SF Bay Area cupcakes I have loved and left

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By rworange

San Francisco Bay Area

In no particular order here are cupcakes I've tried.

1. Sage Fine Food & Provisions
23584 Arnold Dr, Sonoma, CA

I have to try more, but the coconut cupcake is one of the best I've ever tasted. The cake was moist, dense, fluffy, rich and light all at once. The very sweet icing added buttery taste to each bite and the tasty coconut was ... well .. the icing on the cupcake, so to speak. I'm still not sure about that $4 price, but gee this was good. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/583572" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
2. Frosting Bakeshop
7 E Blithedale Avenue, Mill Valley, CA

Of all the shops dedicated to cupcakes, this looks like it might be a good one. The willie vanillie is a festive vanilla cupcake decorated with colorful sprinkles. The cake is lovely and light, almost like a cross between angel food cake and a regular cupcake. It is topped with lots of light buttercream that is the whipped type. There are also cake bites. They grind up cupcakes and mix it with frosting and dip in chocolate. The result is an interior that is somewhere a cross between a ganache and raw cookie dough due to moistness <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/589346" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
3. Kara's Cupcakes
3249 Scott St, San Francisco, CA 94123

This has been my favorite of shops dedicated to cupcakes. They are pricy but they have mini versions of all their cupcakes. The ingrediants are organic. Meyer Lemon Perfect crumb vanilla cupcake … this is what I talk about when looking for the classic birthday cake. Nice and buttery without being overwhelming. Lovely light whipped lemon butter cream and dab of lemon curd filling. Chocolate Velvet - chocolate cupcake with bittersweet buttercream that is covered with grated chocolate. It was a different crumb than the lemon but good. There are a number of flavors, some seasonal. Check website for other Kara's locations in the Bay Area The buttercream is that light type that is more like whipped cream. I usually like the denser version, but I really liked this frosting. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/365066" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
4. Bakesale Betty
5098 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609

This wonderful bakery usually only carries one or two types of cupcakes. The chocolate cupcake is intensely chocolaty devils food cake that is moist and light. A dollop of very smooth, ganache-like BITTERSWEET chocolate buttercream on top gives the cupcake an adult edge. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/313601" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
5. Bette's-To-Go
1807 4th St, Berkeley, CA 94710

The bakery case usually carries a few cupcakes. The red velvet cupcakes are very festive looking. The lemony cream cheese frosting has pastel sprinkles. The cupcake is a shocking bright cherry red … it doesn’t seem to have the cocoa that gives a darker tint to most red velvet cake. It was good but it didn’t do anything to answer my question of why red velvet cake is popular outside of looks. The quest continues. I like Bette’s mini-cupcakes which are actually the size of a normal cupcake. The pink icing tasted … pink … like I imagine that color should taste … sugary like the filling in an oreo but light. The cake had a nice crumb. It is a decent cupcake. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/506058" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
6. Bread Workshop
1398 University Ave, Berkeley, CA 94702

There are only one or two cupcakes at this bakery. It is maybe 25% larger than the normal cupcake with a thick light frosting that is somewhere between butter cream and whipped cream. It was very pretty in pink. The golden cake is light, buttery and the type of cake I like in birthday cake <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/44962" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
7. La Farine
1820 Solano Ave, Berkeley, CA 94707

There are one or two types of cupcakes at this bakery. Check website for other La farine locations Chocolate cupcake - moist but not too moist. Just the right texture. Topped with pink lightly raspberry flavored buttercream. One perfect fresh raspberry on top. A plus, a little bit of raspberry jam (made by La Farine) in the center of the chocolate cake. Pretty without being overly cute. <A href="http://www.chow.com/lists/1042/http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/37572" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
8. Buttercream Bakery & Cafe
841 San Pablo Ave, Albany 94706

This bakery carries one or two cupcakes. The chocolate cupcake is topped with a buttery, intensely-chocolate ganache. The cake is fine, could have been a bit moister, but is mainly there to support that excellent topping. <A href="http://www.chow.com/lists/1042/http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/488295" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
9. Teacake Bake Shop
5615 Bay St, Emeryville, CA 94608

Check website for locations of other Teacakes shops in the Bay Area. Teacakes sells cupcakes and cookies. There are a variety of flavors, some seasonal. I love the cookies, but am not a fan of the cupcakes. Ok vanilla cupcake. The buttercream was a round little blob of thick chocolate, almost fudge consistancy. It lacked both the instense flavor of buttercream or chocolate. Top class ingrediants, but for me the flavor didn't deliver. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/42119" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
10. Lotta's Bakery
1720 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109

This is a bakery that carries one or two cupcakes. CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE: The second time Lotta’s brought back a taste of the past. The cake was like the original Hostess cupcake … but better. It is topped with a light whipped butter cream. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/504218" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
11. Susy's Bakery and Deli
14520 San Pablo Ave, San Pablo, CA 94806

This is a Mexican bakery with one or two cupcakes This is your nothing special plain vanilla cupcake, but they do it nicely. Whipped vanilla buttercream frosting with sprinkles. The cake was nice too, not just airy fluff, but with a good crumb. Based on the cupcake, I'd give them serious thought if looking for a classic white birthday cake. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/549216" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
12. Bittersweet Cafe
5427 College Ave, Oakland, CA

This is a shop specializing in hot chocolate. It sells baked goods, chocolate bars and other bakery products. Check website for other locations Love the hot chocolate, not crazy about the cupcakes. While I like that they have mini cupcake size, I didn't like the cupcake itself. I thought the cake was dry and the frosting not buttery enough. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/44129" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
13. Sweet Adeline
3350 Adeline St, Berkeley, CA

This is an excellent bakery that makes a few cupcakes Tried a chocolate cupcake but while the bittersweet chocolate icing was excellent, I'm more of a buttercream cupcake person. The cupcake itself was nice and light and the perfect fresh raspberry on top was a nice touch. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/446584" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
14. Citizen Cake
399 Grove Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

This bakery has two or three cupcakes. There are mixed reports on the cupcakes. The vanilla cupcake had pretty little white choolate shavings that looked like straws in the vamila icing. I really liked the cake, the frosting was a little more whipped and lite than I like it. Nice enough to give the other types (lemon, carrot, chocolate) a try on future visits <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/42978" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
15. Fat Apple's
7525 Fairmount Ave, El Cerrito, CA 94530

There is also a Berkeley location for this restaurant bakery which has a few types of cupcakes It has the best classic cupcake in the Bay Area Just two types - white and Chocolate. It's that butter cream. I honestly have not had butter cream that good in a few decades. At first I thought it was whipped cream. However it is that wonderful light butter cream. The cake was moist and very good <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/37711" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
16. Butter Cream Bakery & Diner
2297 Jefferson St, Napa, CA 94559

An old-fashioned, 50's style bakery and bakery. No relation to the Albany bakery of the same name. They have a few cupcakes, some in fun shapes. What made me happiest was the chocolate cupcake decorated with a pink poodle face ($1.75). It was the light type of cake that you’d get at a supermarket … or what places like Safeway try to make and never get it right. There were also cupcakes with green dragons. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/536588" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
17. Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
3200 California St, San Francisco, CA

The bakery here has wonderful baked goods and a few cupcakes in regular and mini size. This wasn't the best cupcake I've had, but the rest of the baked goods were so good I'll be trying some of the other varieites. I got a mini coconut cupcake. I just had the best coconut cupcake in my life from a place in Sonoma, and because of that memory this was only ok by comparison. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/588294" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
18. Sunflower Bakery
1500 Sycamore Ave, Hercules, CA 94547

This Filipino bakery has a few cupcakes which are not the best thing they make. For 65 cents, it was ok. No frosting with the taste and texture of chocolate cake mix cake. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/433500" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>
19. Love At First Bite
1510 Walnut St, Berkeley, CA

This is a shop that is dedicated to cupcakes and I want to like them more. They look pretty and have interesting flavors. However, the taste doesn't deliver for me. They are good but for the price should be better
20. Delessio Market & Bakery
1695 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103

There is a second location in Berkeley. I love the elaborite mini cupcakes that are pretty to look at, with interesting varieties and packed with flavor
21. Sift Cupcakery
1000 Main Street, Napa, CA

There is <A href="http://www.chow.com/places/29394" hasbox="2">another store in Cotati</A>. It is the best cupcake I've tried in the Bay Area. Cupcakes in flavors such as Chocolate Zinfandel, Black Cherry Jungle, Pink Champagne, Limonata, Peanut Butter Ripple, Snikerdoodle Don't miss a cupcake called 'The Sky is Falling" which is a chocolate cupcake with white mousse filling. <A href="http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/600307" hasbox="2">Click here for report</A>