Scratch Cupcakery

Made my first visit to Scratch Cupcakery and was quite impressed! I have had their vegan cupcakes before and they are wonderful. Sadly yesterday they were all out, so none for me but I did grab 3 dozen other choices for a party, and got some Gluten Free ones as well!
I love the variety, they have everything from Wedding Cake, to Peanut Butter Cup, to Smores, to Cheese Cake etc.
The selections change every day, and the cup cakes look as good as they taste!
The store is cool too and would be a fun spot to stop and get coffee and have some desert!
The gal behind the the counter was super sweet and patient with me even though my order was huge and I had no idea what I wanted!
They pack the cupcakes to go in great sturdy boxes so they are easy to carry and keep looking good for the party!
The prices are pretty great too 22 bucks for a dozen! That is way cheaper then I have seen from other places and catering spots!
I dig this spot and will be back earlier in the day so I can snatch some vegan ones!

They make everything in advance and freeze it. The flavors of the day are the ones they defrosted that day. Everything is dry and icky, no flavor. Over priced and not worth it.

Continue to be disappointed in Scratch. Aside from the price there are not very many positives. Always feel under pressure to order even though there are so many choices and no menu that explains the variety. Frosting is all sugar and seems to take up half the cup. Cupcakes are small, most seem to taste alike and are always dry. I apparently need to learn my lesson after multiple trips hoping for better. Place seem to have a great following so I’m guessing business is good… good for them! Nice place with nice folks.

I’ve never actually gone to the Scratch Cupcakery store to buy a cupcake, since my work usually gets them to treat/​reward us. I’ve tried several cupcake flavors such as peanut butter cup, red velvet, wedding cake, dulce de leche and a variety of other flavors. They’re decent in size though some times the frosting is topped off way too high on top of the cupcake, so it’s a challenge to take a bite or maybe I have a small mouth lol. The cupcakes are moist though they are very sweet so it should definitely satisfy your sweet tooth. I’m giving it 4 stars since these are way better than grocery store bought cupcakes and I haven’t tried any other «gourmet» type cupcakes from other cupcake stores. If I do I’ll definitely update my review.

These cupcakes are unique and worth it.
Ordered about 40 for a birthday party, including german chocolate, the sully, and another I can’t remember.
Anyways, they were all good. My favorite was the Sully.
My only critique and advice for others is that ½ cupcake is probably a good serving because they are really big and really sweet.

I am always pleased with my purchase from scratch! They have wonderful cupcakes with a variety of flavors. I was sad to see Strawberry flavor as seasonal, but they make up for it by all the other great options! Plus, a few monthly flavors!
I have tried a few other competitors in the area. And I can say with out a doubt, that Scratch is much better! It feels a little expensive when you buy several, but its worth the price! Plus, the have a loyalty card!
If you haven’t tried it, you should!

Ordered cupcakes for my daughters 3^rd birthday, a week in advance. Went to pick them up today at 10:00 just like they told me to, (the day of her birthday) and they hadn’t made them. They apologized a bunch of times but offered me nothing. They called me later in the day saying the cupcakes were ready, so I had to drive back to get them. I live nowhere near there, so I spent an entire hour of my day driving there for nothing. Thanks for the apologies but you don’t do that to someone on their kids birthday! Like I didn’t already have enough errands to run without coming back out for your mistake, with no compensation or discount. Their cupcakes all taste the same too. So these cupcakes are no big deal.

I had wedding cake, snickerdoodle, Boston cream pie cake and chocolate. I had better cupcake. They are $ 2/​cupcake. Okay price. I was expecting amazing cake flavor/​texture on wedding cake because they said it was their most popular one. Cake was fluffy but not strong enough flavor. I just tasted almond extract but that’s it. Icing is okay. Very sugary, not velvety enough. I could feel sugar textures on the icing. (which made me wonder if it wasn’t whipped enough) Boston cream pie cake was okay. Filling inside wasn’t enough for me to taste «Boston cream pie cake» Just fluff with chocolate icing. Snickerdoodle was little better. Cake had a good cinnamon taste and icing was mixed better. Their chocolate cake was really good. I liked the icing and chocolate. Strong chocolate flavor cake and icing was little bit too sweet but pretty good.
Service was amazing. Everyone who was there greeted me promptly, very informative. This was first time and they made me feel very comfortable. I really enjoyed their service. Service was 5 stars worth for sure!

I have been all over the United States tasting cupcakes and I can vouch that these cupcakes are DELICIOUS! Moist, full of flavor, not too sweet. The cupcakes are $ 2.00 each and they have an assortment of choices including gluten and sugar-​free.

Short Version:
Good, gourmet cupcake flavors for the standard cost of $ 2 each. You can even get a tiny to-​go box to eat your cupcakes at home. With their clean area, bathrooms, and good seating, this also can be a great place to eat-​in. Just remember that their cupcakes are pretty rich and flavorful, and try to choose a cupcake flavor that you think you’d love. (I’m really fond of Cookie Doughlicious and Oh Happy Day!)
Be aware that they don’t serve all flavors every day. They rotate flavors out every day of the week. Their website (
) will tell you the flavors they’re serving that day ahead of time.
Long Version:
I will never really understand people’s obsession with fancy-​looking cupcakes. Like, some people go absolutely nuts for them. They’re yummy, but I’m glad I don’t go too nuts for it, though. If you DO go nuts for good, gourmet cupcakes, Scratch Cupcakery is really the place to go. I’ve tried other cupcake places in the area, and Scratch usually has the most interesting cupcakes.
I say «Most interesting» instead of «best» because it really depends on what cupcakes you order. Scratch does a good job of making interesting cupcakes. Some gourmet cupcakes places just make a regular cupcake and make fascinating frosting options. Scratch does both the cupcake and the frosting in an interesting manner. For example, a «Chocolate Chip» cupcake has a vanilla-​like cupcake with little chocolate chips throughout it while the frosting is a good-​tasting frosting with chocolate chips and chocolate chips for decoration. They focus on making the cupcake AND the frosting match the flavor.
They ARE very rich and flavorful, though. Many people may not be able to finish a full cupcake unless they love sweet things (I do!)
This location is a good, clean location. They have a dedicated pick-​up area as well as clean bathrooms to use as well. There is a lot of table seating if you’d like to sit and eat your cupcakes as well. Good, clean location.
Customer service was surprisingly good. They were SWAMPED when I came here, but maybe that’s what I get for going on a morning on Saturday. It looked like a lot of orders were being picked up for events later that day. Despite having a huge line, I was still in and out within 10 minutes. They seem to have «efficiency» down, and the only part that isn’t efficient is when a customer takes a long time to order — but that’s standard about all cupcake shops.
I’m disappointed by their «Cupcake Tour» option. Apparently, their actual cupcake tour sheet is from 2014, but they don’t offer all of the same flavor selections in 2015. So some of the spots on the «Cupcake Tour» aren’t currently offered from the store. I was told they’ll honor them as «freebie» spots, but it just seems a bit disappointing.
I still enjoy Scratch Cupcakery as one of the better cupcake shops in the area, but I’ll still be exploring more of them, and maybe my opinion will change. As far as the Scratch Cupcakery chain (there are 5 in Iowa, I believe), this stands out as one of the nicer locations to eat. They have good seating, a large space, beverages, and bathrooms, so I could see this being a fun way to eat out with friends.

Scratch is hit and miss for me. I really love their filled cupcakes — the key lime pie is my absolute favorite and the lemon is really lovely too.
I’m not a fan of most of their other cupcakes though-​the actual cake part of the unfilled cupcakes is too dry for my taste and most of them are really heavy and rich-​by the time I get halfway though I’m over it. Although admittedly I’ll buy the Sully just for the frosting-​cupcake be darned.
The prices are great — at $ 2 a cupcake I don’t feel so bad about just eating the frosting on the Sully!

First off, I’ll start out by saying I’m one of those people who dislike trying new places, but when I found this online, I just had to try it out because cupcakes are my favorite! After I ordered a dozen and tried a few out, I have found this to be the best cupcake place in Iowa! The cupcakes are $ 2, and are filled with a variety of flavors (first come, first serve). The store is very clean and the staff are patient when you decide on your cupcakes at the counter.
I found the frosting isn’t too sweet, the cupcake size is a little bit bigger than average and the flavors are unique and delicious (and their traded our monthly!). They do dry out within two days of sitting though.

Delicious! I was even able to customize the sprinkles to match my sister’s bridal shower colors! Thanks Scratch!

I am not a cupcake fan. I find them hard to eat plus there seems to be an unequal distribution of frosting to cake when you just bite into them. So I eat them with a fork and knife. A cupcake has to look extremely delicious for me to go through the trouble of eating them.
That being said, I visit Scratch once a month at least. So far, I’ve enjoyed every one that I’ve tried. I can’t say that I have a favorite yet, but then again, I haven’t tried any of them more than once yet. You do need to get there early; the flavor selection is diminished in the afternoon, even on a weekday.

I love to bake, but Scratch is a GREAT replacement when I don’t have time.
I’ve had a few different flavors as they have a varied each day along with a few special ones each month. I must say my favorites are the S’mores and Crispy (think: marshmallow crispy treats).
Every time I’ve visited this shop it’s clean, the staff is super cheerful and the cupcakes are displayed along with a chalkboard listing the of the day’s offerings (helpful when there is a line!).
The cupcakes are moist and flavorful but doesn’t knock you over with a sugar rush. I like frosting, but know sometimes places go overboard. Scratch seems to have found the perfect ratio.
Since it’s beginning to feel like Fall I grabbed an Apple Cider (September specialty) cupcake and it is Awesome!
If you’re at the mall or just want a sweet treat hop over to Scratch!

Grabbed a couple cupcakes to surprise the wife while in Des Moines for business. The store is really cool looking and all the cupcakes are displayed beautifully on the counter.
There were so many cupcake varieties that I couldn’t decide what to get. I decided on the monster cookie cupcake cleverly called «sully». And a candy corn variety. Best of all they were only $ 2 a piece
The sully was a white cake which was so rich, moist, and the perfect density. Not too fluffy or too hard. It had m&ms baled into it. On top for the frosting was a heap of monster cookie dough including m&ms, oats, and many other goodies. The candy corn was a white cake with a creamy frosting topped with candy corn and peanuts. It was reminiscent of the salted but roll filling. It was fantastic. Perfect mixture of salt and sweet.
Even though it is 2 hours away. This is my new favorite cupcake place and I cannot wait to go back. Much better than Jones Bros in Omaha.

Delicious cupcakes for only $ 2 each! They had a ton of flavors!!! Best of all, the icing wasn’t overly sweet. I will definitely return :)

Good cupcakery at great prices! $ 2 per cupcake. A steal compared to Sprinkles.
Keep in mind that my sweet tooth is roughly the size of Texas. I tried the maple bacon, butter beer, red velvet, dulce de leche, cap’n crunch, and doughlicious cupcakes. My ultimate favorite was the butter beer. I practically inhaled that sucker.
Second favorites were the maple bacon and dulce de leche. If you like bacon, definitely get the maple bacon cupcake. They definitely don’t skimp on the bacon. All cupcakes were moist and the frosting sweetness wasn’t overbearing for me.
There’s ample seating and they also have restrooms. Two rarities that I have yet to see in any cupcake place back in California. Service was also very quick and the staff friendly. Worth checking out if you’re in the area. It’s right across from Jordan Creek.

As a Waterloo/​Cedar Falls native I am a follower of Scratch. Great to see their invasion of the DSM area.
It you try nothing else… go Saturday for their maple-​bacon cupcake… delish!

We came here hoping to get their Valentine’s Day special which of course was sold out by the time we got there. Instead we got two cupcakes. There were 7 flavors left to choose from (I think they normally have more). I got a pineapple one (can’t remember the exact name) and my husband got the Chocolate Chipolte. He was under the impression that it would have some kind of spice due to the name but I think it was just because there were chocolate chips on top. Had the line not been so long, maybe we would have read the tiny descriptions on the tiers of cupcakes. They put them in a nice box with little holders inside so they didn’t fall over. The cupcakes themselves had good flavor. The only reason I can’t give them five stars is because they are dense. I like my cupcakes a bit more airy and fluffy. Nonetheless, I’m glad to see a cupcake shop in this area.
Oh, in case you’re wondering, each cupcake is $ 2.00 and a dozen is $ 22.00.