With T-shirts for sale in the front display case that say, “Baking is Sexy” and “I run because I eat cupcakes,” it’s easy to see why.īut even if the walls were a drab gray and the clerks were grouchy, old men, that wouldn’t matter because the cupcakes speak for themselves. The store is trendy yet mature, and you get the feeling that a pair of sassy, Rosie the Riveter-esque baker chicks run the back kitchen. Top 40s pop plays over the speaker and, while not my first choice of music, it keeps things lively, just like the rest of the shop. You can enjoy any of their 21 flavors of cupcakes while relaxing in sleek black chairs that overlook Wornall. If you do want to stay awhile, the hot pink walls and bold black accents are more than inviting. The tiny shop couldn’t hold more than 20 people comfortably, but that doesn’t matter because the glorious thing about cupcakes is that you don’t have to sit down to eat them. Cupcake A La Mode brings a new air of sophistication to the thought of, “that little cupcake shop on the corner.” Tucked away behind Fogo de Chao and across the street from Houstons, Cupcake A La Mode is the Plaza’s little, hidden treasure. Like their website boasts, “Cupcakes are not just for kids anymore!” and they couldn’t be more correct. But since my naive youth, my eyes have been opened and my taste in baked goods has never been the same.

I can remember when I was younger at every preschool birthday party licking only the frosting off one cupcake and going back for seconds.

Counterparts cupcake baker