The Cupcake Station: Ann Arbor's Best Cupcake

There is much to love about cupcakes. As small, personalize-size cakes, they offer instant portion control. (Unless you eat more than one, of course.) Cupcakes are cute, what with their crimped wrappers, which are frequently patterned or colored to suit the flavor. And cupcakes can be a template for individual expression. While cakes invite a more collaborative decorating approach, cupcakes bypass the bickering over proper piping technique and permit self indulgence, in more way than one. Smear some butter cream frosting on top of a golden cake, and let the kids top 'em with caloric goodies, such as sprinkles or cookies, or sauces.

Cupcakes have a nostalgic, homemade quality to them. But needless to say, the cupcake craze has resulted in countless cupcake vendors trying to offer an elevated form of the birthday party staple. It's fairly easy to buy a box of mix and a can of frosting from the local grocery store and put together your own cupcake concoction, so is it really worth shelling out $2-4 for a specialty cake? When it comes to cupcake options in Washtenaw County, Michigan (and yes, there are quite a few), the Cupcake Station offers the best decadent treat, and one that I believe is worth its price. With locations in Ann Arbor and Birmingham, the Cupcake Station has a stable of flavors destined to delight most any palate - caramel, carrot cake, red velvet, lemon, traditional chocolate and vanilla, pineapple, banana and the Michigan Bumpy cake. I recently visited the Liberty Street location in Ann Arbor and can verify that the Bumpy cake lives up to its name, with mounds of butter cream frosting then covered in a chocolate shell. The combination of textures is appealing - the rich chocolate coating, the creamy heft of the perfect butter cream hidden beneath it, and the moist, substantial cake base. The cupcakes are aesthetically pleasing, but without the frills that make some baked goods too artistic to eat.

Many other cupcake stores, both in and out of Michigan, come up dry - literally - when it comes to the cake base. The Cupcake Station has avoided that pitfall, and without producing an overly oily cake. The store has also avoided the Disappointing Butter Cream Frosting pitfall. The Cupcake Station's frosting is not the airy or gelatinous nothingness frequently piped onto other stores' cupcakes; rather, theirs is flavorful and substantial, just as it should be. The Chocolate Cheesecake cupcake impressed with its rich chocolate base and creamy white-chocolate cream cheese topping. These cupcakes require you to savor them, although one does not seem like enough.

Prices are reasonable, at $2.75 each. Order in bulk, and watch the prices decrease even more. For the indecisive foodie, try a mini cupcake for $1.35. I look forward to revisiting the Cupcake and trying additional flavors. I am also hopeful that they will introduce seasonal flavors (pumpkin, perhaps?) in the coming months.