Cake Envy

LAST DAY OF BUSINESS is this coming Sunday December 1^st???
I just read that via All You Can Eat Blog from The Seattle Times. Say it isn’t so!
Yes, there is no short supply of cupcakes here, but Cake Envy did it with such elegant style and substance.
Go support an independent business this coming weekend 11÷30÷13 and 12÷1÷13.
Buy your family, friends, neighbors, co-​workers, and yourself high quality cupcakes.
Why should I care? Because I used to work in the baking industry and I support independent businesses.
I know it’s right after Thanksgiving, but I plan to defy my doctors and buy some cupcakes. Give up that mocha, run that extra mile, spend that extra time on the treadmill, swim those extra laps… buy cupcakes this weekend!

The biggest hazard is that my dentist is right next to this bakery… Every time I come to the dentist, I feel the urge of having to drop by to pick up something delicious to eat after my teeth cleaning. It probably just counteracted on all the good work that was done at the dentist but that’s okay! I can live with it. That’s what sonic care toothbrush is for :)
My favorite is their red velvet cake! My husband last year surprised me with a beautiful cake for my birthday from this place. Decorated beautifully! I was especially excited that i could eat cake for breakfast the next four days.
I’ve tried several other frosting for cream cheese but I think their cream cheese frosting is one of the best ive tasted. Looking forward to coming back to this place again after my next dentist visit!

What a shame! What kind of business turns away a customer who’s called in, not only days in advance, but also day-​of, to confirm a cupcake request?
Answer: Cake Envy.
I’m so sad to say that I’ve had a horrible customer service experience with this place. A friend and I made the trek to Cake Envy on a Friday night before a friend’s birthday dinner (cue: rainy weather, rush hour, traffic, horrible parking, you-​name-​it.) As a surprise to the birthday girl, we just needed 6 matcha cupcakes with matcha frosting (only offered on Fridays). I confirmed with the gal who picked up the phone that day (11÷8÷2013), that swinging by that evening would be just fine; the cupcakes should be there since we were only going to get half a dozen.
Unexpectedly, the power went out at the store just as we entered in. The lone worker seemed to have recognized me from my confirmation calls, but told us she couldn’t sell cupcakes because she couldn’t get into the register. We unsuccessfully pleaded and even stood outside for a while, just in case the worker changed her mind about turning us away. She did not offer us to come inside, and we were forced to leave empty-​handed.
While I understand that there may be logistics to selling products without formally opening the cash register, the worker showed no sympathy. She also wouldn’t accept EXACT change to put into the register later. As a customer and former fan of Cake Envy, I left dissatisfied, confused, and annoyed that we drove for nothing, and went to Cupcake Royale instead.
Note: I don’t have anything against their cupcakes, and am a fan of Helen herself and what she’s done with the business… but this worker! She could use a lesson, and this review was for her. Wish I remembered her name.

The shop name is so fitting because now I truly envy anyone enjoying these delectable cupcakes while I sulk back in California. My first visit was last week for my sister’s birthday — we picked up half a dozen in lieu of a birthday cake. My sister (already a big fan of cake envy, they catered her wedding) and I were in for a sweet surprise when we realized we walked in during happy hour! Buy two, get one free. My favorites included the Matcha Strawberry, Red Velvet, and the Lemon one. Most, thick, and just enough sweet without an overbearing taste of sugar. These cupcakes were absolutely delicious and they lasted two days in the fridge before they were annihilated.
+ Location is great, there’s parking also in the garage to the left of the building.
+ The shop itself is clean and inviting
+ Not too pricey
+ The view across the street of Greenlake is beautiful to gaze at while enjoying one or two of these bad boys.

Visited this spot this past Sunday around 5 pm. Location is in a small shopping center near Green Lake that has free parking; just go around the corner after passing it to get back to it. Also in the shopping center are Ben & Jerry’s and a sushi spot. store front feels pretty bare, but on a nice day the outdoor seating seemed like a great option.
Take note: they have a buy 2, get one free happy hour on cupcakes from 4 – 7 pm. I did take advantage of that while also using a giltcity deal I had previously purchased for a dozen. The certificate indicates you have to call in advance and print out the voucher to bring with you but I was in the area and they were very accommodating. Ended up with a variety of flavors, including chocolate raspberry, french toast, red velvet, strawberry cheesecake, drumstick, lavender, chocolate mint, and carrot cake.
So far I have tried the carrot cake (usually my favorite, but I didn’t like this one), the strawberry cheesecake (my favorite), the chocolate raspberry (not a fan of this one either…), the drumstick (pretty dang good), and the lavender (tasted a little too herbaceous for me). If you’re tracking that’s two of the 5 that I took bites of that I liked. Cupcakes are beautiful, location is nice, price is expensive ($ 4 per cc in general), and taste seems hit and miss. Also noticed they have minis and that their specials extend to alcohol. Definitely worth a try :)
**Note to giltcity deal holders: they charge tax on top of the certificate price, which runs about $ 4 for the dozen. I was surprised by this, as usually with a deal you don’t pay additional funds.

Oh what a treat! I had been hearing great things about this place and finally got the chance to go over the weekend. There was so many flavors to choose from I had a really hard time narrowing it down.
I ended up with the Spic-​y Mexican Chocolate Cupcake and a mini Strawberry Matcha Cupcake. The cake itself was awesome. Soft, moist but not too heavy. The Mexican Chocolate had deep, rich chocolate flavor but the Matcha was very mild, I could barely taste the matcha. However I do tend to like my Matcha a bit stronger than most. I also noticed that the cake in the big cupcake had better texture and flavor than in the mini cupcakes.
The frosting on the Mexican Chocolate Cupcake was a blast of flavor in my mouth, it was crazy! It was smoky, sweet and spicy. You could definitely feel some heat and kick at the end. The strawberry frosting on the Matcha Cupcake was very fresh and fruity. Even though both frostings were tasty, they were a bit too rich for me. Almost like butter… I had to scrape some off. I think that is more of a preference thing though.
Cake Envy is a great place to get a little treat. They even have slices of cake here as well. All pretty affordable, the mini cupcakes are $ 2-​$ 2.50 per one and the larger ones are $ 3 – 4. I am pretty sure I will be back to try other flavors… my guilty conscious wouldn’t allow me to get more than 2.

Who doesn’t love a cake/​cupcake shop that has a Happy Hour? What? That’s right– this place right here does. From 4 – 7 pm when you buy 2 cupcakes you get a third free.
We ordered the carrot but, French toast and strawberry cheesecake. They were all delicious! My husband and son devoured there’s within minutes so I can not attest for how delicious their’s were– but I’ll take their word for it.
The service is friendly, the space is clean and overall we will be back to try other flavors when we are in the area– especially during happy hour!

Such a disappointment!
I went in to order a few dozen cupcakes on a Wednesday evening and the gal that helped me was very friendly and assured me the cupcakes would be ready Saturday by ten am (just in time for my party) … However when we tried to pick them up we were told very rudely that they would not be ready until noon (late for the party). When we finally did get the cupcakes home we found that the two gluten free ones that were in a separate box had been put in the box without any holder on the bottom so they had rolled around and basically looked terrible!
As for the cupcakes they were just OK… With so many great cupcake places in Seattle this one is NOT worth it — and the service upon pick up was terrible! Overall we were very disappointed — we will not be returning to Cake Envy

I got a cake from here for my Mom’s retirement party. It did not disappoint!
The cake was a huge hit and I was very pleased with the value and the product. I opted for the 10 inch square in red velvet with cream cheese frosting. $ 58 base price with extra charges for colored buttercream and/​or more ornate decorations.
Compared to their cupcakes ($ 3.50-$ 4.50 each) the cake was a better deal averaging out to about $ 2/​serving. They do their writing free in any color you choose. Any colors you want on the cake are $ 5/​color which is reasonable I think. I got 2 colored designs which added $ 10 to the price= $ 68 total plus tax for 36 servings of cake.
We cut 36 pieces and because the cake was 4 layers tall the pieces were fairly generous.
Man was the cake good! Everyone raved about it. Let this be your warning:
Self control ends with this cake.
I bought it Friday evening and we served it the next day. It was just perfect. The only gripe I have is I did notice their buttercream is very buttery as others have mentioned. This is not a bad thing but it really is evident when you get bites that have a lot of frosting. It tastes like whipped butter– which again– is not necessarily a negative. It just is true that their buttercream tastes like straight up butter.
It seems like they used cream cheese frosting in between the layers and vanilla buttercream to coat the cake on the sides and top. I loved the cream cheese frosting. The buttercream was light and fluffy but I probably would have preferred all cream cheese frosting. Now I know!
Oh I also picked up a few singles because why not?! The coconut cupcake was to die for as was the machta cupcake with machta frosting. The chocolate cupcake was also divine. Love Cake Envy! I really don’t understand why this place doesn’t get as much press as Cupcake Royale, Trophy, Sugar Rush, Yellow Leaf, etc. They deserve more recognition!

hmm… i’ve never had a cupcake i didn’t like until i came here. The store is adorable and they’re display is actually pretty amazing but the cupcakes are so bland and blah. I was so disappointed. The only one I kinda liked was the neopolitan but don’t expect any bold flavors. And wayyy over priced drinks. meh …

Stopped by after my walk today on the advice of Thrill. I got 3 mini cupcakes to taste test.
Results:
Coconut — QUITE POSSIBLY THE FLUFFIEST DESSERT IN EXISTENCE. Loved it. All around perfect coconut cupcake. No complaints. Light, airy, sweet, not too sweet. Did I mention I loved it?
Lemon Raspberry — The frosting was a little buttery for my taste, but again, the cake was perfectly fluffy and the flavor was spot on.
Red Velvet — Maybe the best red velvet in Seattle. Cream cheesiest frosting and light weight cake. YUM.
It’s official, Cake Envy is the fluffiest.

If you find yourself in the Green Lake area, give this place a try! It’s worth it.
The vanilla cupcake is heavenly! And the red velvet!
It seems operationally the staff still needs to work better with each other to smooth the process a bit.
After this, go running by the Green lake and burn off your calories!

I stumbled into Cake Envy on their first birthday party with my daughter, and it was like taking her to a kid’s Unilocal Elite Event.
There were free pictures with mustaches and tiaras, a free food spread with great cheeses and charcuterie, a ballon animal lady whose end products were pure artistry, a DJ, wine for the adults at one in the afternoon, lots of give-​aways, an all you can assemble into your own grab bag white candy homage, and even a cartoonist drawing free portraits of all the guests. It was, as they say, off the hook.
Behind the counter for purchase were beautiful looking cupcakes: crème brûlée cupcakes, green tea cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, peanut butter cupcakes, cookies and cream cupcakes. Cupcake after cupcake. I opted for two that looked tasty.
When I took my first bite of cupcake, that I had to purchase mind you, I was pleased. Strawberry cheesecake. It was insanely tasty, and not that sickly sweet froo-​froo cupcake type of tasty, but actually very tasty. Impressed! Wow.
I mean I was five stars impressed. Really, really impressed. It all sounds impressive, no?
Then I tried a bite of my daughter’s cookie’s and cream cupcake, and found out why my miniature chocoholic declared that she preferred mine. Her cupcake was just okay. It incorporated frosting that contained stale-​ish tasting crushed oreos, and while the cake was über fresh, the frosting was just off.
Overall, a great customer experience and some surprising flavors. I like their style and innovation and their sincere, homemade-​tasting cupcakes far more than some of the more sickly sweet cupcakes about town.
That cookies and cream was a real disappointment though.

I went here for the first time this week on Tuesday and it was very tasty! I had the french toast cupcake and my husband had the peanut butter chocolate cupcake. Both were great!
I loved it so much, I went back tonight. Walked all the way there, and they were closed!!! It was 6pm on a Saturday, they had no explanation. Their hours state they are clearly open during this time, there were people inside the shop, but there were no cupcakes to be seen, and the door was locked.
So — would have been 5 stars but so far 50% of the times I have tried to go here were bad, so I can only give it 3 stars. I’d love to know what happened!

It was sadly disappointing.
It was my birthday and a few friends of mine and I had been traveling around the city eating different foods from numerous places. Just an average foodie day. I had found this place using my iPhone and saw so many raving fans. I’m a huge cupcake fan and figured we should end the day with some delicious mini cupcakes. Unfortunately we all were surprised to find that they lacked flavor. We ordered the whole 18 available flavors and each one seemed to be lacking actual flavor. I tried a bit of everyone figuring maybe a few were made to be light on the sweetness but the multiple frosting flavors seemed bland. Despite the cupcakes the staff were very friendly and it was a very cute store. Unfortunately I most likely wont return. It’s just not a cake I envy.

Okay Cake Envy, you win.
Just popped in after a wading pool play date for some minis. Between friends we got key lime (with lime curd inside and graham cracker around the icing), raspberry lemon, French toast, salted caramel, vanilla, and chocolate.
I tried the salted caramel and French toast. I am patting myself on the back for picking these amazing taste delights. French toast tasted so amazing, and the chocolate cake on the salted caramel was delicious– drizzled in caramel with caramel icing. I can’t even decide which was better– I guess I’ll have to buy huge ones and eat them all to myself to decide… mmmm…
I think maybe the icing is different than it was the last time I went. It seemed slightly sweeter, but by no means overpowering or intensely greasy, as was the case before.
I also love the AC in here, and they have a water jug with plenty of glasses so tired walkers and cupcake connoisseurs can serve themselves. At 1.75 per mini and 3 for each large, they are as pricey as any fancy cake shop, but the service and décor are great.

Not trying to sound snobby, but having a smart phone has its privileges.
Like being able to search for vegan bakeries on a whim while driving around a city I love. Cake Envy popped up on my search instantly, and Greenlake is so pretty.
The choice was obvious.
While this bakery showcases more non-​vegan than vegan offerings, it is an adorable place to sit and drink espresso and marvel at how lovely the lake is at night. The staff is sweet here, and the gal who made our coffee also made my special gluten/​dairy-​free chocolate cupcake topped with coconut frosting. I don’t know how they make something so specific taste so good, but boy do they!
If I lived closer, I would make Cake Envy part of my regular dessert rotation.

Yum!
These are good cupcakes. They don’t make you feel heavy after eating them, they’re light, rich, and flavorful. Frosting wise, it’s lighter than a lot of places which is a good thing.
I’ve tried the Matcha green tea, the monthly special (feb, nosh-​ess?), the carrot cake, the almond coconut, and the tiramisu. I really like the green tea and the carrot cake ones. I wasn’t a big fan of the tiramisu.
I like that they have hh here and they also serve alcohol and coffee. Haven’t tried the drinks, but planning on coming back to try out diff flavors and take advantage of the hh.
I usually get a couple of the minis which allows me to try different flavors and satisfies that sweet craving.

this is the only cupcake location with GreenTea cupcakes! automatic 5 stars! I usually don’t eat all the frosting off cupcakes but the green tea cream cheese frosting is so good! It’s not too sweet either which I prefer when there’s a lot of frosting.
they also have green tea lattes here & the location is so pretty!

Such a lovely place to get some work done. Delicious red velvet cupcakes (with too much cream cheese frosting but that’s a largely personal preference because I rarely like frosting anyway) and an alright espresso macchiato. I love how they offer tiny cupcakes because my sweet tooth is very limited and the tiny ones were perfect for my palate.
Did some work at the bar seating with a nice view of Green Lake to my right. The café/​bakery got a little loud when busy, as expected, but it wasn’t distracting in the least bit. The employees seem quite friendly, too. And although we *finally* got internet at home, I’d still like to visit cake envy to get some work done (free WiFi!) in a pleasant atmosphere (and good cupcakes just steps away!). Maybe, we’ll see.