Cupcakes By Design

I ordered cupcakes for my daughters wedding and they were absolutely delicious! I cannot say enough good things about my entire experience here. The ladies were helpful and went above and beyond to not only make the cupcakes delicious but they looked beautiful too! Many of the wedding guests commented in how they were the best cupcakes they ever had! I agree! We got 6 flavors and no one was disappointed. Thanks ladies for all you did to make the day special!

I feel bad writing this review. I was really excited to try these cupcakes with filling. The staff was very nice but the cupcakes were gross. They tasted artificial to me. Maybe the same as or a step above a grocery store. I really wanted to like this place but I threw away most of the cupcakes after 1 bite. I felt like it was a huge waste of money. Sorry.

Cupcakes were dry and low on flavor. I prefer at least «natural» food, so the bright colors pretty much scared me. You’d think that even with all the artificiality these would be high on flavor, but lacked it.

Oh, I wanted to love this place! I really did. Phoenix NEEDS cupcakes, desserts, pastries, etc! I was very underwhelmed.
The Key Lime cupcake was the best of the lot. I’m a sucker for key lime, but that’s this cupcake’s saving grace. The flavor was very subtle, and this is a trend with all the cupcakes.
The Lemon cupcake was very much lacking in flavor. Even more subtle than the Key Lime.
One good thing are the cakes themselves; at least they’re moist. And the ratio of frosting to cake is spot on. However the flavors are not quite what I was expected, especially given how much each cupcake cost.
I’ll probably try this place again sometime next year, if they’re still in business. Maybe there will be a tastier batch of cupcakes! As for now I’m going to pass.
On a side note, the ladies behind the counter were in fact very kind and personable.

Okay, first I’ll start out saying the ladies that work here are sweet. Very helpful and just very down to earth. I came about fifteen minutes before closing and apparently they had a big day because the majority of cupcakes were gone. There isn’t a HUGE selection but your basic fix is there.
Typically, I don’t eat desserts that are not vegan or made with a bunch of organic ingrediants but I did have a key lime cupcake from here which was pretty good. I usually am not a fan of key lime but it was flavorful and I enjoyed the crème inside the cupcake that was a nice surprise. The cream on top wasn’t so bad either (remember I typically do not have milk based items). I don’t think mine was cream cheese based but there were some cupcakes there with cream cheese frosting.
These cupcakes seem homemade so I appreciate that. Hopefully in the future they will offer vegan/​glutenfree options. That would make this a five star place. I’d go back here again if I am ever in the mood for a salted caramel cupcake (looked Amazing). They have some tables set up in there so you and a friend can go enjoy a cupcake and chat. :)

Wanted to try a couple of cupcakes here before getting a couple of dozen for a friend’s luncheon. I’m glad I only got a couple and no more. The cupcakes literally had no taste and the frosting was more like a whipped greasy mess that left a bad after taste in my mouth. The only reason I’m giving this place two stars is because at least the cupcakes were moist.
With all of the other choices in the valley, don’t waste your money here.

The lady was very nice and very helpful. We talked over a wedding order and if I had a bigger budget, I would go with her. Unfortunately, I don’t and I just cant justify spending that much per cupcake. Maybe for myself, but not for 100 guests.

I was craving cupcakes and lo and behold, this just happened to be a couple doors down from a shop I was visiting! (The cupcake Gods were watching over me!)
I waltzed in and the owner (Sharon, I’m assuming from the photos on Unilocal) greeted me with a big smile and she complimented my hat and we chatted about fashion for a little bit. She was just so very nice and sweet! I love when local shop owners take the time to connect with their customers instead of going straight for the sale.
I chose a couple of cupcakes to bring back for my fella and his family and asked her which was her favorite for a last cupcake in the set and she gave me an extra one for FREE since I was indecisive about which of her favorites I wanted to try.
Other reviewers said the cupcakes were dry, but we didn’t think so at all! We all each sampled them and left them on the counter for a couple days and even on their last day they were still delicious and not dry (granted not AS MOIST or FRESH as the day we got them)… but still, these held up to ever delicious morsel!
I didn’t think these cupcakes were expensive. Not cheap. But then again, I live in LA where a vegan cupcake half the size of the ones here are $ 5.00… just sayin.
Thanks Sharon for your wonderful service and delicious cupcakes! Next time I’m back in town will stop by again!

My goodness, I almost wasn’t going to review this place (it’s just a cupcake shop, should have good enough reviews), but really??? 3 stars??? Come on…
First of all, if you think their frosting is just as good or worse than ‘funfetti frosting’, please don’t ever go to a cupcake shop again. Do us all a favor and go back to making cupcakes in your basement and leave the cupcake bakery reviewing to the adults.
I bought: one Chocolate Peanut Butter cupcake, one Lemon cupcake, one Chocolate Chip cupcake, and one German Chocolate Cake cupcake. I also wanted to buy: one Blueberry cupcake, one Strawberry cupcake, one Red Velvet cupcake… the list goes on.
First impressions: yes, the environment is ‘sterile’. Sure, they could jazz up the walls with some decorations or whatever tickles your fancy, but they haven’t. Go eat your cupcake at home, or in a park, if you want scenery. SMH here, people.
There is: a display of cupcakes. Seating, Walls. A fridge with milk in it. A cash register. A human to serve you. Standard bakery fare, I imagine. I found it fine and, daresay, completely acceptable for a cupcake shop. No, it’s not like that cupcake shop in Vegas in between the Luxor and the other ones (yes, I’ve been there, no, I didn’t review it, it was okay). But you’re also in Vegas and those cupcakes were like $ 6 so…
It took 10 seconds for the nice lady to come and greet us. No, I didn’t mentally count 10 seconds in my head because I was too busy being WOWED BY THE OPTIONS.
The cupcakes were $ 3.50. Apparently they’ve been $ 3.50 since at least 2011, so if this is still surprising to you… I don’t really know what to say.
4 different people ate these cupcakes (all adults). I only got to try one (my own), because everyone had inhaled their cupcakes and didn’t wait for me to finish pouring my milk. In my family, it’s an incredible sign that I didn’t get to try any other cupcake because my family members aren’t fans of sweets and there’s usually something always left over for me. No, THAT’S how delicious my family found these cupcakes.
All 4 adults enjoyed the heck out of their cupcakes (flavorful, moist, etc.), asked when I could purchase them more cupcakes from Cupcakes by Design, and one of them even demanded Cupcakes by Design for their birthday (okay, that was me).
Not one adult compared the frosting to funfetti, because God help the adult who compares $ 3.50 homemade cupcakes I just bought to cupcakes from a box!
I personally liked the fact that the frosting didn’t overwhelm the cupcake, but would I have complained if it did? NO, because that frosting was damn tasty, and I don’t begrudge tasty frosting!
There’s parking out front especially reserved for Cupcakes by Design, which is handy when Luci’s customers have taken every single spot out front.
4 stars because it’s a cupcake shop, I liked the cupcakes, and so did everyone else. I’ll be back as soon as I’m in the area, and I hope Cupcakes by Design stays in business. They’re worth $ 3.50 and they’re worth you trying, even just once.

Über-​yum and fun designs
Took advantage of a coupon for Cupcakes by Design for our daughter’s 5^th birthday. They did a wonderful job with the «High Tea» theme, even fashioning a confection tea set as a topper. The cake was a hit with the little ladies at my daughter’s party, as well as the parents.
My wife also bought some cupcakes while there. We probably partake of sweet baked goods WAY too often, but we especially enjoyed their treats. Cake was soft and moist. Icing wasn’t overboard. And they successfully balanced things without being so intensely sugary sweet that you fall into a diabetic coma shortly after ingestion. The selection has cute design touches, too.
I’m surprised their rating isn’t higher. Regardless, we’ll be back.

I don’t eat cake (or cupcakes) very often, but when I do I would expect better than what I experienced at Cupcakes by Design… especially for $ 3.50 for ONE cupcake.
They are visually nice. Simple and not too much frosting. In my book, frosting is the side in this main meal… the cake. There’s no need to overdue it, because i’m just going to take most of it off. Anyway. The frosting left much to be desired… and after tasting the cake, I wish the frosting had something more to help me choke down the cake.
The cake lacked moisture, and was overbaked in some areas (old oven maybe?) and it just wasn’t delicious at all. I went for the salted caramel cupcake, hoping it would knock my socks off. Welp… my socks are still there… nowhere close to hitting the floor.
It was filled with this brown goo that tasted nothing like caramel, and the consistency was wrong too. What was this exactly?
Now, normally i don’t disect my cupcakes, but after being told these were the best cupcakes in the valley, I felt the need to taste every part of these in order to accept this statement. After tasting each part seperately (frosting, cake, filling) I lumped them all together and was STILL disappointed.
I’m sorry Cupcakes by Design, but you just didn’t cut it for me this time. I’ll try you one last time in hopes that I received a bad batch.
Until then…

Popped in here real fast to grab some lunchtime treats for my coworkers and saw they had a sale for a dozen mini cupcakes half-​prize. Love a good deal.
The place is super cute and the gal behind the counter is just as sweet as her cupcakes. A dozen mini cupcakes were on sale for $ 12 which I thought wasn’t much a sale, so I would suggest in just going for the full size cupcakes. They’re $ 3.50/piece.
I had the chocolate chip cupcake and it was great! Really thick, rich icing on top. My coworkers loved the red velvet and chocolate on chcolate ones too.

To be clear, I am cake type person rather than cupcake type person so I do not ask much of my cupcakes. I have tried Sprinkles and another cupcake specialty place that used to be at Arrowhead Mall –so memorable that I can’t even remember the name and at each place, the cupcakes were tasty but unexpectedly on the drier side. Perhaps, this is why I rarely expect much of cupcakes from stores. I enjoy them if they are simply: sweet, moist, and have a thick creamy butter cream frosting. I’ve tasted a few cakes that have achieved near perfection in these categories but have yet to find a cupcake that comes even close.
I stumbled across this bakery while hanging out with my friend and we both decided to get the 12 pack of mini cupcakes to give them a try. I mistreated the cupcakes by dragging them around all day running errands and leaving them in the car at times when it was around 109 degrees outside. By the time I got home, the perfectly shaped frosting was half melted, and I thought, «Great. I really ruined them!» But, I decided to try one anyway. It was sweet, it was moist, and I was pleasantly surprised that there was filling. Even my hubby who is very anti-​cupcake really enjoyed his cupcake. We placed the remaining in the fridge to re-​cool and ate them like popcorn (since they were so mini) as an after dinner treat.
I hadn’t done my homework on this place and neglected to read the reviews before randomly stopping in this bakery. I’m glad I got a chance to stop in, because I actually really liked my cucpakes from here and I am surprised by some of the harsh reviews. Whether I’m just missing something or the mini cucpakes are superior to the regular sized ones, I will definitely include this bakery when and if I get a craving or receive a need for cupcakes. FYI… the mini pack included red velvet (with cream cheese frosting/​filling), lemon (with lemon compote filling), strawberry (with strawberry jelly filling), chocolate (with chocolate filling), chocolate (with vanilla filling), and vanilla (with chocolate filling). There were 2 of each flavor I mentioned.

Solid cupcake and satisfied my craving. I got the chocolate chip/​chocolate icing and it was moist and yummy. Were the choices as innovative as other places? Not really. The look of the cupcakes was a little less that what I expect for $ 3.50 a cup cake. The filling was also not centered– which is not a big deal at all. I assumed they forgot it, and only came to it during the last couple of bites. It was the same as the frosting, which became a little overpowering.
Overall, good place and great for a fix if I don’t feel like going out of my way. I just wish the price was a little more reasonable… and no, I don’t just want a bigger cupcake.

these cupcakes are so good I had them made my cake for my wedding reception.
Moist
Perfect amount of frosting
Creamy Center
I have tried the chocolate, lemon, German chocolate and red velvet… all yummy

I am plump. Rotund. Chubby, tubby, roly-​poly, or, to borrow a word from comedian Gabriel Iglesias, I’m a «fluffy» kinda girl.
And yet, just one of these cupcakes had me thinking, «not worth the calories.» Even after I’d scraped off half of the mountain of icing.
It wasn’t because of the filling, though I eyed it with some skepticism (I hate filled donuts, custard, pudding, anything goopy). I actually thought the filling on my Tropical Vacation cupcake was the only saving grace. It was slightly runny, but flavorful. The cake itself was… sticky? tacky? lacked depth of flavor and suggested the use of colorants. The frosting outweighed the cake and was much too sugary for my taste.
Even if these were cheaper than their $ 3.50/cupcake price tag, I still wouldn’t be frequenting this place.

I really wanted to love these. I’m a cake snob. I need deep rich flavors an textures and also need to be wowed with high caliber ingredients. I don’t care what the cost if the quality and flavor is there.
I’m spoiled by Leda’s in Los Angeles which had it all including a panache in the presentation.
These tasted no better than the ones at Basha’s or box mix. The icing in particular seemed like stuff off a shelf.
Not in the same league as Urban Cookies or Sprinkles. Sadly. Wanted to love them and especially as a local small business I would like to support.
Hope they read Unilocal and recognize.

It was my son’s 8^th birthday, but with just my wife, his 5-​year-​old brother and myself to celebrate we certainly didn’t need a full cake, So instead we decided to stop here and let everyone pick out their own cupcake. We had chocolate, vanilla, lemon and even red velvet. The kids thought the cupcakes were yummy and my wife and I agreed that they are much better than Sprinkles — where they use a very heavy batter.
As a family owned and run shop, the service was very friendly and we talked about how many new businesses are going in at the intersection of Bethany and 16^th Street. With new bars, restaurants, shops, a gym and even a kids gymnastic business, it’s really becoming one of the gems of North Central Phoenix. Having a delicious cupcake shop is just an added benefit!
Plus, they don’t just do cupcakes, they can do full cakes for weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries and they’ll even do character cupcakes.
This is a local business I am proud to support.

I went in a few months ago to buy cupcakes for a client gift. It was the middle of the afternoon and no one was in the shop. I walked in, looked at some cupcakes in the case and waited for someone to come and greet me. I waited some more. I shuffled my weight from one foot to the next. No one came. I looked thru the window to the back room. A woman saw me but ignored me. I waited another 60 seconds (and yes, I mentally counted 60 seconds in my head) and then walked out.
We now happily get all of our corporate gifts from Urban Cookies (they have excellent cupcakes and more, BTW), and they’re happy to speak with us and even make customized boxes with our logo — for FREE!

I spent $ 15 on four cupcakes here.
I just had to get that out there. That is pretty damn expensive, even in the fancy cupcake scene. They are very basic-​looking and on the small-​average size.
The texture of these cupcakes are PERFECT. I don’t know if I have tasted a cake with a more amazing texture — they were moist and spongy and soft and were not overloaded with icing or sugar.
But, they had no flavor. I tried the lemon and red velvet and both were lacking a significant flavor. They tasted like… nothing. And although the icing on the lemon cupcake was yellow, I could not detect even the slightest bit of lemon in there.