How Does That Taste?

Holland Cakery 'n Sweets

11539 Lakewood BLVD Suite #30
Holland, MI 49424   616-396-0200 or Email: info@hollandcakery.com

Website:  http://www.hollandcakery.com/#!HOME/mainPage

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I received an email from Carrie (from Holland) and was asked to do a review on Holland Cakery 'n Sweets and so here it is!

The Arrival …

I arrived at Holland Cakery 'n Sweets in Holland, MI at about 10:40 AM.  It is located in a strip mall on the north side of the street.  I noticed their large pink van sitting outside and new I had the right spot! When I entered into the bakery, it was much larger than the previous bakeries and had a  welcoming appearance, as well as, aroma flowing out the door!  There are two display cases that have several cupcakes to choose from.  The front of the bakery looked very tidy and inviting, what I really liked about this bakery is that there are no walls hiding all the baking going on, so I was able to see rows of cupcakes waiting to be decorated and staff working on cakes and other items.  A much older lady asked me how she could help.  She was very friendly and patient (I had my young sons with me for this trip).  I said “could you give me just a second to look at your cupcakes and I will get right back to you”, I love that they had labels on all the cupcakes so I knew what I was looking at and the prices (their prices vary for size, filling, etc)!   I picked out the cupcakes I was going to try for this trip and she brought a pink box out and started to put all the cupcakes in the box, she asked me if she could get me anything else and I said no thank you.  She range me up on the register which came to $22.50 (6 cupcakes).  I paid her and she said thank you, we chatted some about my boys and her granddaughter that was the same age as my youngest.  I told her thank you and have a nice day and she did the same. 

Chocolate Cupcake w/ Chocolate Buttercream - Chocolate cake was dry not much flavor, the chocolate buttercream was sugary & lacking flavor, and again with the sugar crystals (YUCK!).  

Price of cupcake - $3.00

OVERALL RATING  - 2

Red Velvet w/ Cream Cheese Buttercream - Red cake was moist with alright flavor, Cream Cheese Buttercream  (this is what I was told was the frosting) didn't taste like cream cheese at all, it was very airy and "slick", it had an almost Italian cream taste & feel to it (when not biting into one of those gross sugar crystals!) but not the typical cream cheese frosting that is known for red velvet.  The sugar crystals gross, I NEVER like those because they just get in the way of the flavors and these cupcakes were doused in them! It was an alright cupcake but the frosting did not taste like cream cheese and the sugar crystals have to go!

Price of cupcake - $3.00

OVERALL RATING - 2

Almond w/ White Buttercream – Almond cake was moist, tasted almond and was delicious! The White buttercream was blah, it was a bit sugary (not as bad as some others!) but again had those nasty sugar crystals on it, yuck!  I really liked the cake portion of this cupcake but could do without the frosting they put on.

Price of cupcake - $3.00

OVERALL RATING - 3

Cookie Lovers – White cake was some what moist, the small amount of white icing filling I did not like.  the Oreo frosting didn't quite seems like an Oreo frosting and lacked flavor, the cookies pieces it was rolled in was good & the "cookie" decorations on top were good (half a chocolate chip cookie & half a Oreo).  This cupcake was nothing special for me.

Price of cupcake - $4.50

OVERALL RATING -1

S'Mores – Chocolate cake was dry and not much flavor, there was a very little white icing filling which I did not find appealing (would have been better with marshmallow buttercream or something else), the "S'mores" decoration of gram cracker, Hershey bar piece & 2 mini marshmallows was just not right for me, this cupcake needs work. The plus....instead of sugar crystals or sprinkles it was rolled in mini chocolate chips! Price of cupcake - $4.50

OVERALL RATING – 2 

Chocolate Lovers - Chocolate cake was dry not much flavor, there was no Bavarian filling (which is states it has), the chocolate buttercream was sugary & lacking flavor, the chocolate "ganache" was not the type of ganache I was used too honestly I did not like it, as for the chocolate drizzle it was more for decoration along with the chocolate sprinkles they put on (which I don't like).  

Price of cupcake - $4.50

OVERALL RATING – 1

FINAL ACT…

Holland Cakery 'n Sweets is a alright bakery but they are EXPENSIVE especially for the quality of their products!  Their cakes taste and consistency were alright (almond cake was the only one that I purchased that was moist!), frosting's were only alright as well, they need to get rid of the sugar crystals & sprinkles because they are just not needed. The atmosphere, customer service, and heavenly aromas is what helped give this place it's higher score, they get an B .  I will go back next time I am in Holland to try some of the other flavors and see if I can some winners!  Some major down falls for this bakery: prices are too high, a lot of cupcakes are covered in the sugar crystals & sprinkles (which are not needed and make the cupcake less appealing for me), recipes need tweaking (especially the frosting)! The Good:  The frosting to cake ratio was nice, I didn't feel like I was eating a pile of sugar.

Rating Scale:  1 = Bad, don’t waste your money!

                         2 = It's Alright

                         3 = Good

                         4 = Excellent, worth another taste

                         5 = Desert Heaven, Oh So Scrumptious!

PLEASE NOTE:  All items are tasted within an hour of receiving them.  By doing this, it takes out any false claims that the freshness, temperature, texture, etc. where compromised by not tasting them when served.  All precautions are taken when preserving the “freshness” of the products I receive. 

Cupcake By Design

1971 E. Beltline NE Ste. 126 
Grand Rapids, MI 49525   616-364-9787 or 1-888-644-3848

Website:  http://cupcakebydesign.com/

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The Arrival …

I arrived at Cupcake By Design (located inside of Cookies By Design) in Grand Rapids, MI at about 3:00PM.  It is located in a strip mall next to a Meijer.  When I entered into the bakery, it had a very cute and welcoming appearance!  There is a display case full of cupcakes & cookies, tons of items to buy such as mugs, stuffed animals, paper products, and other various trinkets.  The bakery looked very neat and tidy, organized and inviting.  A blonde haired lady asked me how she could help, if I was looking for cupcakes or cookies or something else.  She was very friendly and patient (I had my young sons with me again).  I said “I will take 1 of every cupcake you have”, I love that they had labels on all the cupcakes so I knew what I was looking at!   She asked me if I wanted a pink box (which I think is there signature box) or a white one (I chose the signature box) and she started to put all the cupcakes in the boxes, she asked me if she could get me anything else, and I decided to grab a sugar cookie for my boys to share.  She range me up on the register which came to $29.70 (they do a price tier for their cupcakes meaning the more you buy the cheaper they get, check their website for prices).  I paid her and she said thank you, have a great day and she waited till I was out the door before she stepped back into the back of the store.  

Chunky Monkey Cupcake—Banana Flavored Cake with Chocolate Chips was dense but moist; the Peanut Butter Buttercream was very yummy, not to sweet but perfect! That was then dipped in Chocolate Ganache which was very good, perfect consistency and taste. Then it is drizzled with Peanut Butter Drizzle on to that just adds a little something special to this tasty cupcake J

OVERALL RATING  -  4

Chocolate Supreme Cupcake- Chocolate Cake was moist, Chocolate Buttercream was pretty sugary.  It was a decent cupcake but not my favorite.

OVERALL RATING - 3

Lucky Irish Mint Cupcake – Chocolate Cake was moist and had a few pieces of brownie in it which was also very tasty, again it had a mile high of the frosting which in this case was mint, it had a nice mint taste to it but was too much for me and I ended up scrapping half of it off into the trash, the frosting had a grainy texture too it.  It was dipped in chocolate Ganache which was good and then topped with a green clover candy, which had a nice flavor. For me this cupcake was alright, I wouldn’t buy it again.

OVERALL RATING - 2

Chocolate Divine Cupcake – Chocolate Cake was somewhat moist, filled with chocolate Ganache, it was then dipped in a chocolate Ganache before it was iced, the Ganache was good.  There was too much chocolate buttercream for my taste (which is how all their cupcakes are frosted), but it was good flavor, a little grainy but not as much as some of their other frostings.  It had chocolate shavings on top, which in all honesty I didn’t really taste with all the other chocolate going on.

OVERALL RATING - 3

Red Velvet Cupcake – Red Cake was good, not dry but not really moist, it had a cream cheese filling in the center which was my favorite of the whole cupcake, the taste was not overpowering, it was light a creamy, the cream cheese frosting was good as far as flavor but sweet and grainy.  I could not finish all this frosting.

OVERALL RATING – 3

Snickerdoodle Toffee Cupcake– Vanilla Cake with Cinnamon & toffee bits, was dry, I did not like the taste of this cake.  Cinnamon Buttercream had too much of a cinnamon taste to it.  This cupcake failed for me.

OVERALL RATING – 1

Cookies and Cream Cupcake- I was supposed to get one of these but she made a mistake and gave me 2 of the Chocolate Supremes instead, so I cannot rate this cupcake.

OVERALL RATING – NA

Peanut Butter Paradise Cupcake– This was an outstanding cupcake!  The chocolate cake was moist flavorful and I enjoyed it very much it had peanut butter in the center which was a nice treat!  The chocolate peanut butter frosting was oh so good, perfect texture. The peanut butter cup on top was a great added treat!  This was wonderful!

OVERALL RATING – 5

Give Me Smore Cupcake– Chocolate Cake was dense & somewhat moist, there were “gram cracker” pieces throughout the cake and a “center” of “gram cracker”  this gram cracker didn’t really taste like anything at all.  The Marshmallow frosting was good but I would have liked a little more than what was on the cupcake, then there were marshmallows a chocolate drizzle and a piece of Hershey bar on top which all were good it also had gram cracker sprinkled on top as well.

OVERALL RATING – 4

Cho-Cho Cookie Dough Cupcake – White cake with a piece of chocolate chip cookie dough on the bottom (or at least that is what it was supposed to be, didn’t really seem like cookie dough more uncooked cake dough with chocolate chips and it is described as having chunks and I had only 1 chunk) the cake was dry and the “cookie dough piece” was not very pleasing to taste, Vanilla frosting with some chocolate chips (although it’s is described of having chunks of cookie dough in the frosting, so not sure where the cookie dough was?) was alright in taste but had a grainy texture to it.  This cupcake was not a hit with me.

OVERALL RATING – 1

Vanilla Bean Cupcake – Nothing light about this cupcake (as stated in the description!)  The white cake was dense and somewhat moist, not much of a flavor at all.  The buttercream frosting was heavy, grainy, almost flavorless.  For being a “vanilla bean” cupcake I didn’t taste anything vanilla bean about it.  This was another cupcake that disappointed me.

OVERALL RATING – 1

Banana Split Cupcake  – Banana Chocolate Cake was delicious, moist and flavorful!  The Vanilla buttercream was good and the Ganache it was dipped in was very nice!  The sprinkles and Cherry on top just make it a great cupcake!

OVERALL RATING – 3

Signature Sugar Cookie  – Vanilla Sugar cookie shaped as a bunny head with yellow colored icing, was moist and oh so good! The flavor of this cookie was out of this world!!  I can see why they started out with the Cookie By Design store!! Will definitely be ordering some of these again J

OVERALL RATING – 5

FINAL ACT…

Cupcakes By Design in Grand Rapids, MI is a DECENT bakery for cupcakes but an AWESOME bakery for cookies!  Their cupcakes were delicious, their signature sugar cookies were to die for (I would have to say I liked their cookies more than the cupcakes!), add to that the atmosphere and good customer service, this place gets an A .  I was very happy with my purchases today and will defiantly be going back next time I am in Grand Rapids!  The down falls were this:  if you do not buy in “bulk” like I do you will be spending a pretty penny for a cupcake at the price of $2.95/each, they are the most expensive cupcakes in the Michigan area that I know of.  The cookies on the other hand are a nice $1.50 (give or take depending on kind) and I believe that is comparable to other cookies from bakeries in the area.  The frosting to crumb ratio is off for me I like it to be more balanced where I don’t feel like I have a mouth full of frosting, but if you like A LOT of frosting then you will love their cupcakes!

Rating Scale:  1 = Bad, don’t waste your money!

                         2 = It's Alright

                         3 = Good

                         4 = Excellent, worth another try

                         5 = Desert Heaven, Oh So Scrumptious!

PLEASE NOTE:  All items are tasted within an hour of receiving them.  By doing this, it takes out any false claims that the freshness, temperature, texture, etc. where compromised by not tasting them when served.  All precautions are taken when preserving the “freshness” of the products I receive. 

I arrived at Chick’n Lick’N in Vriesland, MI at about 6:30PM.  I had placed an order to go by phone.  It is located in the same building as the Vriesland Country Store.  I didn’t have to even go inside the restuarnt for this order because they have a drive thru for pick ups!  A man opened the window and asked me for the name (who I now find out is the owner of the restaurant), he rang me up and said it would be just a moment because they are packing it up right now.  He then came back to the window handed me out the bag and said your all set and thank you.  I drove back to the hotel with my very yummy smelling food.  I arrived at the hotel created a plate of all the items I ordered and then sat down with my family to start tasting.

Mashed Potatoes with Chicken Gravy (family)—These mashed potatoes were a nice consistency, not lumpy or runny, the chicken gravy with pieces of chicken in it was VERY good!  Overall these were a really nice mashed potato!

Mac Cheese Triangles (6pc) - Nicely fried and crispy on the outside, the mac and cheese in the center was good.  Overall a nice flavor.

Crinkle Cut French Fries (Small) – Fried to perfection, I like them to have a golden “overdone” look to them and these had that!  They were crisp and good tasting.

Fried Chicken (12pc mixed bucket) – I have heard they have good chicken and well they do!  It was fried nicely, it was moist and juicy.  Had great flavors and crunch in the skin.  I was very happy with this chicken.

Chick’N Lick’N is definitely a place to go for some homemade fried chicken goodness!  Not disappointed with this one at all.  Food was hot and fresh, tasted great and was enjoyed by the whole family.  The Customer service was good and the drive thru for pick up was an added bonus for on the run people!

Rating Scale:  1 = Bad, don’t waste your money!

                         2 = Just Alright

                         3 = Good, what it should be

                         4 = Excellent, more than expected

                         5 = Food Heaven, Oh So Scrumptious!





Happy Tasting!
~Briar Rose