6 Bakery Chains With The Best Cupcakes Across America

During the mid-2000s, cupcake shops seemed to pop up all around the country, possibly due to the mainstream exposure of Magnolia Bakery on the show "Sex and the City." After this cupcake-cameo, tourists visiting NYC sought out the store's gourmet cupcakes, and the rest of the country soon followed suit. Also leading the trend were chains like Sprinkles Cupcakes and Crumbs Bake Shop, which captured the country's cupcake obsession and grew to have massive, nationwide presences. However, time has not been kind to the cupcake business, and both chains today have closed all of their storefronts. Crumbs Bakeshop exclusively ships products online, and Sprinkles Cupcakes just recently announced its complete closure.

While the cupcake craze of decades past is seemingly gone, certain exceptional chains have managed to keep their businesses alive. These stores have survived due to the chain's uniqueness, quality, affordability, popularity, and sustainable business models. In this article, we will discuss six bakery chains that are known for serving the best cupcakes across America, and dive into what makes these cupcakes truly special.

As the bakery responsible for helping start the cupcake craze in the first place, Magnolia Bakery has been a staple of the New York City area since 1996, when the first bakery location opened in Manhattan's West Village. What started as a local favorite soon became a tourist destination, with customers lining up to try the bakery's famous Red Velvet Cupcakes as well as the iconic Banana Pudding. By the 2010s, Magnolia Bakery had expanded across New York City and opened locations in Los Angeles and Dubai. Today, dozens of stores are open around the world, with plans for more on the way. 

If you have never had a Magnolia Bakery cupcake before, you are truly missing out. Each cupcake is made with care and incredible precision, featuring a moist, spongy cake base and perfectly coiffed thick icing top. Instead of relying on over-the-top decorations or gimmicks, Magnolia Cupcakes are clean, elegant, and only adorned with the occasional sprinkle or edible decoration. One user on Reddit raved: "Their cake sponge is melt in the mouth soft ... for the portion size I think the price was good." 

A 12-count assortment featuring three of the most famous flavors — the chocolate buttercream and sprinkle-topped chocolate cupcake, the famous "Carrie Bradshaw" vanilla buttercream on vanilla cupcake, and the iced red velvet cupcake — costs $57. While these cupcakes are not cheap, this clearly has not stopped customers from buying them, as the chain proudly boasted $4.4 million in gross annual revenue in 2024.

In a story as sweet as the cupcakes, Molly's Cupcakes was named after founder John Nicolaides's third-grade teacher, Miss Molly, who was known for baking her class cupcakes whenever it was a student's birthday. This act of kindness left a big impact on Nicolaides, who said in an interview with Parker Weekly: "I still remember how good they were ... Just about everyone who tries them thinks they are the best cupcakes ever." To keep her legacy alive, Molly's Cupcakes donates gift cards and cupcakes to local schools as part of Molly's Mission.

In addition to having a touching backstory, the cupcakes sold at this bakery are also loved for their quality. Molly's Cupcakes exploded in popularity after winning the first-ever season finale of Food Network's "Cupcake Wars," where the bakery stood out for its creative and inventive cupcake flavors. Today, the store is known for serving flavor options like peach cobbler, key lime, tiramisu, flourless molten chocolate, crème brûlée, and blueberry cheesecake. 

One customer on Facebook stated: "I can't say enough good things about Molly's cupcakes ... Having ordered there a few times now I haven't been disappointed by anything I've gotten." Molly's Cupcakes currently operates 15 locations nationwide, with most locations based in the company's home of Chicago. Each standard-sized cupcake costs $3.10.

While cupcakes are already the mini-version of a cake, Baked by Melissa took that concept to a new extreme by focusing its model on teeny-tiny bite-sized cupcakes. After being fired from her job as an assistant, founder Melissa Ben-Ishay took a brave leap and decided to start her own cupcake business. She went on to establish her cupcakes within the catering world, and eventually, the store opened its first retail location in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood. Customers loved the mini-cupcake concept, which allows customers to try more flavors without filling up too quickly.

Not only are these cupcakes delicious, but they are also adorable, with perfectly portioned toppings and icing dollops on each mini cupcake. Customers can buy a variety of box assortments, but the standard Latest & Greatest Cupcakes box costs $37 for 25 bite-sized cupcakes. Flavors rotate, but options could include cookies & cream, chocolate chip pancake, vanilla fluff, tie-dye, Brookie, mint cookie, and a variety of gluten-free cupcakes. 

One user on Reddit reviewed: "They are delish ... Expensive but nice for a special treat." Baked by Melissa currently has 11 cupcake stores open in New York City and Boston, and customers can also order a box of them to be shipped to their homes if they live further away. 

With over 200 locations open across the United States and around the world, Smallcakes Cupcakery & Creamery is undoubtedly one of the most successful cupcake chains of all time. The business started in 2008 as a local bakery in Overland Park, Kansas, and its success only grew from there. Known for its appearances on several seasons of "Cupcake Wars," Smallcakes Cupcakery & Creamery has made a name for itself as a provider of gourmet cupcakes made with quality ingredients.

Each day, customers heading to a Smallcakes location will be able to pick up freshly made cupcakes in 12 specialty flavors. Each cupcake costs $4.95. These flavors rotate often, but can include options like maple bacon, cannoli, tiramisu, French toast, and pumpkin cupcakes. In addition to cupcakes, the store is also known for its ice cream, which is also made in small batches every day. One customer on Facebook raved: "I have never had a bad tasting cupcake from Smallcakes." Even with its massive expansion, Smallcakes Cupcakery & Creamery has maintained its commitment to quality and consistency, which has helped it stay successful today.

Known for its picture-perfect cupcake creations, Gigi's Cupcakes offers a truly gourmet and upscale dessert experience across the country. Founded in 2008, Gigi's Cupcakes started with just a single store in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Thanks to the delicious cupcakes created by founder Gina "Gigi" Butler, the business became a huge success, and today, there are approximately 30 Gigi's Cupcakes locations open nationwide as part of the franchise.

Each Gigi's cupcake is baked fresh daily, ensuring that customers receive only the highest quality product. Cupcakes cost $5 each. What makes these cupcakes unique is the flavor options and signature icing swirls, which include options like brown sugar spice, dark chocolate cookie butter, Holiday Bliss, Lemon Dream, and strawberry shortcake. One fan on Facebook shared: "We have used Gigi's Cupcakes USA for several events and they are always a hit! Thank you for your consistency and amazing recipes!" With new "Flash Flavors" being introduced every month, customers keep coming back to Gigi's Cupcakes to try the newest inventions from its kitchen.

While SusieCakes is primarily known for its full-sized cakes, the bakery chain has been praised for its cupcakes as well. Founded in 2006 by Susan "Susie" Sarich, SusieCakes was inspired by her childhood growing up baking with her grandmothers. Using the handwritten recipes they had passed down to her, Susan opened up SusieCakes bakeries, and the rest is history. Today, the business has 31 bakeries across the country, with plans to open more in the future.

SusieCakes cupcakes come in interesting flavors like German chocolate cupcake, mocha cupcake, and coconut cupcake. The store also offers specialty cupcakes for gender reveals, sports events, and more. One customer on Reddit raved: "Can confirm these were some of the moistest, fluffiest cupcakes I've ever had the pleasure of trying. They were the perfect size." The cupcakes here cost around $4.99 for a single cupcake, but prices vary by flavor. The store currently has locations in California, Texas, Tennessee, and Oklahoma, and nationwide shipping has been available since 2022.

To write this article, I did extensive research on a variety of cupcake and bakery chains that are known for serving cupcakes across the country. The dessert chains selected for this article were featured for a variety of reasons, including the size of the chains, the popularity of the cupcakes, and the reach of the brand nationally. In addition, I looked for chains that provided quality cupcake products with unique flavors. The bakeries that ended up featured in this article managed to encompass several of these factors, and to further confirm the likability of each store, select customer reviews were used as evidence as well.

All of the information on flavors and locations was based on the bakery's official websites. Prices listed in this article were based on whatever location was the closest to my personal residence in New York City. The cupcake chains are not ranked, and the order in which they are listed is random.