Won't lie, it's almost offensively expensive. However...one bite and it was clearly the best cupcake we had ever had and as Bay Area residents for over a decade we aren't exactly new to hipster cupcakes. They also are great about having day old and two old cupcakes for a discount, which is more my preferred price point. I'd say give them a shot if you feel like treating yourself or someone else. read more

I ordered a toffee chocolate cupcake and a chocolate chip cookie. They were both DELICIOUS! The cupcake was soft and had great flavor, balanced beautifully by the crunchy toffee bits. read more

You can't go wrong with cupcakes from Cupcakin... I prefer this location compared to the one on Telegraph for a few reasons. One of the main ones being that parking is ALWAYS available out front and they also have a parking lot in the back for customers. Also, customer service at this location is also more friendlier... But the available parking is what got me sold lol Besides from that, these cupcakes are the best ones. The red velvet and Key lime is what keeps me coming back. I am obsessed with the flavors and just how moist they are. Whenever I'm craving sweets, especially a cupcake, I come to Cupcakin. To add, I love how this shop is set up. I love the outside balloon decorations and how the inside looks. It is totally cute. read more

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I'm certainly no stranger to cupcakes, and I can unequivocally say that these were the BEST cupcakes I've had. My husband and I stopped in around 3:00 last Sunday and got ourselves a nice assortment of a dozen mini cupcakes, plus a regular sized strawberry one. We ate the strawberry one right away and let me tell you, it was fan-tastic. The strawberry jam filling wasn't too sweet or fake-tasting, the cake was moist and tasty, and the frosting complemented the entire package. We put the box of minis in the trunk of our car to enjoy at home later. Fast forward to later-- I was too full from dinner to sample the minis, so I transferred them to a Tupperware for the next day. Hubs tried a few of them that night and said the regular (white buttercream) frosting tasted "crisco-y", but that the chocolate frosting was awesome. The next evening, I properly dug into them. And Oh My. They were moist, the frosting was fluffy, the flavors were on point. No taste of crisco in that frosting at all! (Hubs agreed). The chocolate cake was a deep rich chocolate and the chocolate frosting was incredible. Even the gluten free cupcake (can't remember what flavor) was great; no gluten-freeness detected. We had a citrus one (lemon coconut?) that I wish packed more of a citrus punch, but the key lime was hands-down our favorite. Oh, that frosting! Honestly, there wasn't a meh one in the bunch. We would gladly eat a dozen of any of them again. I'm an hour's drive away from this little shop, but I will endeavor to be a monthly regular here. I'm eyeballing June 18 for my next visit! read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop is in Virginia Bakery's space. the display area is spacious. offerings: minis and full size cupcakes with flavors etched on the glass in front. i'm was curious how the cupcakes tasted. don't eat as much as before. eats: chocolate vanila. (3.95) -nice chocolate flavoring on top, the sweetness from the cream was overbearing. i no longer have a sweet tooth. kids will love the cupcakes. street parking only. service quick, efficient and corteous. read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Chocolate vanilla cupcake (3.95) - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Price breakdown: Cupcakes are $3.95 Mini cupcakes are $1.95 Fondant message are $1.00 Pros: -cute cupcakes -I love that they sell cupcakes in different sizes -I find that parking here is a lot more convenient than the location near UC Berkeley Cons: -I wish the box of cupcakes I purchased was sealed with a sticker or something. Other: -Metered street parking -mini cupcake boxes are for 12 cupcakes read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Cupcakin' is spreading the love and has expanded to Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto! Because we can ALL use some more of their delicious cupcakes! Hallelujah to that! If you don't already know, Cupcakin' is my FAVORITE cupcakery. They're cupcakes are so unique and addictive. Like, dangerously addictive. Been to all of their locations, and I love them all to death. Ordered a half dozen cupcakes last week for my employee's birthday, and he absolutely loved them. I did too. What?! You thought I didn't have any for myself? Well, you thought wrong! I can never NOT get something for myself when I'm here. Okay, so let's talk flavors. Key lime pie and lemon creme are to DIE for! Do you hear me?! To DIEEE FOOOR. The key lime pie is literally like a mini pie tucked inside of a cupcake. It's filled with the most delicious key lime custard, and it even had pie crust on the bottom! Dayum... that's the best part. And now I'm craving (sigh). The lemon creme is just as amazing. Absolutely adore the lemon creme filling. These cupcakes were literally melt in your mouth. I'm always wondering how these babies can be so incredibly moist all the time. Just insanely delicious! Other notable flavors are their carrot cake and double chocolate. To be honest, you can't really go wrong with any of the flavors here. They've got regular sizes but they also make minis! Perfect for when you want to sample multiple flavors without getting too full from the richness of the larger sizes. Placing large orders online is super easy! They require 48 hours advanced notice and a 3 cupcake minimum for online orders. You can choose your pickup time window when you finalize your selections in your online cart. It was also super fast and easy for me to pickup my order. The staff is super sweet and the interior space is big and bright. I can't forget to mention that this is a black woman owned business!!! Always here to support my people, especially during these unprecedented times. So happy that Cupcakin' is expanding and thriving! Looking forward to getting my cupcake fix here when hanging out in this part of town. read more

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Excellent tasting cupcakes lemon was especially scrumptious, service sweet, ambiance inviting.

I got a dozen cupcakes for my son Birthday and they were so good. The cupcake is moist and the cream is not too overly sweet going well together as a perfect combination. I ordered carrot cake, red velvet, double chocolate, chocolate vanilla, chocolate raspberry, chocolate salted, madagascar bourbon and vanilla salted caramel flavors. I love chocolate salted and double chocolate the most. The service is great and the store is a nice little pick-up store which is very clean. I would highly recommend you to try this place. read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Putting all these cupcakes together to make a perfect birthday cake - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Celebrating both my and my girlfriend's birthday together. She's on the 11th and I'm on the 22nd. I'm not going to lie. The first time I came here I thought they were a little expensive for a cupcake but now on my 2nd visit they are most definitely worth it. Interesting flavor combinations but the the key to their cupcakes is the detail. The icing is flavored often but what's important is that it's not overbearing. Details: they had a Key Lime Pie and the detail that set it up was the crumble crust on the bottom. I love stuff like that. Creative Flavors: Passionfruit Bourbon. I wept. Flavors change often so when you get there you can find out or call. These desserts are very light and never feel heavy. Warrants going all out and getting a sugar high on these cupcakes. Go! read more

Absolutely love this bakery cupcakes galore!!! The service and music always on point. So friendly and helpful with details, ingredients and decision making lol. My favorite is the key lime cupcake!!! So freaking delicious and fresh tasting. I always order cupcakes from here or the other location in Walnut Creek for celebrations. Such variety and flavors!! You will never regret from ordering cupcakes from here! So delicious!! Go try them out read more

Love love love this cupcake shop!! They're so pretty & delicious. My go to for any celebration/occasion. read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Minis: salted caramel, strawberry, key lime, Oreo, & red velvet - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Wow, this place is the real deal! I'm actually a pretty big fan of Sprinkles but the flavors and quality at Cupcakin' are next level. I ordered 4 cupcakes just because (: and I ate 3 in one sitting! Key Lime- this one was impressive - I loved the textures (including the crust) and the flavors. Tied for my favorite! Blackberry lemon- flavor of the month, to be honest I felt this was not great. Would give it 1/5. Too one-note and kind of stodgy Vanilla salted caramel - perfect balance of flavors, and the icing is so light Chocolate salted caramel - not surprisingly this was my other favorite. Can't go wrong with this combo and Cupcakin' nailed it! Can't wait to come back, although I need to show some self control next time read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Key lime - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Cupcakes here are amazing. Even the gluten free ones are GOOD! They have seasonal flavors that changes and always interesting to try them. Some of my personal favorites are key lime, lemon, and red velvet. The cupcakes aren't too sweet, texture just the right balance, and the frosting are just right in sweetness and buttery. read more

Not for the cupcakes since we were unable to try, but pick them up in person. They have the Doordash option and our cupcakes were delivered upside down and had to be throw away. read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Birthday cupcakes that were ruined. - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Moist, creamy, delicious, cupcakes! We love the buttercream on top because it is not too sweet. Lots of fun choices. Our favorite cupcake is Summer Berry. What a great treat! read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Truly next level cupcakes! For my daughter's birthday, we did a taste test in advance of four cupcakes: 1) the vanilla salted caramel, 2) the vanilla ones with strawberry filling, cream cheesy icing and berries on top, 3) a red velvet cupcake, and 4) a French vanilla cupcake with vanilla icing and vanilla cake. The best two were 1 & 2 - the salted caramel and the berry/vanilla one. They're a bit pricey (around $5.50), but certainly not more expensive than other kinds of good pastry, and they truly take cupcakes to the level of an art form, instead of the plain boring kind of sweet that I've always experienced in the past. I ordered 14 berry cupcakes for my daughter's program, and everyone loved them. Total was about $75. Also, this is a black-owned and female-owned business! Always like to spend my money at places like that. read more

Love this shop! They are black and woman owned so its my favorite for cupcakes. This time I ordered the vanilla bourbon 6 inch cake for my sister's wedding dress try on. It was delicious and they made sure to contact us to confirm everything about the order. It was ready on time and I will definitely be back! read more

Ohhh myyyy goodness.. these are seriously the best! My favorite was the caramel chocolate. My student has regularly been gifting these to me... so I just had to come stop by to buy some myself!! It's $4.50 each for the regular and worth every penny! Soft, moist, and delicious. It takes a lot of self control to not eat the whole box! read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Carrot, strawberry, red velvet, chocolate raspberry, lemon, and caramel chocolate.. everything is soooo delicious - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

I really want to like this place. It ticks off all the boxes for small, local businesses that I tend to support. But like all small businesses that are in a competitive market, at the end of the day it comes down to customer service and for that reason alone I give them 0 stars. Product - Cupcakin makes average cupcakes in a local market that already has an abundance of options. On the cupcakeometer they score a solid 3. I've had a few good ones and a few so-so. They are solidly better than what you could get at Safeway, but not quite at a Suzie Cakes level. Decent variety and good taste. Service - I could forgive the somewhat indifferent attitude of the clerks for a normal purchase, were it not for the following. Just prior to my birthday I received a text, inviting me to drop by for a "small gift". When I went out of my way, to stop by on my birthday and presented the text and the inquiry to the 2 staff members behind the counter, I was not met with birthday greetings or any kind of bite sized morsel. Instead, what greeted me were blank stares and a response that they had no idea what that was for. Like nothing, not even an attempt to find out what it might be or even a sorry for wasting your time. I will not be returning. read more

Back again for a small treat and a bday cupcake for my neighbor - Chocolate Salted Caramel which I hope he enjoys. Bri was quite pleasant and patient as we made our selections which we didn't get much today, the regular sized Choc Caramel, couple of minis red velvet which I now LOVE, the vanilla salted caramel which is not as good as the chocolate, Bestie got the chocolate toffee which has a chocolate frosting. It was okay but the frosting was a bit much for me, tasted a little too dark. Overall I love this place, I've been to all locations except Oakland in Swans Market. The cupcakes are consistent regardless of the location. Always moist and flavorful. The customer service has also been great at the various locations but again, today we were fortunate enough to get Bri. Thank you read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Yummmmmy - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Man I love these cupcakes but customer service has fallen off a bit. Tried ordering some cupcakes online, but their site was having issues. So they direct me to call in the morning or order through door dash. We'll door dash doesn't allow customizations so that was a bust. We wanted all minis for a work luncheon. Sent my assistant this morning and basically all the minis we wanted were not available (which I knew would happen, but again they assured me they bake them everyday). So we ended up with some mini and some large. A couple clients didn't even get the requested flavor because they didn't bake it today. Totally unprofessional. I understand the site being down, but you had our order in writing via the inquiry form, a better solution would have been to keep our order and take a CC# over the phone to place once your system was up and running. You know how they did it in the "old days" before square. read more

I was sad to see the Virginia Bakery go, but I'm glad that Cupcakin' has taken its place. They have a wide selection of cupcakes, though some are only available certain days. I've had the peanut butter chocolate, red velvet cupcake and the the vegan chocolate cupcake (when I was eating vegan). All of those cupcakes were delicious but a couple of notes: - The vegan chocolate cupcake truly tasted like a "regular" cupcake - I couldn't tell it was vegan (which is a good thing). - My favorite is the peanut butter chocolate because I'm a sucker for peanut butter....and that peanut butter frosting is super light and airy....not gummy like the texture of peanut butter. I know peanut butter is an unusual choice but a lot of places don't carry peanut-flavored desserts given all of the allergies these days but they are highly underrated! It's like a fluffy Reese's peanut butter cup... - The red velvet cupcake is also delicious as the frosting isn't overly rich or sweet. There's a lovely poem (?) / piece of art on the wall of the bakery that pays homage to the Virginia Bakery which is lovely to see. read more

Putting down the chocolate raspberry cupcake, biting crumbs out from under my nails (sorry that's gross but that's dedication) and rubbing off the goodness so that I can type this ENTHUSIASTIC REVIEW! Pardon me but, WHAT DID YOU JUST DO, CUPCAKIN'?! Can I stop for a minute and just buzz with the deliciousness that is still coating my mouth from that cupcake? ARE YOU SERIOUS? WHAT WAS THAT RASPBERRY TRICK YOU DID TO MAKE IT SO FLAVORFUL!?!?! How is it so moist but not gross like the word moist? I do not dabble in a dry cupcake. I do not care for a flavorless glob of colored buttercream that does nothing but stain my pants when it inevitably slides off and into my lap. I have lowered my expectations over the years and when I stopped in after getting edamame next door because - they're open so why not? - I had no idea what I was in for. I had no idea. I'm gonna say it again. I had NO IDEA IT COULD BE THIS GOOD! You told me that there was an Oreo crust at the bottom. I didn't understand that because I had never met a cupcake with a crust at the bottom. I think you are a freakin' genius. I think you thought long and hard about how to do this better than everyone else, and wow, I think you just did. Thank you for bringing new life to the spot that was Virginia Bakery that looked nice and pastel but didn't bring it like that little cake just did. read more

This is one of those places you'll hate living so close to because it's so good that every day you'll ask yourself if it's a cupcake day (and why not, it's just a quick walk over). I don't even know how to characterize how good these cupcakes are. My favorites are the red velvet, chocolate raspberry, vanilla funfetti, and vanilla salted caramel. One thing I would love: More cake slices in different flavors!!!! I think right now they just cut one large 8in cake into slices every day, which means you're SOL if you don't really care for that flavor, but I can guarantee that I'd be here legitimately every day if I could get a red velvet or funfetti slice on the reg (a la Susiecakes). read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

The key lime cupcake was so dang good. It had graham cracker crust on the bottom of the cupcake which was a surprise, and the lime flavor came through nicely. I do wish cupcake places would cut the sugar content in half but otherwise, solid cupcake joint! Look forward to trying their other flavors. read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Key lime cupcake - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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They weren't open when their website and their door said they would be. I was pretty bummed - it was my birthday and as a single mom, I don't get cake unless I get it myself. I'd been in the city all day for a kid event and then got home, called to make sure they'd be there, got a message saying to just go to the shop during business hours, so rushed over to get there, and 45 min before the posted closing time, the place was dark. Womp-womp. I went and had a drink at Corso instead. read more

To. Die. For. Cupcakes. O. M. G. I'm not even a cupcake person I'm more of a brownie and chocolate chip cookie gal. I first got cupcakes as a gift. My work crew devoured it so two days later I had to go back and get more. Red velvet is my favorite. Creamy cream cheese icing and soft, moist cake. The key lime is so unique - inside key like, bottom graham cracker crust and most cake and top. I bought a bunch of mini ones so I could try a bunch. Chocolate is so good. Salted caramel - yum! Ok, they're all good!!! Got some cupcakes for lunar new year. And a couple of chocolate cup cookies which were just as delish as the cupcakes; I couldn't resist. *I feel bad posting my smushed cupcakes photos that I accidentally tossed around while driving. They were all perfectly made before. Service was great. She explained the ingredients and all. I was the only one there on a Tuesday afternoon. read more

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Very impressed by the cupcakes and chocolate chip cookie. I ordered two dozen mini cupcakes for my daughters birthday. Got the key lime, double chocolate (chocolate cake chocolate icing) salted caramel, and cookies and cream. All were spectacular. The salted caramel really blew my mind with the airy fluffy icing with little salt crystals in it. Also, the chocolate chip cookie was exceptional. Very thin, with a somewhat dense but slightly chewy / soft middle area. SUPURB. Just look at those pics! I cut it just so you could see how the middle looks. I will 100% be going back here. I'll admit, I've been a love at first bite Parton for about 15 years in Berkeley. But I think this place is even better. Also the store, presentation and branding are quite cute and the service was courteous and professional. read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Chocolate chip cookie side view of middle - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Best cupcakes ever. Bar none. I haven't been inside and haven't sampled cakes, but you can bet that I will. My son brought a sampler for my husbands birthday...and every single one was the best of its genre that I've ever h I've been in a funk since Katerina Rozelle closed, but I think I've got my new place. read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Birthday cupcake - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Paid a visit to their new location. More parking available vs on Telegraph. Worth the visit and still amazed of the freshness. read more

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Congratulations to Cupcakin' Bake Shop owner Lila Owens and her hard-working team for opening a third location of what has now become a bustling franchise of I believe is one of the best cupcake bake shops in the entire Bay Area. I got so excited when I read on one of many of the local food blogs stating how Cupcakin' Bake Shop has now taken over the former home of Berkeley institution Virginia Bakery, which had closed after 65 years in the spring of 2018. Now in the winter of 2021, she finally has the chance to show off her new bakery and full-service kitchen with almost four thousand square feet of space, where the goal is to bake her regular line of standard-sized and mini-cupcakes that they used to bake out of their location on Telegraph Avenue in downtown Berkeley, along with an assortment of full cakes, cookies and even some of Virginia Bakery's signature desserts down the road. After a soft opening the previous weekend, the were ready to go for open hours starting this weekend, with their doors wide open with plenty of room for social distancing, while still being able to salivate over all of the delectable cupcakes they had on display, which they not only had a wide variety, but they smartly posted the names of each cupcake on the glass window as you decided what to order. The staff was so friendly and helpful that when I asked them if they had boxes for four or more cupcakes, they said they had boxes ready for four, six or twelve regular sized cupcakes, not to mention boxes for all of their mini-cupcakes that they happen to sell as well at Cupcakin'. The standard-sized cupcakes come in two prices, $3.95 for what they consider their everyday cupcakes and $4.50 for their more special or limited-time cupcakes they sell. As usual all of the cupcakes looked great and I decided to select six cupcakes, their Red Velvet, Caramel Mocha, Vanilla Salted Caramel, Carrot Cake and Key Lime Pie from their regular menu and Chocolate Strawberry from their specialty cupcake menu for a total bill of $24.25 before tip, which was not bad at all. Packed beautifully, of course I had to dig into one cupcake a mere minutes later and it was light and fluffy without being overly sweet. And I love that they put fun toppings beyond the traditional huge block of fluffy and creamy icing, as who doesn't love to take a picture with a festively and lovingly decorated cupcake in their hands? The perfect treat to go with a glass of milk or cup of coffee for dessert or a mid-afternoon snack, I was in cupcake heaven! I am so glad that Cupcakin' Bake Shop has opened this location in this area of North Berkeley where the quality of life and food is well regarded as the birthplace of California cuisine. They fit right in with neighbors as eclectic as Andronico's Market, Peet's Coffee, Chez Panisse and the Cheese Board Collective. And with local parking being so much more easier to find than at their other locations in downtown Berkeley and Oakland, you better believe that I will be here at their new shop on a monthly basis, okay maybe weekly if I have a cupcake craving that desperately needs satiating. At Cupcakin' Bake Shop they're only just getting started and I am so excited that they are doing it in their new expansive location so even more of their fans can easily enjoy them! read more

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The cupcakes are so very good. This is my second visit yet to a different location. Real ingredients - butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, chocolate - are used. It's evident. The customer service was friendly and pleasant. I highly recommend. read more

Cupcakes are absolutely delicious! I have ordered for multiple occasions and every one raves about them!

Beautiful space serving amazingly delicious cupcakes. Tried the vanilla salted caramel, lemon creme, lemon raspberry, funfetti, vanilla and double chocolate. All of them were moist, light and packed with flavor. My favorite is the vanilla salted caramel because you can truly taste the vanilla in the cake while feeling the richness of the caramel. I love sweet so these were perfect for me but be warned that the sugar content is relatively high. Service was smooth and friendly. So glad they finally opened in our neighborhood! read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Hands down, Cupcakin is my fave cupcake shop. My husband doesn't even like cupcakes, and he's always the one to remind us that it's Cupcakin time. I've also ordered their red velvet cakes on two separate occasions, and it was a hit. You'll likely go into a sugar coma, but hey, it's not every day right? (Or maybe it is, but treat yourself) read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - For my baby girl's 100th day celebration - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Amazing customer service but the cupcakes are way too sweet!! The icing was oily too! I wouldn't have left a review due to the great service but when I'm paying almost $5 per small cupcake, I had to! read more

Absolutely incompetent. I wanted to place a custom cupcake order for a baby shower. Using their online form, I scheduled a phone consultation for a Friday at 2pm. At 2:02pm, I received an email from them saying that I didn't put a phone number on my form. I responded at 2:03pm apologizing and giving them my phone number. I expected they would call within a few minutes. By 2:08pm they still hadn't called, so I emailed asking if they will call soon. At 2:34pm I am still waiting for a call or an email. While I was waiting, I went back to their website to see where I could have missed entering in my phone number for the consultation. I discovered that there isn't a place to enter your phone number for them to call you, only fields for your name, email, info that will help prepare for the meeting, and a field that says "Send text messages to". The note below says "You will opt in to text messages for this event. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out" so it's clearly a field for texts only. I had skipped this since I did not want to opt into texts. I'm still waiting for a response (either phone call or email follow-up--and it's 2:45 now) but it's crickets. Judging by all the other reviews for custom orders at each of their locations, they clearly are terrible at custom orders. Don't waste your time. read more

Very nice cupcakes. However, they do not indicate which of the cupcake types contain nuts. Nor do the employees seem to know. If you have a nut allergy, I'd advise not eating anything from this bakery. On my recent visit to the Telegraph location, the employee serving me assured me that only the carrot cake ones had nuts. This turned out not to be true -- the vegan chocolate ones are made with cashews. My daughter ate one and ended up in the ER. The business did not respond to two voicemails that I left about this issue. -- basically, please label them prominently. Listing the ingredients on the website is not sufficient. read more

If you really want a good cupcake, I really recommend this place! So fresh and moist. Very delicious! You have to try. Also a friendly staff as well. read more

Cupcakin' Bake Shop - Summer Berry Cupcakes and a Mini Chocolate Toffee. Yummy! - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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