“Be happy, eat a cupcake.”—Yvette
The is a sweet addition to nearby to Santee. On the way home from work or running errands, swing by “Your One Stop Cupcake Shop” at and pick up some delicious gourmet cupcakes. This shop is family friendly and family run.
Anne has been a professional baker for 35 years. Throughout her catering career she specialized in cakes, often for weddings and other events, and in her spare time was an accomplished seamstress. The shop sells many adorable and unique aprons and kids clothes Anne creates herself.
Yvette, Anne's daughter, is the face of the operation. She will greet you at the counter with a big smile and help you choose from the many mouthwatering options. She also manages the business and is in charge of sales. Yvette's motto is “Be happy, eat a cupcake.”
Yvette and Anne credit their bakers, Josh and Emily, with helping to create the cupcakes from Anne's traditional recipes.
“You can't just take a cake recipe and put it in a muffin tin,” Anne explains. “There is a lot of chemistry behind it.”
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Part of the chemistry involves the use of a convection oven. Convection ovens have a fan circulating the hot air so there is less humidity. That takes less time and less heat, and produces a more evenly baked product. They get to the bakery at 6 a.m. daily and bake everything fresh from scratch. Josh has the culinary school training to take the recipes and translate them into cupcakes, and mini cupcakes, as well as helping to create new flavors. Emily specializes in frosting and decor.
I have always said you eat with your eyes first and I started salivating as soon as I see them!
When I asked Anne how she developed her famous recipes she has made for decades, she starts to tear up, looks at her daughter and says, “You tell her.”
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Yvette explains that many of her mother's recipes were her grandmother's original recipes and Anne misses her mom dearly since she's passed. It is wonderful how Anne's mother still lives on in this cupcake shop through these cakes. Other recipes she has collected over the years from family and friends, though she is constantly creating new flavors with Josh and Emily's help.
“We experiment a lot and sometimes it ends up in the trash,” Yvette says. “It's part of the creative process.”
The shop's signature cupcake is German Chocolate Fusion. Anne has been making this cake for 20 years but had to make some changes to adapt it to a cupcake recipe. She says the chocolate frosting is top secret and can't be duplicated.
The fusion part is that the coconut and nuts are mixed right into the cake batter, rather than traditional German chocolate made with a coconut and nut frosting. An interesting twist on the original, and I love it.
The Cupcake Store has standard flavors they offer daily on the menu, most in mini form also, with a daily special flavor that is always changing. Mondays are the Mancake which I have yet to try but am oh-so-excited! It is devil's-food cake with maple frosting topped with—wait for it—a piece of chocolate dipped bacon! I'll be sure to start my diet on Tuesday.
Friday they offer a vegan cupcake made without any animal products whatsoever. The flavor of the day when we visited was Oreo cheesecake. They put a whole oreo at the bottom of the liner, filled with oreo cheesecake, topped with whipped cream and another oreo on top! This one really is a cheesecake shrunk to cupcake size. It was absolutely divine and so full of Oreo goodness.
I have sampled many of their flavors and my top three flavors are German Chocolate Fusion, peanut butter-chocolate-marshmallow, and carrot cake. I thought my carrot cake recipe was the best ever and this one is strikingly similar with the addition of toasted coconut. A mound of cream cheese frosting with toasted coconut on top = carrot cake heaven. A mini is plenty, it is a perfect three-bite treat that really satisfies.
The margarita is like a lime cupcake but with something else, bright and colorful with lime zest on top. Delicious and refreshing, the lemon and lime cupcakes are also zesty and bright, though the foodie in me finds fault with them not being tart enough (any more tart and the kiddos wouldn't eat them though).
The strawberry makes you feel like a little kid again. Pretty and pink, the pastel pearl sprinkles are a must for any princess birthday. The strawberry is the perfect cake—bouncy, soft and moist with a depth of flavor that really takes it to the next level. One of the best strawberry desserts I've ever had.
Picky eaters are welcomed at the Cupcake Store. They offer sugar-free and gluten-free chocolate cupcakes daily and will customize your order.
Large cupcakes cost $2.75 each or $31 a dozen. Minis run $1.50 each or $15 a dozen. Coffee, milk, soda, water, and juice are also available for purchase.
Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
