The Cupcakery in Winnipeg

And click through below to watch a video interview.

"Cupcake shop offers up sweet treats," Winnipeg Sun

Winnipeggers have a new place to go to keep their collective sweet tooth happy.

The Cupcakery, which opened May 23, features a range of cupcake treats.

The idea behind the shop came about after its founders grew tired of having to travel to other cities to visit establishments dedicated solely to cupcakes.

"We've been flying all over Canada to get them," said Derrick Godfrey, president of The Cupcakery at 439 Stradbrook Ave. in Osborne Village.

"Its popularity in Canada is really booming," he said, citing cities such as Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver as places with shops focused entirely on one type of tasty treat -- cupcakes.

The appearance of cupcake shops on popular television shows such as Sex and the City have also added to the baked good's renewed popularity in recent years, said Godfrey.

"It's a fantastic dessert," he said.

Comments

Anonymous said…
So I had some today and at $8.00 for 6 mini cup cakes and $14.00 for 6 regular size I was pretty disappointed. With only two base flavors to choose from the chocolate and vanilla choices seemed very plain and unoriginal considering the stores sole reason for existing was cup cakes. The icing however was the up point. With delicious flavors like peppermint, peanut butter, strawberry and banana I was still thinking their could have been more choice.
Anonymous said…
I agree with this comment, I am so sad. They just didn't get it right. The one in Calgary (Craves) is so much better, this just tastes like chocolate and vanilla cake with different icings, like a mix. The icing is better than the cake I will give them that but you are better off going to Dessert Sinsations or High Tea Bakery in Winnipeg for better cupcakes that tast home made.
lisagh said…
Both of these people are crazy. I had my first one this afternoon and I'm like a crack addict who needs more more more. It was the best freaking thing I've ever put in my mouth (and that's saying something).
Anonymous said…
I would disagree strongly with the above reviews. The cake of the cupcakes is good, but the icing is fantastic! The fruit flavors are made with real fruit, and the peanut butter on chocolate cake is amazing!
Anonymous said…
I can't believe how b-o-ring the cupcakes from this new place are. After reading this blog for so many months, I was psyched about the opening, but it doesn't hold a candle to the Crumbs and Doilies and Magnolias of this world, who excel at creative toppings and tasty cake flavours.
Anonymous said…
Hi Folks,

As the owner of the Winnipeg Cupcakery, we are constantly striving to make your cupcake experience as great as possible. We welcome all comments, both negative and positive. We have now been open 2 weeks, and are in the process of bringing out more specialty cakes and icing flavours to satisfy all the requests we have been getting.

We make our cakes fresh daily, hand craft our icing to ensure that you receive the best product we can posssibly deliver.

Next week we will be rolling out our Red velvet cupcake, Black Forest cupcake, mocha cupcake, and strawberry cheesecake cupcake.

We thank you all for your patronage, and look forward to serving you.

Derrick
derrick@thecupcakeryshop.com
Anonymous said…
I've eaten cupcakes from specialty stores in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, and unfortunately these local ones don't measure up. The cake is bland. The icing flavours are good, but nothing spectacular. They're certainly not worth the high prices they're asking.
Anonymous said…
I tried them for the first time today and I'm not impressed. The gourmet cupcakes at Safeway just a block away are half the price, twice the size, and taste better. Do yourself a favour and give this one a miss.
Rusty said…
So we finally made it there and my pocket book regrets to say..fantastic !! The C Clan will be back for more.
Great job Guys!
Anonymous said…
Glad to hear that the owners are adding new flavors. I think the name of the game with the cupcake business is to "make cupcakes that a regular person couldn't be bothered making at home". This means marketing cupcakes that have four components of interest and complexity: cake, filling, icing and topping. Ex: coconut cupcake with white chocolate ganache filling + icing and toasted coconut on top. That's just an example, you hopefully get what I'm saying.

A chocolate cupcake with vanilla icing, while classic, can so easily be made at home and knocked off by home bakers who can undercut you, that it's imperative to differentiate yourself with VERY unique product offerings.

That's my two-cent MBA suggestions! Best of luck to you!
Anonymous said…
I took my wife and daughter there on opening day and bought about 15 of these capcakes. We brought them home and gave some away to friends and family.I have to say they were simply delicious and everybody we gave them to also enjoyed them. The icing flavours were awesome, especialy the peanut butter one.
I'd say you have a winner here.
Keep adding new varieties....and we will keep sampling.
Anonymous said…
I have been back 2 days in a row.... just because the cupcakes are SO good.
Very moist cake and tasty icing. Nice to see the new flavors added!
Keep it up!
I am spreading the word.....you gotta go!
Anonymous said…
I have to say I have been to this store numerous times and think it is fab!! I have tried cupcakes from both the specialty store in Vancouver and Toronto and by far I believe the Winnipeg location is best! Yes, there may be limited selection currently, but the place has been open for less than a month! Hopefully there will be plenty more tastebud tantilizing treats coming soon from this place! If you're looking for more "extravangant" flavours, perhaps try the specialty cupcakes! The strawberry cheesecake is to die for!!
Sarah said…
We ordered a cupcake cake and mini cupcakes for my daughter's birthday party. They were a hit! The cupcakes were delicious, the different flavours were wonderful -my favourite was the peanut butter, my daughters liked peppermint and strawberry. I can't wait to try the different flavours of cupcakes, we'll be back soon!
Anonymous said…
I think the Cupcakery in Winnipeg is just FABULOUS - I am not a cake girl normally, unless they are home made, but these ones are sweet in the icing and not too rich in the sponge. Perfect!
The icing really is the special part of these things; they use real fruit and you can taste it.
Strawberry and banana are my favourites. It tastes a bit like gelato... which is never a bad thing.
I can understand why some people might be disappointed if they were expecting more diversity in the actual cakes themselves, but I personally like the basic flavours of the cakes. I am hooked for life I think.
Anonymous said…
I just wanted to comment on one of the above comments that said that Crave in Calgary is better than the Cupcakery in Winnipeg. Crave also has just 2 cake flavours, and when you account for the different icings, the Cupcakery has a much larger selection. And, Crave runs out of product by about 3pm, which I think is very bad for their business.

I tried the Cupcakery a couple of days ago, and thought it was excellent! The icing was delicious. If anything, the store was a bit plain inside, and could use some dressing up.
Anonymous said…
The cupcakes here are so sweet and you can tell they don't use all real buttercream. Cakesbyshelley.net has proven to have products made out of REAL food and they are so delicious (and not oversweet). I will use her cakes/cupcakes for every event I ever have!
Anonymous said…
The cupcakes were okay, but the price was a bit high. The store itself seemed blah and the person who put them in the box seemed put out by the customers even being there!! I crave customer service as well as something sweet. Try Dessert Sinsations or Cakes by Shelley or High Tea Bakery to make your own decision.
Anonymous said…
Had my first experience at the Cupcakery about a month ago and I must say it 1st impressions ARE EVERYTHING. Unfortunately, the girl working the counter that day decided she was 'too tired' to actually care about her job and actually rested her head against the cupcake counter. Not a good impression on any level. Needless to say this kind of poor attitude (tired or not), CUSTOMER SERVICE speaks for itself. When it is not exercised at all times its hard as a consumer to enjoy the purchase(s) one is about to make. As for the cupcake quality? No comment. The POOR SERVICE left a BAD TASTE IN MY MOUTH.
Anonymous said…
Giant Cup Cake- GIANT Disappointment

I have been to the Cup Cakery in Osborne twice. I think the cup cake itself is just like the cup cake you can get from any other store, there is nothing much special for the cup cake itself.

But, their icing toppings are super good, lots of different favors to choose from, and the icing is light, not too sweet and not greasy at all. For the icing part, good job guys.

My friend and I also had their specialty cup cake; the strawberry cheese cake cup cake is so good, we both enjoyed the cream cheese icing on top. The girls told us that they also have other specialty cup cake with pudding injected into the cup cake itself.

In fact, my friend likes it so much and she wanted the giant version of this as her birthday cake. I called to order a Giant Strawberry Cheese Cake Cup Cake, with banana pudding. The guy told me they only have either vanilla of chocolate cake base, so, in this case, I would get a vanilla cup cake with banana pudding injection and cream cheese icing topping, and he quoted me $50, since pudding and cream cheese topping make it a specialty giant cup cake. Seriously, I don’t mind to pay for the price if the cake is good……

Disappointedly, I don’t think the giant cup cake that we got even worth $20. The cup cake base itself was so dry, dense and hard (the irresistible cup cake from SAFEWAY is 100X softer, lighter and moist compared to the giant cut cake that we got). What they told me about the banana pudding injection, was in fact they cut the cup cake into half and have a very thin layer of pudding spread in the middle. Further more, the cream cheese icing topping was only a thin layer.

One world, really disappointed.
Anonymous said…
I thought The Cupcakery's product was really good & I loved the decor. High Tea Bakery (www.highteabakery.com) comes in at a close second place but nothing even compares to Sweet Impressions(www.sweetimpressions.ca). I have been addicted to this online cupcake shop for 3 years and now they are opening in September on Tache Ave. Just an FYI for all the cupcake lovers in Winnipeg.
Anonymous said…
The cupcakery is not for people who are fans of quality baked goods. Their product tastes of artificial extracts. It is apparent that the owners are not pastry chefs... they are business people trying to make a buck on a 'trend' they see sweeping north america.

I have tried their product on 3 different occasions, trying to give them a fair chance. It has been disappointing every time. From talking to people, it is people that are accustomed to eating grocery store cakes that feel the cupcakery is up to par.

There are a number of great bakeries in winnipeg that bake 100% from SCRATCH, but the Cupcakery is unfortunately not one of them.
Anonymous said…
I agree with the above - The Cupcakery is run by business people, not bakers. The product is, unfortunately amidst all the hype, subpar and equal to the stuff Safeway churns out.

...actually, dare I say that Safeway's "Irresistible" cupcakes are better than this. And cheaper too. I shouldn't have to choose between a dozen cupcakes or a car payment.
steve said…
my simple review of their simple choices: mediocre and overpriced.
Anonymous said…
My husband and I used the Cupcakery's services for our wedding. We had mini cupcakes all tiered. It was beautiful, and all of our wedding guests raved.
BIG THANKS to the Cupcakery for adding to our special day, Aug. 3rd, 2008.
Anonymous said…
I think the store front is cute but the cupcakes are not worth their price. If I am to pay that much for a simple cupcake, I would expect really good quality. I find them too sweet & nothing spectacular. My girlfriend had cupcakes for her wedding from CAKES BY SHELLEY and they were not only beautiful, but amazing tasting! They are not so overly sweet and you can tell they are made from scratch. The lady who makes them was a professional chef & pastry chef, so she knows what she's doing. I just wish she had a shop like the cupcakery.
Anonymous said…
I did enjoy the Cupcakery's cupcakes the first time I had them, just because they were a sweet treat, but last week I also had the pleasure of trying Cakes by Shelley's cupcakes and they were the best I've ever had. I liked them because they weren't so overly sweet, but it's all personal preference!
Kristen Marie said…
I have to admit, i was very excited to check out the Cupcakery after driving past the store almost daily. However, when my girlfriend and I arrived at the store, we were almost immediately put off. The man working seemed really deterred by the customers and they were sold out of alot of their flavours, and so our options were really diminished.

The price for the cupcakes seemed a bit high, but we assumed they would be worth the extra dollars.

Unfortunately, it was a really dismal experience. I bought a box and spent 3X more than I had planned and the cupcakes were, at best, mediocre.

While I love their concept, I really think they fall short of other cupcake stores in the city. I especially like Sweet Impressions which is on Tache. Who knows, maybe in a couple years, the Cupcakery will be better... only time will tell I guess.