Your ultimate guide to cupcakes around Charlotte

It has been quite the year, there is no doubt about it. Plans have been canceled, birthdays have been spent in COVID-19 quarantine lives have been turned upside down. Some of us need a little pick-me-up or a treat to celebrate the small victories, right?

Sugar might not be able to fix all of our problems, but it definitely doesn’t hurt. Since cupcakes are pretty much personal-sized cakes, they can satisfy a sweet tooth in a guilt-free kind of way. We compiled a list of places to grab a cupcake in and around Charlotte so you can treat yourself.

If cupcakes aren’t your treat of choice, find an ice cream shop near you. Or, an even better idea: get ice cream and a cupcake.

(1) Burney’s Sweets & More

1200 N. Davidson Street, Charlotte and 318 E South Main Street, Waxhaw

You know Burney’s for its stuffed, glazed croisssants, but did you know the bakery with locations in both Charlotte (Belmont neighborhood) and Waxhaw (downtown) has cupcakes, too? Cupcake flavors include birthday cake, strawberry red velvet and more.

(2) BW Sweets Bakery

5820 E. WT Harris Blvd.; 1425 Winnifred St.

BW Sweets Bakery is known for its custom cakes, New York Style cheesecakes and a variety of other sweet treats, including cupcakes. A few year-round flavors include Red Velvet, Blue Velvet and Key Lime.

For those 21 and older, “Grown & Sexy Infused” cupcakes (with alcohol) are available for customers who bring in their own beverages. Flavors included Pink Champagne, Key Lime Patron, Bailey’s Chocolate, Orange Mimosa, Hennessy and Pina Colada.

(3) Cupcake Delirium

219 Main St., Pineville

Cupcake Delirium specializes in made-from-scratch cupcakes in a variety of flavors such as Peanut Butter Cup and Birthday Cake. Make sure to follow Cupcake Delirium on social media to see the daily flavor offerings. You don’t want to miss out.

(4) Cupcake Queen

201 W. South Main St., Suite A, Waxhaw

Cupcake Queen offers online ordering of its gourmet desserts, including cupcakes such as Red Velvet, Strawberry & Cream, Triple Chocolate, Vanilla Chocolate and Plain Jane.

(5) Cupcrazed Cakery

936 Market St., Suite 103, Fort Mill, SC

Cupcrazed is in Fort Mill and the treats are worth the drive. Along with cupcakes, the pastry chefs whip up a delicious assortment of sweet treats. The rotating menu often includes fan favorites like Red Velvet, Reese’s, Triple Strawberry, Salted Caramel, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Cannoli.

The shop also offers vegan and gluten free cupcakes and has several daily specials, such as Two Dollar Tuesdays, where cupcakes, brownies and mini cheesecakes are only $2.

(6) Gigi’s Cupcakes

4732 Sharon Road, Suite M

Gigi’s Cupcakes was founded by Gigi Butler in Nashville during 2008. Since then, the cupcake shop has expanded into about 50 locations, with Charlotte being one of them. Try seasonal flavors before they are all gone from the SouthPark location, which is experiencing a comeback after nearly closing during COVID-19.

(7) J Patisserie

Online only

Although J Patisserie does not have a brick and mortar shop, it has not stopped selling handcrafted baked goods to the community through pickup and delivery services online. A few best selling cupcake flavors include Lemon Lavender, Strawberry Shortcake and Double-Decker, which is a decadent chocolate cupcake.

Can’t choose just one flavor? In this case, that is actually good news because the minimum order quantity for each item (except cakes) is six or more, now that the store has had to make some shifts due to COVID-19. The more cupcakes the merrier, right?

(8) SAS Cupcakes

9941 Rea Road, Suite C

SAS is known for being the original cupcake shipping company, with freshly made cupcakes sent out across the country. The shop has been baking cupcakes since 2007, and serves flavors such as Red Velvet, Triple Chocolate, Oreo, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Cinnamon Toast and Cotton Candy.

(9) Smallcakes Cupcakery and Creamery

4847 Shopton Road, Suite E

Located in Steele Creek, Smallcakes serves gourmet cupcakes, ice cream and other sweet treats. Get your hands on bestselling flavors such as Birthday Cake, Lemon Drop, Red Velvet, Carrot Cake, Wedding Cake, Holy Cannoli and Strawberry.

Specialty flavors are also featured on the shop’s Instagram page so that you won’t miss out on flavors like Caramel Apple Butter Pecan, a white cake with pecans, apple pie filling and apple spice, topped with caramel frosting.

(10) Sprinkled by Kristina

Berkeley, South Charlotte

If you’re looking for custom cupcakes, look no further. Sprinkled by Kristina owner Kristina Villella takes special requests, or you can order from her menu — choose from staples including chocolate or vanilla or dive into the S’mores, Oreo or Peanut Butter options. Place your order online (cupcakes are available by the dozen) and you’ll pick up in South Charlotte’s Berkeley neighborhood (Providence and Ballantyne Commons).

(11) Suarez Bakery

4245 Park Road; 1115 N. Brevard St.

Suarez Bakery, which originally started in Park Road Shopping Center, recently brought its sweet treats to Optimist Hall. Although its cupcake lineup changes frequently, some current bestsellers include apple Pie a-la-Mode, Butterbeer and Chocolate Pumpkin Spice. Vegan and gluten free treats are also available.

(12) Sunflour Baking Company

2001 E. 7th St.; 220 East Blvd.; 14021 Conlan Circle, Suite B-9; 5040 Highway 49 S., Harrisburg

Sunflour Baking Company is a local family-owned bakery and cafe with three locations in Charlotte and one in Harrisburg. Seasonal flavors flying off the shelves right now include Irish Car Bomb cakes —soaked with Irish whiskey simple syrup and topped with Baileys Buttercream icing — and Pink Pomegranate Cupcakes.

When ordering, note that cupcakes come in batches of 6 regular cupcakes or 12 medium or mini cupcakes. Vegan and gluten free options are also available.

(13) Sweet Stuff By Leslie

Providence Crossing, South Charlotte

You’ll want to check out Leslie Fernandez’s Weekend Cupcake Batches — flavors change each week. Choose your assortment and box size, fill out the order form and choose pickup or delivery (for an additional fee, which is based on distance). Can’t decide what to order? Pictures on Instagram always help.

(14) Swirl

1640 Oakhurst Commons Drive, #103

Swirl sells made-to-order, customizable cupcakes with a variety of cake flavors, frostings and toppings. Signature flavors are also on the menu, such as Tiffany, which is rainbow sprinkle cake topped with vanilla buttercream frosting, sprinkles and mini marshmallows.

Seasonal flavors are also not forgotten, like Lemon Lavendar and the spring Strawberry, which is honey vanilla cake with strawberry buttercream and Fruity Pebbles.

(15) Sweet Boutique Bakery

9814 Zackery Ave.

In September, Sweet Boutique Bakery celebrated its seventh year anniversary of serving sweet treats to the Charlotte area. This family-owned and operated small business specializes in sugar art and cakes, but they also bake and sell a variety cupcakes.

A couple crowd-favorites include the S’mores cupcake, which is made with chocolate cake and topped with a marshmallow buttercream, a Hershey bar, and graham cracker crumbs. Vegan and gluten free cupcakes are also available.

(16) Z Bakery

124 Confederate St., Fort Mill, SC

While this Fort Mill bakery and cafe recently switched to taking pre-orders only for cupcakes, there are always at least six different flavors to choose from. The Almond Wedding Cake, which is served all year, is a fan favorite, along with the Strawberry Cream, which is made with homemade strawberry pudding and filled with homemade strawberry mousse.

Is your favorite cupcake spot missing? Email us at charlottefive@charlottefive.com and we’ll be happy to do eat more cupcakes, we mean, do more market research and add your spot to the list.

Editor’s note: This article was first published Dec. 16, 2020, and has been updated.

This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 11:41 AM.

Jennings Cool

The Charlotte Observer