread pudding my signature hostess gift! The cupcakes, scones and turnovers that I brought were all really big hits with my brunch crowd. I spent at least 20 minutes in the bakery and could have stayed longer just talking with Slade about his passion for baking and watching him and his team interact with their customers.
Wicked is another one of those stripmall gems and a secret that I am happy to say that I’m in on.

i realize most of my review is hearsay and conjecture, but i was so impressed i had to share.
1. I tried and heard of Wicked for the first time when a coworker brought them in for a potluck. She also brought in a funny story. She emailed her order ahead, saying she wanted a dozen of the following cupcakes, and proceeded to list the flavors she wanted to make up the dozen. However, when she arrived to pick them up later that week, they read the email as she wanted a dozen EACH of the flavors she listed! She felt terrible and offered to pay for all, but they were cool as could be and understood the miscommunication and let her off with buying only like a third of the order (that’s still a lot of damn cupcakes). anyway, due to her misfortune i was able to sample the red velvet (YUM YUM, my favorite), the peanut butter/​chocolate and an intense chocolate w/​chocolate frosting and chocolate goo in the middle.
** i am not really a cupcake person, nor a chocolate person, but these were amazing!
2. At the potluck the subject of cupcakes in general came up, in particular how popular they have become. this is news to me, but i guess it’s super cool and trendy (esp. in NY) to have a cupcake specialty store. i mentioned that was funny bc my best friend had just decided to have cupcakes instead of a wedding cake simply because she loves them so much. … so, in her hunt for the bakery to provide the special cakes for her big day, she tried three or four bakeries that she just hated. she reported: most were owned by barbie blonde «i-​married-​for-​money-​but-​i-​suck-​at-​designing-​handbags-​so-​ill-​open-​a-​bakery» women who’s product, for lack of a better word, sucks. she was blown away with how much they were charging and how gross the cupcakes were! also, they charged her to sample their cakes (odd, when your’e faced with a potentially huge sale, not to mention exposure by doing a wedding).
anyway, she just about lost hope by the time she went to Wicked. i swear these are her words that the owner was the coolest, nicest, most helpful person. some interesting things she noted: for special occassions like weddings, they come and set up their product (the other bakeries would not, you just have to come pick them up and do it yourself — not really something you want to add to your «to do» list on your wedding day, people) and when she questioned whether the frosting would hold up to the late May heat — he assured her that they will have switched to their *summer recipe* for frosting, which is lighter and will not turn to mush before they can be gobbled up.
now that, my friends, is impressive. i need an excuse to buy cupcakes now for myself…

As the day before my father’s birthday rolled around, I scrambled about trying to think of what to get him. Think, Manny, think!
Then, it hit me. A pie!
Err, not literally, of course.
My dad loves pies. So this year I thought I would fulfill my filial duty by fattening him up and indulging his sweet tooth. I did a quick online search for bakeries in Phoenix that deliver, as I live elsewhere and couldn’t give it to him personally, and stumbled upon their website.
I browsed through their extensive selection of different flavored cupcakes, fruit pies, cheesecakes, cookies, etc. Some of the items are pricey, but it seems like $ 5 for a cupcake is becoming the new American standard. In comparison, I felt the pies were more reasonably priced.
Best of all, they take online and phone orders and can get things delivered with minimal notice. Their website says they can only process orders made at least 2 days in advance, but they were able to do it with only one day advance notice for me. When I called my dad after his birthday, he thanked me for the pie, saying it was delicious. I was beaming.
Now, the only thing left for me is to actually taste something from here next time. :/

Wicked has a wicked fine product, and a wicked cute website, and a wicked easy location, but they lack the wicked smart business sense that would have made me a regular customer.
I stopped in on «Free Mini Cupcake Day.» One would expect that on free mini cupcake day they would be doing everything they could to get you to eat a free mini cupcake, but no… I asked about the free mini cupcakes, and the guy at the counter (who was very nice, not complaining about that at all) said that it was indeed, free mini cupcake day. But he didn’t get me a free mini cupcake.
We chatted a bit, and I waited to see if there were actual free mini cupcakes, then another very nice person who I presume was the owner came out. I asked about the mini cupcakes again. «why yes!» he responded, «it IS free mini cupcake day.»… but no mini cupcake appeared.
I decided that they really didn’t want people to have their free mini cupcakes, so I decided to get some answers to questions I had after looking at the website. I have a family member in a nearby nursing home who is diabetic, and they have sugar free most everything… but I was informed it is all special order. Too bad, I would have bought a couple of sugar free anything for him if they had it. I looked around and didn’t see any cookies anywhere. I would probably have taken half a dozen of the white chocolate macadamia cookies. I would have given more stars if they were the kind of place where you can stop in and pick things up on a whim instead of ordering ahead.
I decided to ask one more time about the free mini cupcakes, and they finally pulled a couple of them out of the back for me… something with a ton of chocolate, and a vanilla crème brûlée. I don’t remember the name of the chocolate one because although the flavor and the cake were REALLY good, the filling was extremely runny. I wouldn’t make those my top choice if I came back to buy cupcakes. The vanilla crème brûlée was a different thing though. I would wade across a flooded greenbelt for those. I would walk through fire for those… OK, maybe not, but I will certainly take the time to order some of those in the future.
Here’s the thing… If I had walked in the door and been greeted with a vanilla crème brûlée mini cupcake right away… if I had the chance to taste it there in the shop, I would probably have bought a few to take to work… If I had taken a few to work I’m pretty sure that at least one of my friends would have stopped by on her way home to buy more. If my friend had taken some home, her son and all the high school trendies with too much expendable allowance would have found the place and probably made it a regular gift buying thing for their high school soap opera love offerings…
Soooooo… I say Yay! for their wicked fine cupcakes, and Boo! for their wicked bad marketing sense.

My wife has now gotten me Wicked Bakery’s cupcakes for my last two birthdays… They are wonderful! I have never had softer or more fluffy cupcakes in my life! Yes they can be a bit pricey, but the convenience of ordering on line and picking up in person is worth it…
We ordered 3 different types and loved all three… We got the peanut butter and chocolate chip, chocolate volcano, and the red velvet… All amazing!
This quaint little place churns out some pretty fantastic stuff and I cannot wait for another chance to go there!
What mongrel doesn’t like a good cupcake!!!

Cupcakes, cookies, croissants, oh my!
This little bakery and café has won me over! Hands down!
I stopped in since I was in the neighborhood going to a friend’s house and I had been wanting to check it out based on the other reviews. I ended up with three cupcakes: crème brûlée, chocolate molten, and red velvet.
Some thoughts:
** All of the desserts displayed were immaculate. The presentation is amazing and very professional. Any of them would be perfect to take over to someone’s house or devour solo. Chocolate and wine anyone???
** You won’t break the bank here. The prices are very reasonable and worth every penny. These aren’t your local grocer’s baked goods, we’re talkin’ gourmet here!
** The cupcakes had amazingly great flavors, but were a little too rich for me. I like the cake part more of cupcakes and I only needed about half of the frosting, but that doesn’t make for the same great presentation. For those frosting mongers out there, you won’t be disappointed. Hook up the sugar IV and enjoy!
** Slade might just be the most genuinely nice, courteous, passionate-​about-​his-​work entrepreneur I’ve found in this city. He really takes it up a notch when it comes to personal service. He answered any questions I had, told me about what’s up and coming soon, and you could just tell he really takes pride in what he does.
** The variety is bonkers here and I can’t wait until I am back again to try something else from that delectable case o’ desserts.
** Slade has a blog and teaches cooking classes, so take advantage of both. I plan to eventually!
Thanks Slade for a great experience here! I will definitely be back very soon. =)

After a full day’s worth of driving, a friend and I arrived at Wicked at 5:55pm, five minutes before it was supposed to close. We ran from the car up to the front door to discover the owner, Slade, locking up. After explaining that we’d just driven from Vegas to try his cupcakes, he cheerfully led us inside. Whew!
We spent the next 20 minutes chatting with the super-​friendly Slade while stuffing our mouths with his delicious Red Velvet cupcakes. Even though I’m not usually a fan of Red Velvet cake I had to admit his was pretty darn tasty. Slade bakes the cupcakes himself and does a different flavor every day. He explained that their specialty is filled cupcakes and that he’s made it a mission to bring moist cake to gourmet cupcakes. (And yes, his Red Velvet cupcake was super moist.) He also said that they cover all of their cupcakes in a special glaze before they frost them, which gives them an added zip. He even showed us the fancy cupcake liners he gets from France that easily pull apart like an accordion, allowing you to remove the liner without getting frosting all over your fingers. Neat!
Anyway, the Red Velvet cupcake was freaking fantastic. The first thing you notice about the red velvet cake is its texture — it’s super moist and very soft with a sweet mild chocolate flavor. I think the cake might be too moist for my taste; I’m just not used to cakes that are simultaneously fluffy and moist. The flavor however, is excellent. Unlike most red velvet cakes I’ve had whose flavors are merely «passable», this red velvet cake transcends to «yummy». The cream cheese frosting is absolutely divine. It’s extremely thick and creamy with a sweet, rich cream cheese flavor. It may not be the silkiest cream cheese frosting I’ve ever had (you can feel super fine sugar crystals in the texture), but it’s definitely the richest. Sinfully delicious!
Even now, four months after I visited Wicked, I can say that Slade’s Red Velvet cupcake is the best Red Velvet I’ve ever had.