Alliance Bakery & Café

1736 W Division, Chicago

Yellow cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting
Price: $2.37
Weight: 3 1/2 oz (100g)
Value: $0.677/oz

Frosting This buttercream has a slightly dry, chalky feel at first, but it gives way to a nice creaminess as it melts in your mouth. Slightly grainy, light and buttery flavor, and while I wouldn’t say it’s greasy, it has a somewhat slippery mouth feel. Rating 8.0/10

(Speaking of greasy, I should say that I don’t necessarily consider that a bad thing. I prefer a texture that is slightly grainy, but naturally a buttercream is going to have a buttery texture, which is going to feel a little greasy. However, too greasy just makes me think that there’s shortening in it, and you don't want your mouth to feel as though you just took a swig of vegetable oil. So, slightly greasy is okay, but greasy greasy is not so good. )

Cake Moist and spongy. The cake as some substance to it, meaning it’s a little heaver than a Sweet Honeybee cupcake, for example, but has a slightly chewy quality you can sink your teeth into. Rating 8.0/10

Overall I generally try to review chocolate cupcakes with plain buttercream so that comparisons between cupcakes are meaningful. However, according to the woman at the counter, Alliance doesn’t make chocolate cupcakes as part of their daily offering (though they can be special-ordered). So, I was left with a standard yellow cupcake. Overall, this was a nice cupcake – the sponginess of the cake was a pleasing texture, and it was a good balance with the light buttercream frosting. Overall rating 8.0/10

Sweet Signature Bakery

1956 W Montrose, Chicago
MOVED! 5708 W Fullerton, Chicago
Chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting
Price: $1.00
Weight: 3 5/8 oz (102g)
Value: $0.276/oz

Frosting Slightly grainy texture. Fluffy and light, soft and whipped butter texture. Rating 9.0/10

Cake A very moist, soft, pillowy crumb that dissolves in your mouth. Rating 9.0/10

Overall Another small bakery that opened in mid-late 2007, just a couple of blocks down the street from Sweet Honeybee. Actually, this cupcake reminded me so much of the one from Sweet Honeybee that I wondered if I had wandered into the wrong bakery; in terms of taste, texture and quality, the cupcakes are nearly indistinguishable. When the clerk rang it up for just $1.00, the first thing I said to him was that he was not charging enough – before I had even tasted it! The only drawback I would say is that of the four times I’ve been here in the past 2 months, they were sold out twice. I don’t get the impression that it’s because the sales volume is very high, I just think that it’s because it’s such a small bakery. If people only knew, though.... Overall rating 9.0/10

Swedish Bakery

5348 N Clark St, ChicagoChocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting
Price: $1.02
Weight: 2 1/4 oz (65g)
Value: $0.453/oz

Frosting Light and fluffy, slightly grainy and just a little greasy. Rating 9.0/10

Cake Moist, with a delicate chocolate flavor. Rating 9.0/10

Overall This cupcake is right up there with Sweet Honeybee. It’s a little smaller, but the taste and texture are near perfect. It’s also pretty good value at just over $1 – and that’s after Swedish had to raise prices on some of its goods. Just as we’ve been hearing about the dramatic rise in commodity prices around the world, prices of raw ingredients such as flour, eggs and shortening across the country have increased anywhere between 50-400% in the last year due to a number of factors including fuel costs, the weak dollar, drought and the resulting increased demand for US wheat exports. Perhaps other bakeries will have to begin raising prices, if they haven’t already. Even so, I have a feeling that Swedish Bakery and Sweet Honey Bee will still be worth the price – they’re that good. Overall rating 9.0/10

Letizia’s All Natural

2144 W Division, ChicagoChocolate-banana cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting
Price: $3.00
Weight: 6 3/4 oz (191g)
Value: $0.444/oz

Frosting The frosting is wet and smooth and a little on the heavy side. No graininess. Rating 6.0/10

Cake The cake was heavy and had a somewhat dry, course texture. As you might expect with using natural ingredients, the banana flavor was present without being too intense (as it might be if using an extract). So the cake had a nice, balanced flavor, but the texture was a drawback. Rating 6.0/10

Overall As the name states, Letizia’s goods are made with all natural ingredients. I think the biggest impact this might have on a cupcake is the use of unbleached flour. First, let me state that I’m far from being any kind of expert on the science of baking, but from what I’ve read on the subject, bleaching softens the gluten in the flour and helps produce a lighter texture; this might account for the denseness of the cake, but I don’t know if that also is the reason for the dryness. It seems a lot of people have strong opinions against the use of bleached flours because of the chemical process it goes through. Personally, it doesn’t bother me, and if bleached flour happens to give the cake a texture that I like better, then bleach away. I really wanted to rate this cupcake higher, but it just didn’t do it for me. Overall rating 6.0/10

Sarah's Pastries & Candies

70 E Oak, Chicago (also with a boutique in Macy’s State Street store)
Chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting
Price: $3.27
Weight: 3 5/8 oz (103g)
Value: $0.902/oz

Frosting Shiny, smooth and somewhat greasy. The frosting is remarkably tasteless and bland at first, almost like it was pure lard. However, after the initial impression it developed a strangely sweet and almost tangy aftertaste; after you’ve savored it for a bit on your tongue, a rich and creamy flavor comes through. I'd have to say it's one of the most interesting frostings I've had, but the initial taste is a big, big turnoff. It does get points for the finish, but unfortunately only enough to make it slightly better than mediocre. Rating 5.5/10

Cake The top of the cake was hard and the cake itself was dry and coarse. Not enough sweetness in the cake to bring out a true chocolaty flavor, and tasted a little “off”. The quality is mediocre and below what I would consider an average cupcake should be. Rating 4.5/10

Overall This was a rather disappointing cupcake in terms of flavor and texture. This is the kind of cupcake that reinforces my theory that the sweets that look the best are not usually the ones that taste the best. As the most expensive cupcake (so far), the price is reflective more of the Gold Coast location than it is of taste and quality. Overall rating 5.0/10

Angel Food Bakery

1636 W Montrose, ChicagoChocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting
Price: $2.82
Weight: 5 oz (142g)
Value: $0.564/oz

Frosting Slightly grainy and somewhat dense (which is partly evidenced by the overall weight of the cupcake). However, the flavor was a little off; perhaps the frosting had been frozen at one point, or perhaps the food coloring is lending a hint of unusual flavor, I don't know. I would characterize the frosting as decent, even with the slightly off-taste. Would have rated a 7.5 otherwise. Rating 6.5/10

Cake A slightly chewy cake with plenty of substance. A noticeable chocolate flavor without being either too weak or overbearing. Rating 7.5/10

Overall This was still a better than average cupcake, though the off flavor of the buttercream was a bit of a hindrance. For the price, however, I think it's a pretty good value. Overall Rating 7.0/10

Sweet Honeybee Bakery

1918 W Montrose, ChicagoChocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting
Price: $2.00
Weight: 2 5/8 oz (73g)
Value: $0.762/oz

Frosting Real Italian buttercream, with a slightly granular texture, light buttery taste and whipped into a fluffy cloud of a frosting. Possibly the best buttercream I’ve had. Rating 9.0/10

Cake This cake has a pudding-like moistness and a soft, velvety texture. The chocolate flavor is noticeable but not overbearing. Rating 9.0/10

Overall This small bakery opened up in the late summer of 2007, and the cupcakes here quickly became my new favorite – if I didn't have the goal of trying to eat cupcakes from as many different bakeries as possible, I'd be here almost every weekend. With almost perfect flavor, moistness and texture, it’s an outstanding cupcake and one of the best I’ve had. Though it's a bit pricey relative to other cupcakes in terms of price per ounce, in terms of taste and quality, it is worth every penny. Everyone should try this cupcake. Overall rating 9.0/10

Southport Grocery & Cafe

3552 N Southport, ChicagoChocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting
Price: $2.04
Weight: 3 5/8 oz (103g)
Value: $0.563/oz

Frosting Heavy and slightly dry, with a delicate outer crust. Powdered sugary aftertaste. A buttery frosting with a hint of graininess. Good frosting, but a little too sweet. Rating 7.0/10

Cake The light chocolate cake had a crumbly yet sufficiently moist texture. Rating 7.0/10

Overall Southport Grocery does make a decent cupcake. I put it on par with Dinkel’s, though each has distinctly different qualities. I used to give my co-workers a hard time when they raved about Southport’s cupcakes, insisting to them that Dinkel’s was far better. But in all honesty, both are good cupcakes; I don’t see the differences as making either one necessarily better than or inferior to the other. Overall rating 7.0/10

Cupcakes

613 W Briar Pl, Chicago
Chocolate cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting
Price: $2.50
Weight: 3 1/4 oz (92g)
Value: $0.769/oz

Frosting The frosting is smooth, light and airy. The texture is similar to a chocolate mousse. Very silky, and not too sweet. Rating 7.5/10

Cake The cake is moderately dense but moist, and it has solid chocolate flavor – not too weak and not overbearing. Rating 7.5/10

Overall This is a quite pleasing cupcake. It’s a bit on the pricier side, but to be fair this is the plainest version that Cupcakes makes; if their other cupcakes that incorporate mango or chai (or any of the other intriguing flavors I saw in the display case) have the same quality as this one, then I’d say the premium is well- justified. Overall rating 7.5/10

Dinkel's Bakery

3329 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago
Chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting
Price: $1.72
Weight: 5 1/8 oz (145g)
Value: $0.336/oz

Frosting Smooth and light. Taste is somewhat plain, though not bad. Has a slightly greasy texture; I'm guessing it's made with shortening and butter. Rating 7.0/10

Cake Moist inside with a chewy, slightly over-baked cake top. The contrast of the moist crumb with the chewy top shell is an interesting combination, giving the cake some substance. Not a strong chocolaty taste, but still flavorful. Rating 7.0/10

Overall Dinkel’s has been around since 1922 and has some of the best cakes and pastries in the city. My love of cupcakes began with Dinkel’s, in 1998 -- when I had no money and could afford to treat myself only to small indulgences. At $0.93, it was one of my favorites and I would look forward to having a Dinkel's cupcake once or twice a week. They used to come with a plastic toy ring on top, and I was enough of a regular that the staff began to ask my preference for which type of ring I wanted each time, as though I was collecting them (I was).

Dinkel's makes a very good cupcake. They're consistent, flavorful, large and a great value. I think this makes it a good standard by which to compare other cupcakes. It might not be the very best cupcake you’ll ever have, but it has a good balance of flavor and texture that will satisfy your palate (and craving) every time. And for the price, it is one of the best cupcake values in the city. Overall rating 7.0/10