The Bake Shoppe

Amazing cookies, and pastries! They are delicious and top of the line quality. Their Dutch letter are tastier than most bakeries in town, and I’ll definitely be back soon!

Ordered a cute little cake for my dad’s birthday. I called in the day before and they had my order waiting and ready to go when I arrived to pick it up the next day. The staff was super friendly and did a nice little bit of decorations on the cake. It was a simple cake, just chocolate with white frosting, but it was mighty delicious and my dad loved it. Thanks Bake Shoppe! I’m excited to try one of the speciality cakes next time around.
They also have a selection of cookies, dutch letters, and other pastries. I tried an apple pastry that was out of this world.

Thanks Bake Shoppe. I live in Virginia. I called Saturday was told I could choose the cake and order Sunday or Monday for my son’s birthday Tuesday. He goes to Drake University. I called other bakeries on Saturday and they said it was too late to order.
My son said the chocolate cake and the assortment of cup cakes were delicious. I will certainly order again for my son’s graduation party next May.
I will certainly recommend Bake Shoppe to all friends and family.

I had a wonderful experience here– I called the day before my event. They still helped me! On one day’s notice. I ordered the champagne cake based on the Unilocal reviews. It was a huge hit!!! Everyone said it was DELICIOUS! We didn’t have any left over. ;)

Famous for: Champagne Cake & Petit Fours! (Both are to die for!)
We had our wedding cake from here, which was huge and beautiful, and we get treats and bread for every birthday, holiday and family get together.
Friendly and easy to work with staff. This place is a long time local favorite

I was looking for a gourmet bakery that makes amazing cakes and this place came highly recommended among many Unilocalers. The interior is well lit with tiled floors; and the large counter is stacked with colorful sweets and baked goods wide and high.
On the first visit I ordered a 10-​inch Red Velvet Cake ($ 38) for a Thanksgiving meal. The person who helped me at the register guaranteed that I would love this cake. I then proceeded to ask questions about the coloring and frosting, but she was not knowledgeable and couldn’t give me the specifics about why this cake is so special. When I finally cut into the cake, the cake was dark brown with a light chocolate flavor. The frosting was too sugary and the cake lacked the buttermilk surge to accompany the refined cream cheese flavor. Too bad there are no 7-​Eleven stores in Iowa or otherwise their red velvet cupcakes are way better than the ones here.
I wanted to give them another chance so weeks later I returned to get their 8-​inch Champaign Cake ($ 28) and an 8-​inch German Chocolate Cake ($ 28). The pink-​colored Champaign Cake was lighter, spongier, and had a decent flavor. I’ve had other cakes that are much more refined, and despite all the raving reviews I thought the flavors was over-​hyped and lacked wow factor. It’s probably their best cake, and it’s one that I would recommend with so few options around the state.
The German Chocolate Cake had a stronger chocolate flavor covered with buttery frosting and coconut shavings on top. Again, the flavor was pretty standard. The chocolate wasn’t dark enough and the cake could carry a lot more moisture so it wouldn’t be so flaky when I cut into it. The funny thing is that the helper made the same guarantee that I would love their cakes. Since she didn’t know much about these cakes, it started to sound a bit disingenuous on my second visit.
Interested customers can expect standard cakes, ordinary one-​dimensional flavors, and frosting that are dense and often too sugary to bear. What led to this negative review had to do with their service. I called twice into the store to pre-​order these cakes. On both occasions they insisted that I give them the exact time for the pick up. I thought such request was unreasonable since I was coming from more than 42 miles away. I was particularly upset when I told them that I would come at 2pm on Thanksgiving Day and only to have the young lady to respond in an abrupt, condescending tone, «but we open until 3pm!» Mediocre all the way around, I won’t be coming back.

I am a little jaded as I go out of my way to support businesses like this. However, this bakery has a bit of everything. Great dessert selection, decent bread selection, and a very nice and knowledgeable staff. This bakeries specialty is desserts and good ones. If you are looking to step it up a notch in the cupcake, sheet cake, or cookie department at your next function you should visit this bakery. The bread selection isn’t what I was expecting, but they do have some knot bread, hamburger buns, and a few other items. The staff is great and the prices are fair. Also, if you bring your kids with you, they will get a cookie.

What can I say besides yum! The lemon supreme cupcake is hands down my favorite dessert. Luscious lemon cake smothered with creamy lemon frosting and a lemon curd filling hiding inside to tantalize your tongue.
The dutch letters are awesome, the lemon bars are great. Unfortunately I can’t review the whole menu because if there’s a lemon cupcake in the case when I go in that’s what I’m having.

I am upgrading my rating to five stars because I have come here a few more times since my last review and The Bake Shoppe has not disappointed me yet. When I visit Des Moines, I find myself craving the sweet goodies from this place.
Since my last review I’ve tried their:
peanut butter cookie-​crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside (the way I like it!)
boston crème cupcake– thin layer of chocolate on the top, cupcake filled with a light custard, and topped with a cherry (perfect for those that love chocolate but not too much of it) – the cake was very light (like angel cake but not overly sweet as angel cake can be)
german chocolate cake– moist and chocolatey
pumpkin bar – tastes like a pumpkin cake with the perfect amount of frosting on top
And of course, time and time again, during each visit I HAVE to get their peanut butter rice crispy. It is still SUPER SUPER good!!!
Prices for these goodies are usually $ 2 or less (unless you are ordering bread or a whole cake). The downside about The Bake Shoppe is that they close at 5pm. We arrived around 4:30pm and thats when a line started forming behind me! I think everyone else was trying to beat the closing time too!