Top 5 Places to get a Cupcake in Hamilton
Published August 22, 2019 at 12:52 pm
The name ‘Steeltown’ might not convey a sense of the sweetness that resides within, but the Hammer sure does have a lot to offer those with an undeniable sweet tooth.
Cupcakes are a sure-fire way to satisfy that craving as they offer the decadence of cake but with built-in portion control. What could be better?
Here follows the list of Hamilton’s Top 5 cupcakes. For testing purposes, shops were asked what was their most popular cupcake and that’s what was sampled.
Dolled Up Desserts design vegan and gluten-free desserts and their philosophy is #inclusivedessert. Their mission, they say on their website, is to connect people with dietary differences with their communities. With their treats, Dolled Up Desserts is one step closer to closing that gap. These lovely little cupcakes are absolutely amazing. I tested the Confetti Cake cupcake. It’s a vanilla confetti cake with vanilla cream cheese frosting. The structure of the cake is very moist and quite dense. It’s missing some of that fluffiness you’d find in a glutenous cupcake but what it lacks (which isn’t much) in that arena it more than makes up in flavour. This colourful confection is so beautifully balanced between vanilla and cream cheese — I don’t know how it tastes so much like cream cheese, but it does and it’s awesome and isn’t heavy-handed or overpowering. Dolled Up Desserts doesn’t have a storefront yet, but it’s coming in the near future, so for now, desserts can be ordered through their website.
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4. Cupcakes of Westdale Village
This quaint bakery is located in the heart of Westdale and claims to be Hamilton’s first bakery devoted to strictly cupcakes. The proprietor pointed us in the direction of the popular Skor cupcake — a vanilla cupcake with bits of Skor and sponge toffee with a vanilla buttercream frosting. This beauty gets points for being the almost perfect vanilla flavour — that buttery sweetness with a whisper of smokey wood. The cake is moist and light and perfectly balanced with the amount of frosting on top. The Skor bits are a perfect gild for this lily and add just the right amount of oompf to this practically perfect sweet treat.
Now the next entry from this little shop on Concession Street might ruffle some feathers in the sense that they don’t offer the traditional cupcake — these are cheesecake cupcakes. I’m all about dessert inclusivity and cheesecake is just another form of cake. Also, these are TO DIE FOR and any cupcake lover would be remiss to overlook these little cups of heaven. The Turtle Cheesecake is apparently the most popular and there’s good reason for that: It’s the perfect balance of light fluffy cheesecake with a thin graham cracker crust and a salty turtle-esque topping. The combination of sweet and salty with the airy texture and slightly lemony flavour of the cake just makes the world seem like a better place.
This entry is a no-brainer. This little shop in Upper Stoney Creek has been doing cupcakes right since 2008. Sampled for this list was the supremely decadent Mint Aero — chocolate cake with mint aero frosting. Not only is this cupcake gorgeous, it’s also rich, fluffy, buttery, minty and oh so sweet. The thing with this cake’s richness is that it’s not overwhelming — it’s still light and flavourful and moist. All in all, Beyond the Batter knows their way around a cupcake and one would be hard-pressed to find fault with their treats.
This bakeshop in Stoney Creek takes the cake (pun intended) for having some of the more unique flavours on display and available for purchase. Flavours like Peach Cobbler, Funnel Cake and Champagne Mimosa were on display the day I came in. I was immediately drawn to Funnel Cake (pictured at top of story) because I love funnel cakes and also it’s a very attractive cupcake. This is one of my favourite among those I’ve tested. It tasted like funnel cake but with all the glorious textures of a cupcake. The strawberry cake is so fluffy and light and is the perfect strawberry flavour. The buttercream frosting tastes just like soft serve and is a wonderful complement to the cake. The entire cake is topped off with a little deep-fried biscuit to add a little texture and strawberry sauce and icing sugar to add a little more sweetness. One bite of this baby and you’ll be transported back to those carefree summer evenings at a local festival or Canada’s Wonderland.
Also got game:
This bakeshop on Locke is renowned for their whoopie pies and butter tarts (among other things) but they sure know how to turn out a mean cupcake. They’re an incredible little fixture in the Locke Street community.
This vegan cafe and bakery on Ottawa Street North has become a favourite among those with dietary restrictions and those without. They special in vegan ‘junk food’ and desserts. Their cupcakes have garnered an almost cult-like following.
Where’s your favourite Hamilton spot to indulge in a cupcake?
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