life is sweet cupcake house - now open

[cord]

Hello all,

Has anyone else visited/tried the new cupcake house on queen st east in the beaches - very east, almost at the street car loop on the north side. I just went there today, they had their grand opening last night. Very cute cakes and cupcakes. Basically same price as the cupcake shoppe at yonge/eglinton. This place has a very spacious front with a nice big bench, and they serve fair trade coffee and tea. The cupcakes themselves seem slightly smaller than cupcake shoppe, but tasted more "homemade". Overall a more "homey" kind of place. I would love to hear other impressions!

-cord

[Calam1ty]

Totally shocked the cupcake store concept hasn't caught on here as it has in many US cities Are there any west of Yonge Street? Queen Street West is crying out for good cupcakes!

[mchumphr]

Hi, I'm trying to pick a place to buy a birthday cupcake for my good friend- might as well make it a great treat! I see a ton of great suggestions, it looks like Life is Sweet is getting no negative reviews thus far. Can anybody tell me if they have any kind of individual packaging? I think that is a sweet touch, and since it's a gift it would be nice.

[Negaduck]

Eat My Words started their annual valentines cupcake store in the concourse of Scotia Plaza today. $5 ($1 for a box). Chocolate, raspberry, lemon or carrot.
Charity this year is the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

[jac55]

I absolutely adore Life is Sweet Cupcake House (not good for the waistline but well worth it) My favourite cupcake is the white chocolate cup cake. It actually tastes like white chocolate instead of just a vanilla flavour. I also love the Earl Grey. The oreo is beautifully decorated but have to admit have not tried as oreo is not really my favourite cookie. The lemon, very lemony, my son loves their double chocolate. They also have a chocolate mint for those who like this combination. The service is excellent, staff very polite. I like to take these to a pot luck when I am asked to bring dessert, 2.25 each or 6 for 12.00. They are so moist and by far the nicest tasting cupcakes I have ever had.

[Suresh]

I second this after trying their varieties yesterday. The staff is so polite and eager to chat you up about their cupcake philosopy and flavours....
I was able to sample the earl grey, the lemon, strawberry, choc...all great.

[JH01]

Try Circles and Squares bakery in Liberty Village...so good. They sell them a Pusateri's too for downtown dwellers

[alleycat81]

For those that have been, are there any tables and chairs set up to try these cupcakes in-house? Cord mentioned that they served fair trade coffees and teas, so I'm assuming there is somewhat of a seating set-up. I ask because when I treat myself to a cupcake at the Cupcake Shoppe on Yonge & Eglinton, I often really want a cup of coffee to go with it and it's not the most convenient to buy my cupcake and then walk over to Starbucks and feel bad having my cupcake inside the Starbucks!!

[CravinMaven]

Life Is Sweet has a bench in the store where I sat and enjoyed four different flavours (thank goodness for their Mini sized cupcakes) and a cup of their coffee, which was also great. I've tried every one of their cupcakes except butterscotch, and so far i've loved them all. And the owner is the nicest woman on the planet. Really.

[boobah]

I haven't tried them, but I've heard of another cupcake catering company called The Cupcake Studio. My friend used them for her wedding and they were amazing! Not sure if they have a retail shop or not. The best cupcakes we ever had, and we've tried ALOT!

[SharkfinSoup]

I tried them for the first time last week, we had the cocont and the Earl Grey with orange icing - they were yummy...

Today I went back and bought the Lemon Drop ones - Oh my!!! I think these are probably the best cupcakes ever! Lemony flavoured cake with yummy lemon butter icing. The piece de resistance? A drop of home made lemon curd just buried under the icing in the centre of the cake.....What time is it? Are they still open at 8 o'clock on a Saturday night? Can I go and get some more???

[wheresthafood]

We ordered a dozen cupcakes for my SO's birthday at the beginning of March from Life is Sweet. The lady there was very nice to deal with, particularly as I was unable to go to the shop to order and called it in instead. She very patiently went over all the different flavours available and was fairly flexible as to when to pick them up (especially considering I waited almost 'til the last minute to call).

I purchased 6 vanilla bud and 6 Earl Grey (their signature flavour). We really enjoyed the vanilla bud cupcakes. They were beautifully decorated almost too pretty to eat. The vanilla flavour was almost too strong!

The Earl Grey was okay, according to my husband, but I did not get a chance to try it for myself.

We actually had some left over and they're in our freezer. I am curious as to how well they freeze. The lady at the shop strongly recommended that we do not freeze them. I was pleased to hear they do not use preservatives.

I will definiately have to try the lemon drops.

[Full tummy]

Stopped by Life is Sweet yesterday. $12.00 for 6. Sorry people, I'd like to like this place, but the cupcakes were not so good. Cake was light and fluffy, but after tasting the grainy, wet icing, I tore it off the top and left it in the box. Even the chocolate icing was disappointingly loose and gritty, not smooth and fudgy like a good ganache. Will not go back.

[Phoenix]

Brought home cupcakes from Life is Sweet on Valentine's Day. One chocolate, the other Earl Gray with mandarin icing. The Earl Gray was particularly good and is part of their regular lineup. The lemon and the coconut cupcakes also looked interesting. I'd definitely say give it a try.

[Negaduck]

I'll have to check them out.

In other cupcake news, Eat My Words (eatmywords.org) has set up their annual Valentines stand downstairs at Scotia Plaza. Cupcakes are $5 (extra for the box) and other treats such as brownies and cookies. The money goes to "Grandmothers to Grandmothers."

They'll probably be there until Valentines Day.

[shocked]

Do you know if this is something Eat my words does every year? I just checked their website, but see no mention of it...

[Negaduck]

I'm pretty sure they do it every year and they usually don't mention it on their site (I doubt it's often updated, if at all).

[Suresh]

I bought 3 cupcakes.
2 Carrotcake cupcakes with vanilla frosting and 1 raspberry cucake with raspberry filling.

EMW takes the cake ( ;) ) for being very creative with the type of mixtures they use for the cakes. They really tasted like mini gourmet cakes.

[Negaduck]

The icing is too sweet on Kubo babycakes.

Also, is there any place in the city that makes a good cake part of the cupcake?

[Full tummy]

I had a delicious red velvet cupcake from Sweet Bliss Baking Company yesterday. Cake and icing were superb.

[bogie]

Whoa, a red velvet cupcake. Great idea. Where is Sweet Bliss located, please?

[Full tummy]

It's at 1304 Queen Street East. Keep in mind that I wrote about it a year ago now; there have been some mixed reviews since then. However, I stand by my initial appraisal. Unfortunately, red velvet is different things to different people. I didn't grow up with such a thing, so had no preconceived notions of what it should be. I only know that I liked it very much. It was moist and dense, though not overly so, with a delicious buttercream icing. (I have an instant dislike of grainy, metallic, uncooked icings.) And I prefer Sweet Bliss's red velvet to LaRocca's raspberry red velvet cake any day. To check hours and cupcakes, you may want to call them: [phone]

[Otonabee]

You can tell that cupcakes are pretty popular right now. Just north of Life is Sweet on another cupcake shop actually opened up right inside Gazebo called Sugar Plum (the store is now offers garden accessories and baking...fun combo). The shop is on Kingston Road just west of Victoria Park. I went in there on Thursday and thier cakes look beautiful!

[enviro_123]

Thanks for the suggestion. I find Kubo's cupcakes insanely expensive. What is the price point for Life is Sweet? I wouldn't mind checking out what they have for upcoming Valentine's Day.

[Kai]

Checked out Life is Sweet yesterday....icing on the white chocolate cupcake was insanely good. Price point is $2.25 each -- sorry, I didn't notice how much a dozen were, I believe it was $12. Brought their chocolate cupcake w/ me to work for a coffee snack! They've got a Valentine's special if you're still interested in them for Valentine's Day.

Someone else mentioned a nice vibe in here....definitely, and their service was super nice.

[mtampoya]

Do you know the website? Another great cupcake shop is Kubo cupcakes. They are way better than the cupcake shoppe.

[Full tummy]

Have never been happy with Kubo. The cupcakes are stored in the refrigerator, which means they never taste just baked, and their icing is hard and grainy.

[FlavoursGal]

cord, the one and only time I went to the Cupcake Shoppe, I found the cupcakes to be adorable but tastewise, to be overly sweet and lacking depth. Are the cupcakes at this new place more flavourful and less sweet, perhaps?

[cord]

Hi FlavoursGal -
I think the best way to describe them at life is sweet, is that they tasted more "real". Yes I think slightly less sweet - although I did have a chocolate one, and it was very chocolatey! :)

[magic]

The Cupcake Shoppe on Yonge has the most gorgeous storefront and is so charming inside. But their cupcakes are, in my little opinion, awful and synthetic tasting. And as I recall in the $2 area - ridiculous for what you get.

[vorpal]

Agreed, sort of. I was very much looking forward to the Cupcake Shoppe and while the cupcakes were beautiful, they were virtually tasteless (and definitely lacking in sugar, unlike how you found 'em). I could have had better from a boxed mix.