Little Pearl Cupcake
5260 Northland Dr. NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525
Phone: 616-363-2700
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The Arrival …
I arrived at the Little Pearl Cupcake in Grand Rapids, MI at about 4:30PM. It is located in a little strip mall next to a Thai food restaurant. When I entered into the bakery, I did notice that it was not the most “organized” or “appealing” bakery as far as appearances, defiantly not like many other bakeries I have been too! But I never let the appearance of a place make the judgment on the product (even though we all eat with our eyes first). They had a few glass cake pedestals on a small counter with 8 different cupcakes to choose from. I heard a women’s voice from behind the folding screens that separated the front from the back say they would be with me in a minute. She came up and asked me what she could get me and I said 1 of everything you have (I had no idea what she had because there are no signs to tell you what they are!). She said ok and grabbed 2 plastic cupcake carriers and started to put all the cupcakes in the boxes, she then range me up on the register which came to $20.00 ($2.50/cupcake). I paid her said thank you and I was off. One thing I do have to say is that the customer service could be a little more friendly, I had my two young boys with me and could have used some help opening the door but she jetted off back to the back, so on the way out with struggling with the cupcakes and helping my boys out the door my youngest got his head smacked as the door shut, poor little guy!
Red Velvet Cupcake—Red Cake was dry & very unusual in flavor (it actually had a taste I have never had before in a red velvet cupcake), Cream Cheese frosting was sweet and VERY strong on the cream cheese taste (not a very good balance). Between the dryness of the cake and the frosting, I did not like this one.
OVERALL RATING - 1
Chocolate Chocolate Cupcake- (Dark) Chocolate Cake was dry & had an unusual taste to it (again something I have not tasted in this flavor cupcake) and I can’t say it was that of a true dark chocolate cake, Chocolate “glaze” was alright but didn’t really taste it, Chocolate Buttercream was more of a “runny” consistency rather than the normal texture I am used to for a buttercream frosting and the flavor was that of a grocery store taste. Overall did not like this cake either L
OVERALL RATING - 1
Grasshopper Cupcake – I am guessing that is what this one was (that is the only one on the menu on their website that has mint in it, I would have guessed Andes Mint because that was on top of it, so I am not sure for certain, like I said they had no signs to tell you what they were). Chocolate Cake was dry & again had a unusual taste to it (getting a little disappointed with all the dry cakes! Seems like these cupcakes have been sitting around for a day or two before they put them out to sell, not good
L) the Green Mint frosting was
extremely minty and really over powered the whole cupcake and was not a good balance, felt like I was eating a mouth full of mint chalk (the texture of the mint frosting was very chalk like). Again, not a good cupcake.
OVERALL RATING - 1
Oreo Cupcake – Again I am guess that is what this one would have been called, I don’t see an Oreo cupcake listed on their menu but there is no other one on there that matches this cupcake at all. Chocolate Cake was dry and again had the unusual taste to it (I have a feeling now that all the cakes are going to be dry and unusual in taste), it was cored out and had a white cream filling inside that was alright, not to sweet but not to plain, the Chocolate Vanilla swirled frosting on top was alright in taste but did look pretty in the swirling of colors, and it had an Oreo piece of cookie on top. This cupcake got a bit better than the last ones.
OVERALL RATING - 2
Birthday Cake Cupcake – This was a White Cake with sprinkles in the cake with Chocolate Buttercream with Sprinkles on top. White Cake was VERY VERY dry (I could not even finish it, it was that bad!), the Chocolate Buttercream was not good, it was chalky and bland. This cake failed terribly!
OVERALL RATING – Minus 1
Green Tea Cupcake – White Cake (maybe infused with green tea?) was again VERY dry, Green Tea Buttercream was none to say the least DISGUSTING! This cupcake was in the trash before I could even finish chewing the piece I had in my mouth. There was a red filling of some sort but it was hard to place what it was supposed to be, maybe raspberries? This cake failed terribly as well, I am almost scared to try the last two!
OVERALL RATING – Minus 1
Almond Cupcake - White Cake was dry & had a very slight hint of almond, the Almond Buttercream was very sweet and not so much almond in taste, but it did smell like almond. One thing I did notice is that the ingredients seem to be artificial rather than natural (artificial color, flavors, etc.), which makes for less appealing cupcakes. This cupcake was not a big hit for me.
OVERALL RATING – 1
Little Pearl Cupcake – White (Vanilla) Cake was dry but the overall taste of the cake was alright, the Vanilla Bean Italian Meringue Frosting was interesting, it didn’t have much taste at all let alone the claim of vanilla bean but it did have a very “oily” consistency and slickness about it, not at all like Italian Meringue frosting I have had before. Overall this cupcake was “alright”.
OVERALL RATING – 2
FINAL ACT…
The Little Pearl Cupcake in Grand Rapids, MI needs MUCH work. Bottom line, they need to get their baking temperatures and timing right, their cake batters and frostings to taste better and clean up their overall appearance of their shop. Add a little more customer service and they could turn this bakery around, but if they continue to go in the path they are, I can foresee a dark gloomy end to this young cupcake bakery.
Rating Scale: 1 = Bad, don't waste your money!
2 = Just Alright
3 = Good, what it should taste like
4 = Excellent, more than expected
5 = Cupcake 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.
Happy Tasting!
~Briar Rose
