Divine Desserts is Gone!

It's seems like just yesterday that I was just eating cupcakes from Divine Desserts and now I hear that they're closed! On Monday the Fast Food Maven reported that Divine Desserts has closed and will be replaced by Cinderella Cakes.

I'm really surprised to hear this news because Divine Desserts made quality cupcakes. They even made it on the list of My Top 10 Cupcakes of All Time. I'm not sure what happened, but I'm hoping they will resurface somewhere else.

Interesting to note that Divine Desserts website now forwards to Cinderella Cakes website. Cinderella Cakes already has three Orange County locations, yet this is the first I've heard of them. Their website does have pictures of cupcakes, but I'm unsure if they will be selling them in their store. I'll keep you updated.

My Top 10 Cupcakes of All Time: #7

The list continues...

I constantly get asked, "where can I find the best cupcakes?". Wow, it's just so hard to narrow it down because I've tasted so many delicious cupcakes. You can check out all of my reviews under the tab "Cupcake Reviews." But I think it's time to reveal the list for The Cupcake Activist's Top 10 Cupcakes of All Time! I'm sure this list will be ever-changing, as there are so many cupcakes I have yet to try. Enjoy the remainder of 2010!

#7

CUPCAKE SHOP: Divine Desserts

LOCATION: Laguna Niguel, CA

FAVORITE FLAVOR: Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting



Last year I got to experience the full VIP treatment from Divine Desserts with a tour of their shop and a tasting of their cupcakes. I wish I could experience every cupcake shop this way! Moist cupcakes, perfect frosting, and a huge assortment of flavors to choose from (20 daily flavors) makes Divine Desserts a great cupcake shop to visit. They also sell other goodies such as cookies, muffin tops, and frosting shots (pina colada was my favorite). The Red Velvet has a little something extra special in it which sets it apart from the many other red velvets I've tasted. Their cupcakes sell for $3.00. You can see my full review here.

Holiday Customer Appreciation from Divine Desserts

Divine Desserts in Laguna Niguel is giving cupcakes to their loyal fans! Did I get your attention? Beginning December 7, they are going to give away a Sweetest Gift card each day until Dec. 24th. The Sweetest Gift is a free cupcake per visit and a total of a dozen. Yes, that’s right a dozen giveaway each day to the 24th!

So, you may ask, how does one qualify? Simply, just post a photo or comment on their Facebook page of something that they did for you this year. All photos and comments will be collected and they will draw from both the Facebook Fan page and friend’s page.

They will also be throwing out random Sweetest Gift cards to loyal customers that they call family in the store each day. So, you have two chances to win. The more comments or photos, then your odds increase.

They are taking orders all the way up to closing Dec 23rd for your holiday parties. Pick-up order hours are on Dec 24th until Noon.

If you need that special gift, Sweetest Gift card or Gift Certificates are always available.

I got to meet Todd and Leslie last year at their VIP media event. They are two of the nicest people I've met in the cupcake world. I wish for their continued success! If you haven't had a chance to try cupcakes from Divine Desserts, what are you waiting for?!! Their cupcakes are delicious!

Divine Desserts
27261 La Paz Rd., Suite G
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
949-305-3355
Email: llewis@divinedessertsetc.com
Twitter: Divine Desserts

The Best of Orange County 2010

Each year the Orange County Register puts out a publication called "The Best of Orange County." It is derived from a survey where residents of Orange County vote for the Best (blank) in Orange County. The publication was delivered today and of course the first category I looked at was "Best Cupcakes." For the first time ever, I am happy with the results.

First Place: Sprinkles Cupcakes

It's hard to compete with such a large brand. But it's even harder to compete with Sprinkles when they are so good. Along with their great tasting cupcakes, Sprinkles gives you the experience of a gourmet cupcake. They make their cupcakes feel special and well worth the price tag of $3.25. One thing I really like about Sprinkles is along with the dozen or so flavors they offer every day, they sell different holiday and season-themed cupcakes throughout the year. I can't wait to try their Salty Caramel available November 5-14.

Second Place: Susiecakes

I've proclaimed Susiecakes as one of my favorite cupcake shops. They offer very simple, very delicious cupcakes. My favorite part about their cupcakes is the dallop of frosting hidden in the middle of the cupcake. Yum! Their cupcakes sell for $3.00 each. Susiecakes doesn't just sell cupcakes, they have many other delicious desserts too. I love their chocolate chip cookies and have been eyeing all of their cakes for a while. You won't be disappointed!

Third Place: Divine Desserts

I'm so happy that they made it on the list. Divine Desserts sells great cupcakes and deserves to be recognized for that. I got the grand tour of Divine Desserts last year. I was blown away by their flavors, their service, their presentation, and of course their taste. My favorite cupcake of the day: Red Velvet. I know this is cliche, but there's something special about Divine Desserts' Red Velvet. They wouldn't tell me what it was, you will just have to try it yourself. Their cupcakes sell for $3.00 each.

Although I have viewed "The Best of Orange County" publication as useless in the past, I am very satisfied with the results. It was hard to take a publication serious that named The Olive Garden as Best Italian Restaurant. Maybe Orange County is starting to get it though. You can view all of the results of "The Best of Orange County" here. Tell me if you agree or disagree with any of the picks.

Groupon features Divine Desserts

I recently learned about Groupon, a website that offers deal on stuff in your area. So far, I've only seen deals for food stuff, but I am definitely ok with that.

Today's deal is for Divine Desserts in Laguna Niguel. With Groupon's offer, you can get six cupcakes from Divine Desserts for only $8! That's a killer deal! You must buy the deal today before it expires (which is about 10 hours from now). The "groupon" is good until 9/3/10.

I reviewed Divine Desserts a few months ago. Their cupcakes are awesome!

LOST Cupcake from Divine Desserts

Yes!! LOST is back for it's final season and I couldn't be happier! Did you catch last night's episode? It left me aching for the next seven days to go by very quickly.

In honor of the start of the season, Divine Desserts has made a special LOST cupcake. Love it!

I reviewed Divine Desserts about a month ago. Check it out here. Kelly from Just Spotted also posted a review of our special tasting party. Find it here. As you can tell, we both LOVED Divine Desserts.

Getting to Know Divine Desserts

A day that I try a new cupcakery is always a great day. Today was a great day.

Divine Desserts Etc opened about nine months ago. In retrospect, I shouldn't have waited so long to finally make it to their shop. (So much time wasted not eating their cupcakes!) Today was the day I finally learned about their cupcake specialness.

Divine Desserts is located in Laguna Niguel. They sell cupcakes, cookies, muffins tops, and frosting shots. Today was my lucky day. I was invited to a special VIP media event at Divine Desserts. I grabbed my friend and my brother and we were off to meet Divine Desserts.

Todd and Leslie Lewis are the owners of Divine Desserts. They greeted me with big smiles and introduced me to their store.

First bit of business: a grand tour of the kitchen. LOVE the pink and light blue mixers! I learned that they can bake 100 cupcakes in 20 minutes.

Next stop: cupcake tasting! All of the cupcakes in the display cases were baked especially for this media party. I had such a hard time choosing flavors because there were so many interesting new choices! I think this is a great quality that sets them apart from other cupcakeries.

We had no problems digging into the cupcakes. The only problem was looking good while eating them (yes, that's Angry Julie...sorry this was the only photo I had of you!). Julie's favorite cupcake of the day: Banana.

My brother, Eric is an eating machine and a reviewer for my blog. His favorite cupcake of the day: Black Forest (chocolate with cherries).

The reason I brought my friend Kristina is because she shares my passion for eating. She is actually at a higher level of food-love than I. Her favorite cupcake of the day: Smores.

Ever tried a frosting shot? This was my first time. Wow! Pina Colada was a great choice.

Like I mentioned before, Divine Desserts also sells cookies and muffin tops. Chocolate chip cookies are my second favorite dessert (behind cupcakes, of course). One of the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever eaten! Still baffled how I left the store without trying a muffin top.

Kelly, from Just Spotted, brought her kids to the event. They were so excited to be eating cupcakes!

Kelly's baby girl got in on the action too. I'm pretty sure this was her first frosting shot!

A film crew from Greer's OC was there to shoot a commercial. This may be my on-camera debut!

I love the cupcake art adorning the walls of the shop. I would love something like that for my house.

Verdict: So what did I think of Divine Desserts? DELICIOUS!! To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure what to expect from them since they are a fairly new cupcake shop. But I was blown away by their flavors, their service, their presentation, and of course their taste. My favorite cupcake of the day: Red Velvet. I know this is cliche, but there's something special about Divine Desserts' Red Velvet. They wouldn't tell me what it was, you will just have to try it yourself.

Lucky me...they sent me home with some cupcakes to share with my family. Boy did they love them! Divine Desserts, thank you for the fun event and the delicious cupcakes! Keep baking great cupcakes and I will keep coming back!

Divine Desserts
27261 La Paz Rd., Suite G
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
949-305-3355
Email: llewis@divinedessertsetc.com
Twitter: Divine Desserts

Hours: Tuesday-Friday 10:00am-7:00pm, Saturday 9:00am-6:00pm, and Sunday 10:00am-5:00pm, Monday by appointment only

Cupcakes are $3.00 each. They offer 20 flavors every day, which rotate frequently.

Post-Christmas Cupcaking

Christmas came fast and left just as fast. I'm sad that it's over already! I hope you all had as great of a Christmas as I did.

Last night I was able to catch "Cupcake Wars" on the Food Network. I really enjoyed watching the cupcake competition. I was sad to see Monica from Two Parts Sugar eliminated in the first round because I know firsthand that her cupcakes are delicious. It was kinda funny that the other three competitors all used mango in their first-round cupcakes and all designed a dress display. If you missed "Cupcake Wars," you can still catch it on January 2 at 4:00pm.

Today I get to try some new cupcakes. I'm attending a media party at Divine Desserts in Laguna Niguel. Divine Desserts opened at the beginning of this year, but I hadn't gotten to it until today. Looking forward to trying some new cupcakes and meeting new cupcake people!

Divine Desserts Halloween Cupcakes

I'm not sure how it's possible, but I still haven't made it to Divine Desserts Etc. in Laguna Niguel yet. It's a bit far to drive to just stop by, but the next time I visit my family in Rancho Santa Margarita, I just might have to.

For Halloween Divine Desserts has Jack-O-Cupcakes. The cupcakes are available in gingerbread, pumpkin, and spice flavors. Their cupcakes are $3.00 each. Divine Desserts also has cookies, muffin tops, and frosting shots available for purchase.

More Cupcakes Coming to Orange County

Remember that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine's former boss decides to open a muffin shop called "Top of the Muffin To You?" Well, Divine Desserts, which opened today in Laguna Niguel, is expanding on that idea.

Thanks to a tip from the Fast Food Maven, I browsed Divine Desserts website to find that, not only will they be selling muffin tops, but cupcakes and cookies are in the mix too!

Cupcakes and muffin tops will be sold for $3 each and the cookies are $1.50. Divine Desserts is located at the Plaza de la Paz Center in Lagune Niguel. Today they are handing out free cupcakes. If only I lived closer....

Let me know if you try them out and hopefully I will get a chance to visit soon!