Vanilla Pastry Studio

A week ago, my lab manager surprised me with cupcakes from here for my birthday. He got us a dozen cupcakes, consisting of the following flavors: mint chocolate, peanut butter chocolate, chocolate fudge, chocolate buttercream, vanilla buttercream, red velvet, gingerbread, and lemon creme (see photo). What a delicious surprise!Aesthetically, the cupcakes were beautiful--particularly the decorative details appropriate to each flavor placed on top of each cupcake. In terms of flavor, the icing was excellent--very creamy, rich, and dense, dominating the cupcake in terms of amount and flavor. The flavors really stood out--particularly the cream cheese flavor for the red velvet cupcake. My favorites were that and the mint, though every flavor I tried was good, which surprised me given that I'm generally not a huge fan of red velvet cake. However, the cake portion of the cupcakes wasn't as fresh as I'd like it to be, given that it was a bit crusty around the edges.* I asked my lab manager when he'd bought the cupcakes, and he said he'd picked them up the day before and kept them in the refrigerator overnight, so I'm not sure whether the cake portion is fresher when served. *See edit below.Overall, I thought VPS did a great job of balancing flavor with aesthetics. If I were in the market for baked goods for a wedding, I'd definitely consider them!EDIT: I tried a fresh cupcake on 1/11, and it didn't have the dryness issue--in fact, it was quite velvety. As a result, I'm increasing my rating to 5 stars.

It's been six years since my first visit to VPS. It's not that I have an extraordinary memory. I just checked on Yelp. They were first located in the West End. Then Shadyside. And now they are in Regent Square. I love their new store. They have their own off street parking. And the new store is very cute, lime green and pink are perfect together.My review is for their cupcakes. Although they are only a portion of their business, I think this is what they are best known for. Sugar Fairy April Gruver is a master of wedding cakes and creative custom cakes. VPS is also known for using natural ingredients, quality chocolate and pure vanilla. There was a time when I thought these cupcakes were the best in the country. However, either they have changed or my taste buds have changed. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy their cupcakes, but they fail to be the best. Of the last flavors that I purchased, I found the chocolate cake of the double chocolate to be very dry. The strawberry filled had very little strawberry, although the cake part of the cupcake was just about perfect. The cake of the mango was much like eating a sponge and the icing was a bit tart. Another disappointment, is the decorations. Other bakeries that I have visited put a lot of attention in this detail and outshines VPS by a mile. Other treats that we love, are their whoopie pies, chocolate truffle cookies and blondies. Another treat is their iced chai tea. So yummy! But seriously, those pink cardboard straws have got to go!

As a cupcake baker, I can be very harsh when judging how good a cupcake is, but this place is AMAZING!!! I recently tried Georgetown Cupcake in Soho, and if Vanilla Pastry Studio was located next door, they could run Georgetown out of business.The shop is very cute and aesthetically pleasing. The cupcakes were $2.50/each, which I believe is very reasonable for the high quality product that you will receive. Their chocolate cupcakes are particularly amazing. It's very easy to make chocolate cake too dry or too dense, but the chocolate cupcakes at Vanilla are light and fluffy.I highly recommend this bakery, and based on the quality of product that I tried, I believe they would do a great job of baking cupcakes for a wedding or other event.

These cupcake creations are possibly a gift from above. And I'm not talking about the room they have upstairs.If I hadn't just eaten before I had come in here, I'm quite sure I would have opted for every flavor they had that day, and then moved onto the whoopie pies (come on Pittsburgh people, can't you just call them 'gobs?').I tried the chocolate, chocolate creme one and I was definitely not disappointed. The cake itself is quite moist. I had parts of it sticking to my fingers, which I always equate that to the cheese off a Dorito...finger sucking flavor at the end.Now, I have to say, I eat a cupcake in a very specific order. I sit down, spread out a napkin, and then place the cupcake in the center of it. Carefully pull the wrapper away slowly, so I don't tear away anymore of that important cake off than needed. Pick up the cupcake under the brim with a C formation of my thumb and fingers and rip off the bottom of the cupcake. Yes folks, I am that person that eats the cakey bottom first. Why? Because I'm greedy like that. I do want my cake, and I do want to eat it too. Except, I want to eat the iced part last. After I devoured the bottom portion of my cake, I slowly take a bite of the top part. Savor the flavor of that chocolate on chocolate bliss. Then two seconds later I realized that I shoved the rest of it in my mouth, icing, decorations and all. Then of course I move onto to salvage the leftovers on my fingers. After that sight, I return to normal mode and wipe my mouth with my napkin and proceed to walk away. Not shamed, but with dignity and pride that I just enjoyed one of the best cupcakes in all of Pittsburgh.

Hands down, one of my favorite bakeries! My favorite cupcake is the lemon buttercream. Well, I can't forget about the caramel cupcake either. I don't know how she does it, but the cupcakes are sweet and tasty yet so light at the same time. And the location is just adorable! They used to be located in East Liberty but have since relocated to a larger space in Regent Square. While the previous location was charming and quaint, the new location is still charming with a more modern twist.

What a charming little bakery! I found this gem thanks to a wait for a table at D's and the need to kill some time in the neighborhood.When you walk in, the smell is amazing. If you weren't already craving something sweet before you walked in, you will no doubt be tempted to order one of everything.The display case had about 8 different types of cupcakes, various cookies and other pastries. Not a lot of options compared to other bakeries, but what they do have is quality. I sampled the red velvet cupcake and my husband tried the key lime. I am not a huge fan of cakes/cupcakes in general, but really enjoyed theirs. The cake part was moist and flavorful and the frosting was just the right amount of sweet. I took a bite of my husband's cupcake and enjoyed it equally as much. Since it is a gourmet bake shop, the prices are on the high end ($2.50 per cupcake) and cookies were $3, so come prepared to spend quite a bit on dessert. But don't fret it because it will be worth it.They also have coffee, espresso and other hot drinks available. There are a few cute tables set up in the shop for dine in options and they pack the cupcakes with a divider for to go ordersOverall, worth a stop for something sweet and delicious.

I finally ventured here to see what the hype was about. My friend was raving about their cupcakes and I just knew I was going to expect something great. It was early in the day when we walked in and they had two flavors of cupcakes ready. Neither I or my friend was interested in those flavors so we paid for Salted Caramel cupcakes and said we'd be back and hopefully they'd be done. The cashier was super nice. Thankfully when we returned a few hours later the cupcakes were ready. I was stuffed from brunch so I took my cupcake home with me. I understand that it's salted caramel but it was more salt than caramel. I wanted sweetness that I wasn't going to get but instead I did get fluffy cake. The filling wasn't even sweet which was a bummer but based off the cake being fluffy I would actually give another flavor a shot. One of these stars is specifically for how fluffy and soft the cake actually is. The icing though left little to be desired. It tasted like butter and it made me sad. But no love lost. My next venture there will hopefully meet my expectations.

Vanilla Pastry Studio may be good by Pittsburgh standards, but compared to every cupcake place in New York, DC, or Chicago, these cupcakes are a real bummer.I have wanted to try here for years, and my friend surprised me with three cupcakes upon moving back to Pittsburgh. She bought a chocolate buttercream, red velvet, and lemon. Shockingly, the chocolate buttercream was probably the best, with a nice and moist cake. The red velvet was OK. The lemon was a vanilla cupcake with lemon icing, and it was OK as well. There was far too much icing on the cupcakes, considering how small and mildly flavored the cupcakes were.The cupcakes looked pretty, but the decorations were mostly chocolate, which didn't go with the red velvet or lemon. The shop looks cute from the windows, but I find their hours to be a bit inconvenient.Overall, I wouldn't turn down cupcakes from Vanilla, but I would rather go to many other places for cupcakes.

This review is not judgement on the quality of their cakes, but instead the horrific customer service I received while trying to commission a wedding cake. I live 6 blocks from this bakery and have given them numerous chances to make me a fabulous wedding cake. 1. First visit - Me: Do you do wedding cakes?cashier: Yes. (Rather rudely and no other information).2. Let's give them another chance. We make an appointment to have a wedding cake tasting. Because of my work schedule, we chose the first Saturday available. 1 month away!! We send an email about our interests for the wedding cake and grooms cake without response. 3. Day of the scheduled cake tastingThe owner is not there, and no samples are ready. After asking to explain this situation to the manager or owner, they said she wasn't there. When I asked to speak with her on the phone, I was told to call of Tuesday. My appointment with name and phone number is on their calendar. If you fail to keep an appointment I made a month ago to taste some cake, call to reschedule or cancel. When you as a business royally screw up, I need to speak with the owner not an employee who can only offer me some free cupcakes as consolation.

Mixed experiences - I have had their cupcakes and quite delicate and flavorful if you eat the same day. I then ordered a large yellow round cake - and it was dried out. Clearly they made the cake 1-2 days earlier - very disappointing