Divine Desserts

There’s a new cupcake shop in town & boy am I in love. Okay, so it’s not exactly «new» seeing that they’ve been open for almost a year, but Divine Desserts is new-​to-​me. But, let me tell you, my hubby might be in trouble, because I think I am in love — I’m definitely dreaming about Divine Desserts night & day.
Awhile back, during the hustle & bustle of the holiday season, Divine Desserts invited us out to sample some of their delicious-​ness. They specialize in in cupcakes, cookies, muffin tops (who doesn’t remember that Seinfeld episode?), & frosting shots. After sampling, sampling & sampling what seemed to be dozens of flavors, I’m here to tell you, you won’t be disappointed. With a selection of 20 flavors offered every day, you will easily find one, two or three that will quickly become your favorite! I’m totally crushing on their Red Velvet, Gavin (my 4 year old) devoured the Cookie Dough, Owen (my 3 year old) took a particular liking to the Key Lime Cake, & Charlie (my 8 month old) absolutely LOVED the Pina Colada frosting shots.

3.5 stars for Divine Desserts Etc. 3 stars for the cupcakes and 4 stars for the service.
The cupcakes here are quite big and there is a very large portion of frosting on top — so much when you take off the cupcake liner there is a fair amount of frosting overhang that you kind of have to bite off to get to the cake. It was easier to split them in half and eat them. The buttercream frosting is very good here but I wish the cakes had a little more sweetness and richness to them. It does balance out as far as the frosting being sweet compared to the cake, but the cake kinda reminded me more of a muffin than a cupcake. My favorite cupcake had to be the chocolate buttercream frosting with chocolate cake. The chocolate buttercream frosting is so awesome. Of the different flavors of cupcakes they make, they have a daily selection available each day.
One of the owners of the company helped me at the store, and he was very nice. It was nice to chat with him and learn about he and his wife’s dedication to their store and their customers.
They do frosting shots for $ 1 so you can sample your favorite flavor of frosting here. Just thinking about that makes me want to go get some more of that chocolate buttercream frosting :)

I really like what Divine Desserts, Etc offers. The cupcakes are very, very good. I applaud a local business giving it all it can in the face of Costco’s and other places taking business away from them. I’ve read the other reviews, but when I visited Divine Desserts, Etc, I ate a variety of what they offered, then got to know the owners. I am very impressed with the owners and what they create every day. Their business story is a love story that involves cupcakes and a commitment to the small business ethic that build California.
I say, try it for yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

First, let me say that I’m completely biased when it comes to Divine Desserts. The owners gave me a card that entitles me to a free cupcake once a month. How can you give someone a bad review after that?
I see the bad reviews, but I actually like their cupcakes. The strawberry and cookies ‘n cream are excellent. Nice and moist. On another note, I’ve heard that women don’t like the word «moist». I for one think it’s an excellent word…

I love Divine Desserts. Sure, they don’t have small, trendy cupcakes with modern designs. BUT, if you prefer a very moist, huge cupcake that gets frosting all over your mouth when you take a bite, this is the place for you.
I tried the classic chocolate which was very good! I had to eat it with a fork it was so big! They have great holiday flavors like pumpkin, gingerbread, and spice in the Fall/​WInter. Like any bakery that doesn’t mass produce, if you come on a busy day at the end of the day, they might be out of certain flavors. Come on, it happens.
The difference in also in the ownership. The husband and wife team is always very friendly and helpful. I guess they also do some pretty amazing cakes as well as cupcakes. I’m sure I’ll be back to pick up a dozen as soon as I’m on a will power low.

MAJAAAA disappointment!
The store was an underwhelming representation of a Sprinkles and the cupcakes were just plain crap. Not even going to bother going in to detail about the kinds we got, because out of the 6 we got they each were equally bad.
Overall the cupcakes were really bland and dry and the frosting was super salty.

Divine Desserts must do all their business via catering or special ordering because I’ve had bedrooms bigger than their store front area.
We ordered a mix and the only two that stuck out to me were the Red Velvet and I believe the other was the German Chocolate. It seemed like those were freshly made while the others weren’t as they were dry unlike the ones I mentioned as they were really moist and tasty.
The others were too dry for my taste so I ended up giving them away.

*Cricket Cricket* Is anybody home? I walked into here a couple weeks ago and it was a small dainty little shop, but no one was there! Just one lone cashier. I was a little apprehensive because I usually correlate people and crowds to the food quality being good.
I’ve been to Sprinkles and Frostings and if I were to rank all 3, it would go like this:
1. Frostings
2. Sprinkles
3. Divine Desserts
I got the Marshmallow Oreo cupcake. The cake was a little too dry for my liking and the frosting was just so so. Also, they don’t seem to offer too much of a variety in their cupcakes. I remember entering into the store and thinking to myself: «that’s it?»
I like the cupcake displays at Frostings and Sprinkles better– brighter lights and overall just looks cleaner and happier. Coming into Divine Desserts kinda feels depressing :(
Tip: You are better off going to their Sprinkles or Frostings; it’ll leave you feeling happier.

I always try to support the local stores as often as possible. This little shop is a couple miles from work, but close to Chipotle and Panera. So making the quick trip across the parking lot for a little dessert was no problem at all.
The front counter area is small, plain, and boring. A male employee came out from the back and was rude the whole time. They had a sign up for Spice cupcakes. When we asked if they had some in the back, he snapped back that the Spice cupcake is a fall flavor. Ummm, then why do you have it up now if you aren’t even making them? And why are you mad at us for asking questions? At this point, one person walks out and refuses to buy anything.
The cupcakes we OK, just OK. I expected more from a specialty shop. Each cupcake had a HUGE glob of sugary frosting on top. There was no balance between cake and frosting.
My advice is to make cupcakes with your friends at home and save money. This place will not get my business again.

When I saw Divine Desserts, Etc’s chocolate chip cookies, I was sure they would make it to my Top 10 List. Unfortunately, they do not. The cookie was a little too cakey for my taste, which I understand since their focus is cupcakes. There were sufficient chocolate chips, however, the body of the cookie had little flavor. Stick with cupcakes if you’re going to visit. Each cookie is $ 1.50. Oatmeal raisin is also available on some days. Visit
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Not so divine.
Cake was dry and too dense. Not enough frosting!
Mine tasted a bit stale. Should not have been sold to me in that state.
The owner was extremely nice and friendly. It’s too bad the cupcakes suck.

The only thing divine about this place is the name!
One of the worst cakes I ever had. Very very very Dry.
Design of the cake was nice, but the first bite and I was done with it. So was everyone else at the party.

It’s about time Orange County produced a cupcake I could give 4 stars. 5 stars? Let’s not go nuts.
Their name says desserts, but all I saw when I came in were cupcakes. It seems like they have minis, but I didn’t see any, so that must be for orders in advance. They have a medium-​large selection. You might see a pretty long list somewhere, but not everything’s made every day. You also might notice that the vast majority of the cupcakes are paired with the buttercream frosting, which is not their strong suit and also skips over two easy tickets to a good cupcake: cream cheese frosting and chocolate frosting.
The rating of these higher than the other Orange County cupcakes (excluding Sweet Jill’s, whose HB location I’ve never visited) owes itself to how Divine Desserts is the only one that makes a moist enough cake portion. It’s not moist in a rich, creamy way like Sweet Jill’s, Essential Chocolate Desserts, Charmed, etc., but instead more in a moist but crumbly way, like a carrot muffin. I’d had the strawberry, the chocolate, and the pumpkin, and the quality was pretty consistent, so I don’t think it matters which you get.
The frosting is the biggest reason this isn’t a 5. There’s less frosting than the vast majority of cupcake places, but the frosting that’s there is spread too thick. I mean that it’s pressed on like a Duncan Hines frosting instead of left airy like a Hotcake Bakes or even a Mrs. Beasley’s frosting. The vanilla frosting is okay, but the buttercream is badly over-​sugared. Keep in mind that this is coming from someone who, at times, has put six packets of sugar in a cup of coffee, so if it tastes like nothing but sugar to me, you’ll probably feel the hit even harder.

Very nice cupcakes! My fiancée got me 3 of these for my birthday (one a day to make up for being sick on my birthday — isn’t she the best?). We had a chocolate w/​chocolate frosting, chocolate mint, and an Oreo. All were great.
The mint was perfect for my taste — not too strong or toothpaste-​y, but just a nice mellow mint flavor. However, the chocolate was my favorite, and even though I had it last — 3 days after it was purchased, it was still moist and delicious.
The frosting is pretty sweet and the tops of the cupcakes really come out far from the base leaving your first bite to be a tiny bit of cupcake and a lot of frosting. This might be a little too sweet for some, but I’ll suffer through, lol!

Pretty cool as a cupcake shoppe. The place is very clean and the cupcakes are nicely presented.
This place is pretty close to home for me so it was easy for me and my wife to try this place out. We bought two cupcakes for $ 6 and packaged in a cool box for transport. We tried the carrot cake and German chocolate. I think the carrot cake tasted better, but that is my taste.
We will see next time which cupcake to try next time. Maybe red velvet since everyone seems to choose that.

I tried the carrot cake cupcake. I was surprised how good the cake tasted. Very fresh and light. The frosting was very sweet, but it was still tasty. I also tried the coconut cupcake, it was good but tasted a bit subtle to me.
I was hoping they would have more of a selection of cupcakes, but they had a good amount with the usual standards: red velvet, coconut, chocolate and peanut butter and others. They also had german chocolate, which the woman working there recommended.
They have items other than cupcakes, such as muffin tops ($ 2), cookies and some Divine Desserts apparel. Two cupcakes cost $ 6 and were packaged in a nice box and bag.

If you think a dry muffin with overly sweet frosting qualifies as dessert by all means go!
The first time I went was on a Tuesday. They had hardly any cupcakes and I was told to come back Friday through Sunday when they had lots of choices. I got a «muffin top» and it was like eating a cardboard top.
Taking the guy’s word for it I went back on a Saturday to try the cupcakes. I wanted a Banana cupcake but they were out. I was told that the next batch was almost ready and it would be «just a minute». Cut to 35 minutes later and one was finally ready for me. It was not really a cupcake at all. It was a very bland and dry muffin that didn’t have any banana taste with a frosting that was flavored with some sort of banana flavored chemical. Ick.
Figuring 3^rd times the charm I went back a week later. I mentioned that I wished that their cupcakes weren’t topped with food coloring tinted sugar. I was told that they didn’t use food coloring. Puzzled, I asked what the blue stuff was on top of the blueberry cupcake. «Sugar». I asked, «Where to do you buy natural blue sugar?». «It isn’t, it’s colored.» «How do you color the sugar?». «With food coloring.» Uh, okay…
I ended up ordering a Spice and a Apple Pie. Another adventure in bland cardboard muffins with a sickeningly sweet chemical flavored frosting.
I think I’ve given them a fair shot and I won’t be going back.
I did however try Frostings in El Toro today and the one that I’ve had so far was deeeelish!

I tried this place b/​c Phil M. wanted a sweet snack to compliment our meal from Sango Sushi. I don’t know if it was b/​c we came right before closing, but my red velvet cupcake was not up to par. 3 bucks for a dry, undesirable red velvet cake with semi decent cream cheese top. Ewwww. I forced myself to eat it b/​c I did after all spend the money for it.
As a Spinkles clone, it does a good job to look like one. Offers a variety of drinks, cookies, and cupcakes.
Phil got a strawberry cupcake, which he said he liked. Makes me wonder if they have certain cupcakes that are tasty and some that are dry like mine was. Another try may prove a different story, but I don’t want to pony up 3 bucks for a fail.

I went the week they opened. I was not impressed that the cupcakes tasted dry, like they were over a day old.
The inside looked awesome, just like a sprinkles clone. The cupcakes looked really well made as well. I tried 2, and one of them was a fruity one, which had too strong of an artificial fruit taste. The chocolate one was better, but it was just too dry.
The location is in a busy strip mall, and there are tables or benches right outside, and more a 100 feet away. I only have been there once, but will try again and raise my rating if they keep them fresh.
They did package the cupcakes in an expensive looking box, and bag.
edit — on a more recent visit, cupcakes improved. More on par with Sprinkles now. but without the lines. Raised to 4 stars. The chocolate cupcakes are the best IMO.
You MUST try the frosting shots. It’s like eating CRACK! So yummy, and only $ 1. It’s the best value. The frosting is very sweet.

As a baker myself I’m caught up in the current cupcake hype. So when I heard that a new bakery was opening up in Laguna Niguel this past weekend I had to go. Divine Desserts is buried in a strip mall on the corner of La Paz, sandwiched in between Henrys and Longs Drug.
The inside décor is the bare minimum required-​a counter and a display case although there are a couple of benches outside to sit and enjoy your baked goods. They have the basic cupcakes, cookies and muffin tops-​yes muffin tops just like in Seinfeld. Except they don’t waste the «nubs» they have a special pan to bake them in. My BF was especially stoked to hear they offer frosting shots for $ 1 which is exactly what it sounds like frosting in a cup. They also have soft drinks, water, milk and coffee.
After heavy discussion we decided upon two cupcakes the first was a blueberry cupcake with vanilla buttercream, this was basically buttercream frosting that was dyed blue with blue sprinkles on top and blueberries mixed into the batter. The second was a Coconut cupcake with vanilla buttercream which was vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream frosting and coconut sprinkled on top.
The cake itself was moist, springy and flavorful-​not too sweet just the way a cupcake should be. I would give the cake 4−½ stars because I know how hard it is to obtain the perfect balance of moistness and I think they did a great job. The buttercream frosting was a bit too rich for me but my BF who is a frosting fanatic loved it. The frosting I would give 2−¾ stars because it was too rich and if I’m going to pay $ 3 for a cupcake I want the appearance to be appealing not like an 8 year old frosted my cupcake. I mean how hard would it be to pipe on some frosting instead of slathering it on with a knife? Not hard I tell you.
My advice for DD spend a little more time frosting the cupcakes and get a cappuccino machine and people will come running. Hot chocolate is always a good idea.
To wrap it up I liked DD but not enough to drive to Laguna Niguel from Santa Ana for it. This place is good for anyone in South County because I believe this is one of the only «cupcakeries» around.
(See the coupon I’ve attached in the pictures good for buy one get one free cupcake until 5÷31÷09)