Cupcake Stop Shop

This woman is very unprofessional, to say the least. I placed an order with her 48 hours in advance and she advised me she’d give me a call on the day that the order was due to me. I waited around for her to call and she never did, so I called her. Her voicemail stated she was closed for a private event. Can you imagine how irritated I was to find out that she bailed on my order AND she never even called me to let me know something else had come up?! Also, when you talk to her on the phone, she is very dry and makes you feel as if you’re bothering her. I don’t think she’s in a happy place mentally. But, why do I need to know that as a customer? I would suggest you go to another cupcake shop. Don’t do business with her unless you enjoy getting the runaround. I suggest you visit Gigi’s Cupcakes instead located at 1028 Oberlin Road in Raleigh. They are much more professional, well-​staffed, and have a stable «business-​like» environment.

Many were the days that I lamented the lack of a proper dessertery when I worked in downtown Raleigh. So I filled my needs at Square Rabbit or went without. Little did I know Cupcake Stop Shop had quietly opened, tucked away in an indoor area of multi-​vendors in Moore Square. I noticed they were listed as a vendor at the upcoming Unilocaler party, and finding myself in the area for First Friday, I eagerly pounced on a preview. It’s a tiny and unassuming shop — in many ways it feels like it’s still growing into its décor and intended atmosphere. But the cheery tower cupcake display on the right and the filled cases at the cashier counter both pulled me in. I ended up with a half-​dozen flavors (spurred on by the huge variety, as well as a Unilocal deal!) and a couple of cake truffles (think: mini cake balls).
The owner is incredibly nice and personable, and I have to credit her with having both the creativity and dedication to churn out so many different varieties… a definite strength of this shop. But I feel I’m becoming a bit of a cupcake snob — as you may gather from my lengthy, growing list of cupcake reviews — and there were a few things that fell short for me with these… size-​wise, they are more petite than most, but I think that the reasonable price reflects this. The main fault with the cupcakes is in the sweetness. I know some will call me crazy: It’s a cupcake — of course it’s sweet! But I think mastering the cupcake (and flavors like Chocolate Covered Strawberry) is all about mastering the balance of the flavors of the cake, the filling, the icing, and the chocolate drizzle. Instead of getting a harmonious blend of tangy strawberry, creamy whipped topping, sweet yet summery cake, chocolate bitters, I just felt like I got a lot of sugar. And this was true of most of the flavors. Of the bunch, my favorite was definitely the Snickerdoodle (in which the cinnamon really offset the cake nicely), followed by the Banana Puddin (a close taste resemblance of the traditional). I did think the cake truffles were winners — fudgy, rich chocolate on the inside, and a light white chocolate candy coating on the outside… but they are quite small. Turn ‘em in to fuller-​sized cake balls, and they’d be irresistible to this sweet tooth!

Cute tiny shop close to moore square. A nice dessert to end a meal. The stawberry cupcake was probably the best with an actual strawberry filling.

Cupcakes are inherently delicious, but these are not only delicious but come in a variety of specialty types, such as nutter butter, banana split, butter pecan, and more. Called on Saturday, and they were delivered to my house on Sunday. Awesome! The owner takes pride in her business. Will be ordering again!