Spotlight on one of my favorite cupcake bakery discoveries: Buttercup Cakes in Santa Cruz, California

A quick spotlight on the wonderful Buttercup Cakes in Santa Cruz, California, one of my favorite bakeries I've visited on this two-week trip to the West Coast. I'll post more about them soon, but I was charmed by the old-fashionedness of the shop and the incredible taste and flavor range of their cupcakes. Blood orange/earl grey! Hibiscus! Lemon/mango! They were colorful and moist and not that expensive, and they had as many mini cupcakes as they did large ones, which is great because the minis were decently sized and, at $2, priced fairly, I believe. I think the regular size cupcakes were $3.50 but I have to check. Almost all flavors were available in both sizes, and they do custom orders.

They were very creative and carefully decorated and all the ones I tried were delicious and basically tasted like they were freshly baked and very much whatever they promised to be. Less is more, and it's their simplicity combined with their beauty that had my friends raving about them. I especially liked the German chocolate and the lemon/mango but the chocolate frosting was my favorite; it was the kind that was so rich it tastes like chocolate pudding, and the mini one I had had a raspberry on top. Thank you so much to my friend Susie for introducing me to them. I look forward to going back to Santa Cruz to try more someday. My one complaint is that they should open earlier! (Facebook says they open at noon every day, but Yelp had told me 11; phone number is at bottom of this post, I'm just used to bakeries opening early so maybe it's just me.)

From their Facebook page:

We are a local, organic cupcakery specializing in creative and seasonal flavors, custom cakes, and homemade Farm House Frosting. We also carry vegan and gluten-free options daily.