Payton’s Cupcake Place

This is now a bakery called Sugar Mama’s and it is awesome. Much cuter than you’d expect from the outside. It has a wonderful assortment of desserts. I had the coffee cake with an oatmeal streudel– delicious and highly recommended.

I take «bad reviews» very seriously, being a small business owner myself. I am still in shock over my experience with Payton’s Cupcake Place. It’s completely unacceptable, and I think this place is either already out of business, or on its way out of business.
I went into the shop on a weekday, the week of my daughter’s 6^th birthday party. When I walked in, I thought the shop looked a little unkept, and there were maybe two dozen cupcakes on display in the front display cabinet. The employee that took my order suggested a specific cupcake to me, and I ordered a dozen. I confirmed that they were open on Sundays, from 11 – 5, which is what was posted on the door. She took my order, wrote it down in front of me, and I said that I wanted to pre-​pay so that I could just send my husband to pick them up on Sunday morning and not have to deal with paying for them. I paid in full, $ 30 for a dozen cupcakes.
Sunday rolled around and my daughter’s party was at 1pm. I decided to just get the cupcakes myself, so I made the 20 minute drive from my home to Paytons. I arrived to the shop at 11:20am. The shop was closed, no one was inside, I knocked and no one came. I was pretty furious, and decided I would drive home and call them and expect them to be delivered to me. I called and the line was busy. For the whole drive home it was busy. So instead of being stuck with no birthday cupcakes, I ended up scrambling and grabbing a cake from Safeway. I tried several more times that day to call, and no one answered.
I called again on Monday several times, looking to at least find out if there was maybe a family emergency or get an apology and a CREDIT for the $ 30.00 that I paid for my cupcakes. I tried again today (Tuesday). All I get is busy signals. There is no email on the website. I had to call my bank to contest the charge and I am hoping it will be reversed.
My only thought is that these people are out of business. I wish I had read the reviews on here in advance.
So unprofessional, and just not acceptable.

Push up cakes :)
Daughters loved the idea of a push up cake pops… their first time to have a taste of one of these. Delicious flavors of chocolate, vanilla and red velvet cakes with an assortment of different toppings.
My experience with this is that it took me three times to try to redeem, each time having to drive from Roseville to Carmichael each time… this was a DealSaver coupon for Easter which expired, of course, on Easter Sunday. First try, they were closed on Easter Sunday; second try, explained that I was there Sunday and that they were closed so it was extended one week so I came back the following Sunday and their cake machine was down and coupon was extended for another two weeks; I was able to redeem on third try and I was given an extra free cake pop. The owner/​employee? was apologetic and very friendly… works for me :)

I’m so bummed to give this place a 2 star review. To be honest, I have visited 3x since they initially opened last year. They were recently closed for about 2 – 3 months (due to vandalism, per staff… so sad) but are now back and open again.
So, the FIRST time I was here last year, I actually had a very good impression of the cupcake I had. It was a salted caramel cupcake and was moist, filled with gooey caramel and delicious! It was so good that I returned for a second time a couple of months later with my son. That time, I had the german chocolate… kinda dry and the frosting was just OK.
After returning today and having the Butterfinger and S’mores cupcakes (yes, I had 2, don’t judge)… I have to settle on the 2 star rating. The S’mores cupcake was SO DRY… tasted like a sponge. Frosting was OK but it had no filling, just a few mini marshmallows on top, nothing special.
The Butterfinger cupcake was better but too sweet for my taste.
They are running a buy 3 ($ 2.75 each) get one free special so I went with that deal though they do have a Unilocal check in deal for buy 2 get 1 free. I was initially planning on saving my Unilocal deal for my next visit but after today, I don’t think I’ll be back.
Store itself is decorated cute but kinda sparse. Cupcake selection was very slim today as well.
Bottom line: Wish I could give it a better review but I don’t think I’ll be back :(

Just stopped by the new Grand Opening since the new owners bought the place and the cupcakes were delicious. I ended up buying a dozen thanks to a $ 5 off coupon and almost ate all of them in 2 days. Definitely worth trying and with the new ownership I feel this company will only get better.

I quite enjoyed my treat from Payton’s Place! The raspberry cupcake was my favorite!
Big selection of cupcakes. Great customer service. I was greeted and helped immediately.
Cupcakes were moist and flavorful. Frosting was DELICIOUS!
I can’t complain much because all that was left were a few crumbs.

Let me start by saying that I consider myself a connoisseur of all things CUPCAKE and I have a pretty discriminating palette overall. Happened to be in the area and noticed a large sign advertising a Grand Opening for Payton’s, immediately swerved into the parking lot filled with curiosity.
The ambience:
I walked in and was immediately struck by the unoriginal décor — how many more cupcakeries are going to do the whole pink and brown thing, eh? The tablecloths were cheap plastic and way too cutesy, definitely store-​bought and nothing elegant or tasteful. The images of the baby girl on the wall are of the owner’s daughter… everyone, can you say Esther’s with me? Yea, she’s got her kids on the wall also, very cute but now it’s been done.
The help:
No uniforms. Only rumpled street clothes on the cashier and the «baker» in the back. Rap music playing in the store. Cashier negotiated a tamale deal with a woman who came in selling them off the street.
The cupcakes:
I was afraid to eat them as soon as I’d purchased them and got into my car. I somehow just knew that these were completely inferior to any cupcakes I’ve tasted in the area. I can tell you this: I called a friend of mine who happens to be a baker and told him that I’d just purchased 3 cupcakes (lemon, chocolate, red velvet) and asked him if he’d tried them and he had such a strong, definite reaction that I was tempted to go and get my money back. Apparently, his baking school classmate worked there on an externship for 3 days and quit because she wasn’t ok with them using Pillsbury box cake mix and watering it down — hence the bland, tasteless product. Buttercream frosting is over-​rated and a crutch for those amateur bakers not interested or able to create a more flavorful topping. WORST experience I’ve ever had, I’ll never ever go back! Sticking with Esther’s and Drizzle from now on.

So I decided to give another chance to make things right, no I honestly do have to agree with the other reviewers. First off I came in to get the what’s up doc and the Red Velet, the girl at the counter did not even greet or acknowlwdge me. Then after a moment of waiting the girl asks me what do I want? in a rude tone! Really… I looked at the woman said absoulutly nothing! And walked out I refuse to deal with ppls attitudes. I definitley will not be returning for there just ok cupcakes anymore! I will only support local buisnesses who respect and appereciate and value there customers.

I went here for a deal I got from Groupon. Super excited to try it out and got a dozen cupcakes for a girls coffee get together. I was so disappointed as were all the people who tried them. There was nothing special about the cupcakes and the reviews that compared them to store bought cupcakes were right on the money. Two of my guests were great bakers and quickly noticed that a few of the cupcakes were not made with real ingredients but extract.
The other thing is that they were not friendly at all and not helpful when I was trying to decide what cupcakes to get. They will not be able to stay in business which is sad but in this market you have to really have a worthwhile product.

I have to start this review by giving two key facts about myself: 1. I love cake and cupcakes to the point that I will eat myself sick 2. I love to support local businesses. Given these two facts, a local cupcake place must be pretty bad for me to not only say that I will never go there but to also caution people not to waste your money there.
A friend of mine ordered cupcakes for a bridal shower she was throwing and called me with excitement when she said she had gone to Payton’s and they were going to match the frosting to the table linens. She was pretty open to any creative ideas that they had but only asked that they not use pink frosting because the bride to be was not a pink type of girl. She placed the order on a Thursday to pick up the cupcakes on Sunday at noon.
Service — When she arrived at Payton’s to pick up the cupcakes she was told that it would be about a 30 minute wait. REALLY?! you can make a batch of cupcakes in thirty minutes, the store is empty (as usual) and you don’t have the order completed and need another 30 minutes, did you even have the things started? Also, what about the common courtesy of calling to say that it’ll be a little late so don’t drive over here and sit in our store for thirty minutes listening to the «baker» have a conversation on her cell phone.
Now down to the cupcakes:
Presentation — And I repeat, specific instructions were no pink… When she opened the box the cupcakes were pink with pink sprinkles, looked nothing like the colors in the linens that were brought in. Of all the possible colors they did the one that was asked not to be used? On top of that, they looked less like a gourmet cupcake and more like something you make in your own kitchen and then throw some store bought sprinkles on.
Cupcakes — There were 4 different flavors
–Red Velvet — The only edible one. Tasted like a box cake mix and some mid level frosting (not home made but slightly above just out of the can.
–Raspberry– I tasted one bit of frosting and had to stop… for someone that can eat an entire jar of store bought frosting and an entire batch of homemade frosting with just a spoon, my friends were shocked to see me completely pass on a cupcake (I think this was literally a first for me). Also, it had some nasty jelly doughnut filling that was just wrong.
–Lemon– Again with the nasty jelly filling (these are $ 3 cupcakes we are talking about not a 50 cent doughnut) the lemon flavor was overkill and the cake was dry
–Chocolate with vanilla frosting — the cake was so dry that it just flaked apart in your hand. The frosting was decent, but when you solely sell cupcakes decent just doesn’t cut it.
As much as I would love to support a local small business I have to walk away from this one. We paid $ 60 for 2 dozen cupcakes and gave Payton’s a chance to be introduced to a whole party full of local Carmichael folks. Attention owner of Payton’s: Epic fail on your part, when your cupcakes are going to be featured at a party don’t mess it up, you didn’t just lose 1 customer you lost at least 24. But thank you for providing us with a topic of discussion for at least an our while we each went over why our cupcake was disgusting. When a group of women can’t finish a cupcake each you have a serious problem.
I would never recommend this place to anyone looking for gourmet cupcakes (or any cupcakes at all). Although I am glad to see businesses opening up in Carmichael, I am looking forward to the next place that opens up in this storefront as I am sure Payton’s will not last long unless they seriously reevaluate their entire operation. at $ 60.00 for 2 dozen cupcakes you are far better off going to Raley’s across the street and spending a quarter of that for the same quality.

This place was not up to par for me. The cupcakes tasted dry and the frosting was cloying at times. I tried three cupcakes.
— mint chip — very bland. Tastes like a supermarket cupcake. Even the little andes mint on the top could not save it. Frosting just tastes like sugar.
— cookies and cream — again bland. I think that all three cupcakes I for tastes exactly the same, just with different frosting.
— salted caramel? — I don’t quite remember the name of the last one, but same deal. Dry, bland cupcake, but this one had a twist. A not-​so-​little, not-​so-​pleasant caramel pocket in the middle. Totally overwhelming for the little cupcake.
Service was ok. Nice enough, but will not be coming back. Too much money for such garden variety cupcakes.

Absolutely terrible customer service.
I went in to look at their cupcakes. I live in the neighborhood and am planning a baby shower. I told the sales clerk I was just looking for now.
She went back to the cash register where a man (manager?) was busy checking something on the cash register. I was the only customer in the shop. The man never even looked up at me. There was no «hello» or «good bye» when I left. Here was their chance to talk to me about their different cupcakes and be a little friendly.
I can’t judge the quality of their cupcakes and I never will as I do not intend to ever go back to that store. It will be interesting to see if this business makes it.

We were VERY disappointed in the cupcakes we bought, one «key lime» and one «strawberry cream».
Both of the cakes themselves were very dry and bland; just no flavor to them.
The strawberry was WAY too sweet, the key lime, well, just blah.
Sorry, won’t be back. I can’t see spending $ here.

Where do you go when you’re dying for cupcakes at 7pm? I thought for sure a cupcake place would close around then, so I was happy to find Payton’s cupcakes, but overjoyed when I saw the open sign illuminated. The woman working might have thought I was crazy, with me walking in, grinning from ear to ear.
I bought 3 cupcakes:
White Chocolate– vanilla cake with light brown buttercream frosting and white chocolate chips and white chocolate drizzle. This cupcake is good, but it is pretty simple (which is fine). I recommend this one if you are trying to please a picky eater; someone who doesn’t like straying from their comfort zone. The frosting was very light and delicious, but a little sweet for my taste.
Lemon– I love lemon desserts and this one really hits the spot. The lemon cupcake is filled with lemon goo and topped with lemon buttercream. I LOVE the lemon filling. I have been hooked on that stuff since I was little, but it is not often that I find places that use it.
Carmel by the Sea– Holy cow. Chocolate cupcake filled with caramel and topped with carmel (?) buttercream and a salted chocolate. This cupcake was very delicate. The caramel filling was rich and gooey. I was initially surprised that other other reviewers disliked this cupcake, but I could see that the flavor might not be for everyone. The overall aftertaste of the cupcake reminded me of german chocolate cake. For me that is a good thing, it was so good in fact that it prompted me to write this review. If you are looking for something rich and complex try this one. If you like your food to be more moderate, this one could be too much for your taste.
Service was great. Friendly and sociable without awkward small talk.
I disagree with a previous reviewer who said the cupcakes here are small. They seem average to larger than average to me… but maybe my perception is skewed after seeing so many mini cupcakes and cake pops.

With a spot like Payton’s getting so many mixed reviews, I thought I should try out this spot myself. Having been here twice, I feel justified rating it two stars.
For starters, the frosting tastes store-​bought. Although it looks like buttercream, meaning using butter in the ingredients, it does not taste at all like it. My daughter wouldn’t finish her cupcake and thought the frosting tasted store-​bought.
The cake — although I couldn’t tell if it was package or not — lacked flavor. Not dry, but just tasteless.
Cupcakes cost $ 2.75 apiece and if you go to their website, you can print out a coupon: buy two, get one free. The flavors I tried were:
* Carmel By The Sea — A play on the word «caramel», it was very sweet, with caramel filling. The blob of salty chocolate on top was an unpleasant surprise.
* Mint Cookie — Complete with Andes mint on top, again very sweet. The chocolate cake could have had more chocolate flavor in my opinion.
* Carrot Cake — I was hoping to taste more homemade flavor in the cake, but the carrots didn’t have that moist fresh texture to them. The frosting did have cream cheese, however.
* Butterfinger — Chopped up Butterfinger with vanilla cake. Tastes as sweet as it sounds, a bit too sweet.
The store itself is done up very cutesy. I even liked the toddler t-​shirts on display which featured (surprise) cupcakes.
As for service, both times I was here, it was okay. Nothing memorable. One customer was wondering how many cupcakes would fit on a cake tier she was borrowing from the shop. The woman behind the counter said, «I don’t know, I’m just the baker.» Hmmm…

Just in case you read the other reviews… I an not associated with these people. I don’t know who they are and I still liked the cakes I bought.
I thought the cake was nice and the frosting was even nicer, probably the best tasting cream cheese frosting I’ve had (on the Red Velvet).
The place did seem a bit sparse as far as décor, but it was so cute and they had plenty of cupcakes that were so sweetly and creatively decorated.
If I didn’t live in Auburn I’d be back often (it’s a bit of a drive) and I am so glad we were in the area to be able to try them!

So after driving by a couple of times, I stopped into Payton’s yesterday for a treat for myself… okay, a couple of treats. You can tell they’ve recently opened, and I think they’re still getting they’re footing, because there were empty racks around, empty stands, and there was a «we’re still getting ready» kind of vibe… it was late morning on a Monday. No biggie though. There was still a decent selection of cupcakes. As I was pondering my selection, the girl behind the counter mentioned that she was finishing up some carrot cake and red velvet cupcakes in the back. After verifying that their carrot cake didn’t include fruit in it (blech to pineapple and/​or raisins in my carrot cake!), I was sold on one of those and their Carmel by the Sea cupcake. 2 cupcakes and a 20oz coke came to just over $ 7. Yikes to my blood sugar, and semi-​yikes to my wallet… why must cupcakes cost more than $ 2 anywhere? (Theirs are $ 2.75 each) I know, I know, because they have to sell a lot to make their rent. Well, these had better be some darned good cupcakes, because everywhere else I’ve tried in town has disappointed!
Okay, well, let me start off with the Carmel by the Sea. The buttercream frosting was a smooth and sweet, but a bit overwhelming, and there was just a little bit too much of it. That is my ONLY complaint with this one. The rest, from the salted chocolate topping the cupcake, to the salted caramel gooiness in the center, to the über-​moist chocolate cake, was divine!
As for my beloved Carrot Cake cupcake, my only negative point is that it was too small! It was quite a bit smaller than the Carmel cupcake. I don’t know if that comes from underfilling the cup, or if it’s a batter-​rising issue, but consistency in size would be nice. Other than that, this was an AMAZING cupcake. By far, the BEST cream cheese frosting I’ve had. And the cake had a nice sweet and spice-​cakiness to it.
All in all, I will be back. Payton’s is the first place I’ve found in town where I love the frosting AND the cake. Definitely curious to try other flavors, and bring the hubby in for a treat!

Ok, seriously this is not what Unilocal should be about and I signed up because I was unhappy not only with this place, but with the fake reviews on Unilocal.Most of the people that gave this place 5 star reviews only have 1 total review and the other is somebody who gave a 1 star review to a cupcake place that was even better than here. Biased anyone? Where’s the honesty?
Anyways I’m not a bad person and I want all businesses to succeed in this bad economy but I need to tell people the truth about this place and that their ripping people off. I paid 2.75 $ for one cupcake (which is average). The take out box wasn’t bad. But the truth of the matter is that the cupcakes were terrible. Not only were they very very small, but they tasted exactly like the ready made mixes I can buy from walmart for 79 cents. The frosting was even worse, tasted cheap and waxy, for some reason the word synthetic comes to mind???
For anyone wondering, I only bought vanilla but it made me feel bad so I didn’t finish it. I will not go back here again or recommend to anybody.
I appreciate the owner welcoming customers to his business through Unilocal,but it shouldn’t be done by reviews that are more like advertisements.

The cupcakes are good, though they are not the best I’ve had. I came near closing time so the staff offered me a dozen cupcakes for the price of half a dozen which was a nice surprise. The person behind the counter was very sweet and they had a good selection. The cupcakes had really cute names which I liked. I would go back.
The cupcake frosting was sweeter than I am used to. The cakes themselves are more like cake than a biscuit, very soft and fluffy.

Visited today during their grand opening celebration with some members of our running group and the cupcakes were awesome!!! it was our reward for running 7 miles!
Cupcakes were light and moist and the frosting was creamy and tasted homemade — they were a little busy but service was prompt and the staff was very helpful and kind. I can’t wait to go back again!
For dog lovers they also have pupcakes for your pooch!