Why have Holey Grail Donuts when you can have Frosted Cupcakery instead?!…read more
Okay, that might be quite the low blow considering that Holey Grail Donuts recently closed for good here in Long Beach, but Frosted Cupcakery seems to have withstood the test of time for ~20 years. Possibly a testament to how good their cupcakes really are?!
So I had a Fivestars reward for a free cupcake from Frosted Cupcakery, and since I was planning an afternoon getaway by the beach, I wanted to stop by to claim my free cupcake before expiry.
Frosted Cupcakery is located in Belmont Shore two doors east of where Holey Grail Donuts used to be. If you're still not sure where that is, it's on 2nd St about a couple blocks east of the intersection with Livingston.
They had a bunch of different flavors to choose from, but the Royal White Cookie Butter cupcake piqued my interest since it sounded like a winning combo that was hard to beat. I asked the employee to describe what it was, and once she said the words "Biscoff cookie", I was immediately sold! They had plenty of that flavor's cupcakes in stock, which kind of led me to believe it wasn't a popular flavor, but I still went with my gut instinct.
The employee grabbed a Royal White Cookie Butter cupcake from the display case, placed said cupcake in a white paper bag, added a Frosted Cupcakery sticker on top, and handed it to me while wishing me a good day. I did ask her how long the cupcakes would last in the fridge, and she went to the back to ask a supervisor, giving me more time to peruse the available flavors shown in the display case. She came back shortly later to inform me that the cupcakes should remain good for about 2 to 3 days on the counter.
On the way out, I also grabbed a Frosted Cupcakery card, which contains the contact info for the shop as well as the list of cupcake flavors, some of which are seasonal, gluten-free, or even vegan! The card also mentions that the cupcakes are handcrafted, likely with love.
I spent a couple more hours chilling by the beach before going home to finally enjoy my cupcake. I noticed there was an unusually large see-through (grease?) spot on the side of the bag, which almost made me think it wasn't a cupcake inside the bag. When I took out the Royal White Cookie Butter cupcake from the bag, I noticed a divider between the frosting and the wrapper, which I thought was a nice touch to separate the two entities of the cupcake. However, I struggled a bit with removing the divider before taking my first bite, which was superb! The buttercream and cookie butter crumbles on top did make for a winning combo, and I wish the flavor could have been prevalent below the divider as well. However, even that flavor seemed to have dissipated after the first bite akin to an exponential decay.
They have a few tables inside where you can enjoy your cupcakes with friends. However, take note of the fact that they only allow a maximum of 2 dozen cupcakes for walk-in customers; this is denoted by a sign on the display case. If you want more than 2 dozen, you'd have to place a special order, likely online, but I'm sure over the phone would work as well.
Parking? Well, certainly not the easiest as it's in Belmont Shore. While there is a small parking lot directly behind the cupcake shop, I believe it's either paid parking or reserved for other businesses like Philz Coffee or F&M Bank. I had to find a spot on Livingston and walk over, which wasn't too far of a walk, but could be worse on the weekends.
Overall, I liked the complimentary cupcake that I got courtesy of Fivestars, but I didn't think it was *that* good to warrant the 5th star from me. I do agree it's a great spot to order cupcakes from, especially if you're planning a day at the nearby beach!