BabyCakes is fine. In a world of dessert spots and bakeries, BabyCakes can easily satisfy your…read moresweet tooth. The guy behind the counter was nice, informative, and (most importantly) very honest about what we were getting.
As my wife and I looked at their selection, we were angling towards the 12 mini-cupcake sampler and were told that it was about $32. With single, larger cupcakes running around $4-$6, it was overall a bit steep, but we figured we might be in for something extra special. So, we swallowed the cost and bought three mini Blood Orange, three Red Velvet, three Chocolate, and three Classic Vanilla cupcakes.
Overall, the cupcakes are pretty basic. They're cooked well, they're visually well crafted, and the frosting is light and sweet enough on the tongue. Flavorwise, the vanilla cupcakes were pretty forgettable. Both the Blood Orange and Red Velvet options were overwhelmed by some bit of fruit jelly dolloped on top that muted what could have been a tasty cupcake. And the Chocolate ones ... those were damn delicious! Very rich, sweet, a deep chocolate flavor, an excellent cupcake all the way through.
I honestly think that if we had decided on the regular sized cupcakes, we would have thought more of BabyCakes. The cost versus what you get aside, the small size of the mini-cupcakes made it very easy for a single ingredient to overwhelm the entirety of the dessert. And I honestly only can remember the chewy texture and sweet and sour flavor of that berry jam instead of any moist richness of the Red Velvet or the tart citrus I was hoping for in the Blood Orange cupcake. As it is, I'm sure I'd come back if I were in the area, but I wouldn't go out of my way to Imperial Beach just for visit here.