Cupcake A La Mode Review

Now personally, I’m not a cake person. I can remember when I was younger at every preschool birthday party licking only the frosting off one cupcake and going back for seconds. But since my naive youth, my eyes have been opened and my taste in baked goods has never been the same.

Like their website boasts, “Cupcakes are not just for kids anymore!” and they couldn’t be more correct. Cupcake A La Mode brings a new air of sophistication to the thought of, “that little cupcake shop on the corner.” Tucked away behind Fogo de Chao and across the street from Houstons, Cupcake A La Mode is the Plaza’s little, hidden treasure.

The tiny shop couldn’t hold more than 20 people comfortably, but that doesn’t matter because the glorious thing about cupcakes is that you don’t have to sit down to eat them. If you do want to stay awhile, the hot pink walls and bold black accents are more than inviting. You can enjoy any of their 21 flavors of cupcakes while relaxing in sleek black chairs that overlook Wornall.

 Top 40s pop plays over the speaker and, while not my first choice of music, it keeps things lively, just like the rest of the shop. The store is trendy yet mature, and you get the feeling that a pair of sassy, Rosie the Riveter-esque baker chicks run the back kitchen. With T-shirts for sale in the front display case that say, “Baking is Sexy” and “I run because I eat cupcakes,” it’s easy to see why.

But even if the walls were a drab gray and the clerks were grouchy, old men, that wouldn’t matter because the cupcakes speak for themselves. Each one is hand-decorated with care, always sure to look their absolute best. The bakers really know how to wield their frosting bags to create a truly tantalizing treat for not only the stomach but for eyes.

The flavorful, moistness of the cake cannot be resisted by even the pickiest of eaters. And the frosting is on a whole other level of rich and melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness. Did I mention these cupcakes are about double the size of their puny counterparts typically sold in stores?  At $3.25 a pop, you feel like you’re practically stealing.

For the fruit fanatics, there’s the Raspberry Lemonade cupcake which features a vanilla cupcake, raspberry and lemon buttercream frosting and a sugared candy piece on top. For the chocolate cravers there’s the Gold Digger. Much like the Kanye West song, this is the cupcake for those of us who enjoy the finer things in life. Starting with a chocolate cake that has a caramel center, the cupcake is then frosted with chocolate buttercream, dipped in chopped pecans and drizzled in more caramel. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

But if those flavors aren’t exactly your palette, you have 19 others to choose from, from French Vanilla Ooh La La to After Dinner Mint. If you call in your order early, they will even make gluten and dairy free cupcakes.

Like I always say, “There’s no time like the present to eat a cupcake,” so stop by Cupcake A La Mode as soon as you possibly can and pick up one of their tasty, little cakes. In fact, pick up two. Your taste buds will thank you.