Cake Nouveau

Tasteless cupcakes. A box mix is better. Tastes like artificial flavoring is used.
Cakes are nothing but fondant. Not worth the money. Many better cake bakeries in town. Pass this one up.

We’ve had two customized cakes from Cake Nouveau and they both were amazing. Courtney and her staff are really sweet and helpful. She has taken the time out many times just to talk with my daughters. If you need a cake for a birthday or an event you should definitely come by. Just make sure you come in advance because they have a waiting list of a few months. If you are looking for something for your sweet tooth this is the place to come to. The cupcakes are good. I do hate that they aren’t as moist as they should be so that is my only complaint. They have delicious cookies and I adore the cake pops! The vanilla birthday cake pop is so good but they have a lot of different flavors every day to choose to from as well. Unfortunately they aren’t open on Mondays which is when I’m usually in the area. I do wish they had later hours.

Bought an anniversary cake here and after telling them the chocolate tasted weird I was told I didn’t have a refined palette that could appreciate their chocolate. really?

My boyfriend surprised me with a custom birthday cake last night, and I freaked out from all the cuteness and all the deliciousness!!!
So first off the top of the cake was an edible plate, with cute little edible smiling sushi pieces on it! ahhhhhhhh I can’t take it. I love it so much! The cake underneath was I believe a strawberry champagne flavoring (I’m unsure, but was delicious!)
The cake it rich and on the denser side then the fluffier side, which I like.
He ordered a cake for 2 people, but this will definitely have to be a multiple day affair!
From the sounds of it, this was expensive, but as a birthday present/​cake combo, it made my day :)

Overall, their cupcakes are pretty good. When I first tried CN, I was not impressed. The cupcakes that my friend and I tried were pretty dry. But it seems to have gotten better. Now, it may be due to my lack of baking or maybe not. But I’ll probably treat myself (when I do crave a cupcake, which is rare) once in awhile.
The downside of course, is the price. My fiancé and I got 12 cupcakes for his family who arrived from out of town and paid $ 25 + tax (Eeek!)
My fav flavors are the vanilla bean and strawberry rhubarb cupcakes.

I hate only giving Cake Nouveau two stars but I try to be as fair as possible in my reviews and I can’t say A-​OK when it’s really not. Not at all.
While whimsically decorated in green and purple to match the website, I wish more attention was paid to other things. The website states that CN is a custom cake and whimsical treats shop. It doesn’t have many treats. There are the cake truffles, limited single slices of cake, homemade candy bars. If it’s the weekend there are cupcakes.
?!
Yes. The website does not say this. Instead it says what the cupcakes are. Actually, it still has Valentine’s Day info up. It’s nearly March.
Most of the stuff for sale are cutesy dessert themed items (magnets, jewelry), and cake decorating supplies. Yes, they do custom cakes but the need to change the website to reflect this. Cake Nouveau is a baker. And they sell some other stuff.
They also have classes.
But they don’t have cupcakes most days.
I will give them this: besides a misleading website it’s worth it to go in for their delicious (though overpriced) cake truffles. Imagine the best cakepop you’ve ever had, but bigger and without the pointless stick. Yum.
I’m not impressed with Cake Nouveau at all.

Pretty litttle store with a very friendly staff. I was lured in by the gorgeous photos of cakes they had created, such as a replica of the Beverly Hills Hotel, and some seriously impressive wedding cakes. Once inside, I was able to purchase the cake truffles for lunch. They are small cake spheres enrobed in chocolate. I chose the carrot cake one, the peanut butter one, and some others. All were moist and flavorful. I think they’d be great for a bridal shower or summer wedding!

Yes, this place is adorable and the girls working here are very cute and nice.
$ 2 a cake ball and $ 4 a candy bar is insane!
I got 2 cookies which were taste and price wise the best thing in the store.
I also splurged and got the dream bar for $ 4 which was a slice of brownie, rice crispy and caramel, good but not $ 4 good and the rice crispy cheapened it a bit.
I got the almond joy, the coconut and apple spice cake balls and sure they were good but too fudgy instead of cakey and just very overpriced.
They only have cupcakes friday and saturdays so I didn’t see any but I don’t think I’ll be back either way.

What’s with all the bad reviews?
I was in the area and Unilocaled cupcake places and this one popped up. I wasn’t sure about coming here because of the low ratings but I like to judge places for myself and since it was the closest cupcake place to where I was I decided to stop by.
I wasn’t expecting much so i was surprised to see how cute the place was! The place was brightly decorated and was super cute!
They not only had cupcakes but truffles too and the presentation alone won me over! The cupcakes and truffles were nicely decorated (looks like they do a lot with fondant). There were even some halloween inspired sweets! AND the cupcakes were BOGO! (They’re not always BOGO but just at the time that we were there)
I can see how some people complained that the cupcakes were dry. They were a little dry but they weren’t the worst cupcakes I’ve ever had. If you ate the cupcake with the frosting, it was fine. And the red velvet cupcake had cream cheese frosting that was delish. The truffles on the other hand were super moist and delicious!
Based on my first impression, I think that the cupcakes were better than the other place in town that I tried. I will definitely by again next time I’m in town!

The cakes are quite lovely, but the cupcakes are really… dry. And I can’t imagine the cakes taste any better. I later found out that the owner was trained as an artist and only took up baking much later in life. That more or less explains how the cakes can look so gorgeous but taste so… meh.
Anyway, I was willing to walk to the old Kerrytown location back in the day to get my free birthday cupcake and occasionally drop $ 2.50-$ 3 on a subpar cupcake. But now that it has moved farther down to Packard St, I will probably never go again. It’s just not worth the trip.

I’ve had the cupcakes at Cake Nouveau many times.
I’ve been disappointed every time.
I know, fool me once and all that. But the shop is so cute, the descriptions so delicious, and the baked goods so beautiful that I can’t help hoping each time will be different. No more.
The cupcakes are lovely and come in mouth-​watering flavors like mimosa and chocolate peanut butter. It’s hard to pick among the gorgeous options.
Unfortunately, the cupcakes taste lousy. In general, I find the cake to be under-​flavored. For example, the chocolate is not as rich and velvety as I prefer, and the aforementioned mimosa cake had very little orange flavor. A bigger sin in my eyes: This is greasy, light frosting. I see from other reviews that Crisco is not used in the frosting, but based on the taste and texture, I frankly don’t believe it. This absolutely has the mouth-​feel of a shortening-​based frosting, and there is no buttery flavor that I can detect.
The cakes are beautiful and while I suspect they share the flavor issues of the cupcakes, I would recommend checking them out for your event if you want something splashy. Probably I’d get a small, gorgeous cake here for display and then a delicious sheet cake from somewhere else for serving.
I feel bad giving a place with such artistry one star, but these are seriously bad cupcakes. I would not even consider trying them again based on my multiple previous experiences.

Confession: I haven’t actually had any of the cakes or cupcakes from Cake Nouveau. I’m here to talk about the cake balls. CAKE BALLS! Actually, what they call them are cake truffles but… they’re cake balls. YES!
Moist and flavorful all these truffles are covered in a hard chocolate (white, milk or dark – depending on the flavor) and topped with some fabulous little décor. Yesterday I enjoyed a seasonal favorite, the sugar plum, based on the recommendation of the gal behind the counter. This is some sweet ass stuff. Both in flavor and in delightfulness. Sugary and dense, topped with, well – a piece of a sugar plum. Also tasty? The salted caramel. Also very sweet (comes from the white chocolate coating, I think) but a lovely little salty zing rounds things out (ROUNDS! Pun intended, cake balls).
The space is just fun. Bright, bright, BRIGHT pinks and purples coat the walls. The furniture is rounded and cartoon like (in a good way). There’s a side room which I presume holds events and also houses the MASSIVE check the owner Courtney won on a Food Network cake challenge. Man, can that gal decorate a cake!
The cupcakes looked adorbs and tasty. The cakes themselves look gorgeous and fun. I’m looking forward to trying more from here and if those cake truffles are any indication, I’m gonna be a happy camper.

I chose Cake Nouveau for my wedding cake and cupcakes. We served a selection of mini cupcakes to our guests and had a small cake so that we had something to slice for guests.
When I first called to make an appointment, the girl who answered the phone told me Courtney might not want to do my Valentine’s Wedding cake because she is married and might want to have a date with her husband that night — ok, who bakes a cake an hour before a wedding? And which business owner would turn down business for a date? That was weird…
But, we met with Courtney personally and she designed a really cute cake for us, using our colors and ideas from our wedding, which I loved. We had TONS of flavors and the cupcakes turned out really cute. They may have been a little bit dry, but I chalked this up to getting married on Valentine’s day and the bakery was probably a bit slammed. I could really tell she’s a very creative person and has wonderful ideas — unfortunately, I never got to see them in practice.
My only issue was this — when my sister in law and bridesmaids picked up the cake, no one gave instructions on it’s care — so when it was delivered to our venue in Lansing, it went straight in the fridge —
AND all of the beautiful fondant icing and decorations that Courtney created melted!!! This news was broken to me when I arrived at my reception, and my family hastily used a cake topper to make up for the cake. OK, it didn’t ruin my day, we rolled with the punches, but I was really disappointed about it, and I never did get to see the beautiful cake she created for us.
When we called the shop to discuss this, the girls at the shop insisted they told them it was not to be refridgerated, but I trust my BFF and Sis in Law to know they would certainly remember hearing something this important… So alas, DO NOT refridgerate a fondant cake, no matter what the store tells you. I wasn’t too happy with that… :(
But for cupcakes in A2, give them a try, they’re delish.

UPDATE:
I’ve read a lot of other people’s reviews since my first review and while I stand by the fact that the cakes were certainly reasonable and I do like the Asian inspired flavor of one kind. The flavors are light and airy, which is nice for certain occasions.
I have read here that some people mentioned dry cupcakes. I advise you to not mention this to anyone at Cake Nouveau or you WILL in fact have your ass handed to you on a platter personally by the owner, Courtney, like I did. YES, I did. I’ll leave it at that.
At any rate, what you see on the Food Network competitions is in fact the personality you will get. Certainly we can all admire Type A perfectionism and the best intentions, but when you b-​slap those in your way and anyone who dares cross you, you alienate your potential clients.
Sometimes the most creative and talented people are not the best to deal with and Cake Nouveau holds to that. If you want airy, light flavors and fresh ingredients, this is the place for you. For more traditional cupcakes, try Cupcake Station or one of the mulitide of cupcake places cropping up all over A2 and Michigan.

Cake Nouveau’s cakes are gorgeous. If I were to invest in a special fancy dessert here, I would likely go for a full-​on cake. The tastes that I’ve had of their larger cakes have been very good.
Unfortunately, a full cake is pretty far above my normal budget of both dollars and calories. I’ve had the cupcakes here several times, and the cake itself always seems a bit dry to me. I usually like the cake portion of lil’ cuppycakes far better than the frosting. However, the chocolate frosting on my last cupcake from Cake Nouveau was smooth and melt-​in-​my-​mouth. Far better than the dry cake.
If I was going to purchase cupcakes locally, CN would probably be just below Just Baked and the Cupcake Station. However, if I were going for an all-​out cake, I might be convinced to give Cake Nouveau a shot.

Known largely for her victories in multiple large style cake competitions, my aunt was excited to know that Food Network’s «Last Cake Standing» winner, Courtney Clark’s Cake Nouveau was located on Ann Arbor’s 4^th Avenue, just blocks from Zingerman’s Deli. Not desiring a whole cake we were happy to know that Cake Nouveau also specializes in cupcakes and a daily cookie selection and entering the small shop after browsing the pet shop and food co-​op next door my aunt actually uttered the phrase «Is this what heaven smells like?» as hefty tones of vanilla, citrus, and cinnamon poured from the kitchen.
Browsing the pictures of many beautiful cakes we were shortly greeted by an elderly woman who told us a little about the store and took our order — two cupcakes and a cookie to go. Consuming the still-​warm cookie, blueberry almond, as we left the store I must say my first impression was a wonderful one. Similar to an oatmeal raisin cookie but with a nutty essence, blueberry sweetness, and heavy hints of cinnamon and nutmeg the cookie went very quickly with each of us eating a third.
Saving the cupcakes for later, actually during second intermission break around 10:00pm, I must say the cakes were vastly less impressive than the cookie. First tasting the Cherry Limeade and then the Chocolate Elvis I will first say that the cupcakes were quite small — especially for their $ 2.50 price-​tag. Secondly, while the frosting to cake ratio was appropriate I found the frosting to be largely lacking in flavor aside from «Sweet.» Finally, while the cakes were soft, they were more «muffin» in their density. Overall I would say the Cherry Limeade was the superior of the two, largely because of the gelatinous lime filling, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for either, especially with Zingerman’s and Cupcake Station nearby.

From being featured in the pages of Midwest Living to the owner winning a challenge on Food Network (and also getting a shout out on one of my favorite blogs, Cake Wrecks) this place is making big news for Ann Arbor!
I’ve never ordered a cake, and I have only seen pictures of the masterpieces, but I have often stopped in for a cupcake. Not necessarily impressed with the cake itself, but more so with the wonderful frosting that tops it! Yum!
Despite the cupcakes being underwhelming, and the cost being a bit pricey for a darn cupcake, this place is just so stinking cute! The «whimsical» decorations and cutesy seating makes it worth a trip! I just keep coming back for more!

Ok… I’ve been keeping up with the debate about all the reviews, and I figured it’s about time I reviewed this place since I have ordered two cakes from here.
Both were small birthday cakes. The first one I ordered was maybe 3 – 4 years ago when they first opened. I placed my order with one of the girls working there, who apparently didn’t specify what color I had wanted my fondant. However, Courtney personally called me the day of to check with me and make sure it was what I wanted. It was a 6 inch round, blue with shimmer dust and writing. I remember picking it up and thinking it was the most adorable cake I had ever seen. It was their chai tea flavor, and it was pretty damn tasty. Even the fondant didn’t taste bad which I was kind of surprised about.
The second time, I ordered a more elaborate cake (but still small). I called the store ahead of time to see how far in advance I would need to order it. It seemed I was still safe, so I stopped in after work. But this girl said she wasn’t sure, and that I should come in the next day when Courtney would be there. Which was annoying, but I guess it probably would be more helpful if the person actually making my cake would be there. When I came in the next day, I mostly conversed with a different girl, who relayed my requests to Courtney in the back. But I wanted a Ghostbusters cake, which she had never done, so Courtney came out to confirm that she would be excited to make it. Their computer was broken, and she couldn’t look up photos, so she asked if I could bring in some pictures to giver her ideas.
So I brought in some pictures, and when the day came to pick up the cake, it was pretty awesome. My boyfriend is a huge Ghostbusters fan, and he was pretty excited about it (see picture). This time the cake was white chocolate raspberry, and it was a big hit with everyone who tried it. Again, the fondant didn’t taste bad, but I wouldn’t recommend eating black fondant unless you want your teeth blue the rest of the night.
Anyway, I’ve been very happy with both cakes I’ve ordered. Anytime I’ve talked with Courtney she’s been pleasant and helpful. Most of her staff is pretty helpful (and sometimes excitable). I do like her cupcakes, particularly the frosting, but her cakes are much better. I think her cupcakes are there so that people can share in her «cake» experience without having to order a cake — which is clearly her forte.

Cake Nouveau’s cupcakes are by far the best I’ve ever had. I really can’t understand how so many other reviewers didn’t like them. They have the perfect amount of crispiness on the top to give you a little variation in texture. The frosting is extremely light and not excessively sweet, as so much frosting is. The price is about in line with what you’d pay for a good cupcake, $ 2.50 (I do not count packaged grocery store cupcakes as «good cupcakes»).
My favorite flavor is the Sweet Green Tea, it is absolutely fantastic. I have only had one slice of their actual cake, and while it was good I prefer their cupcakes. I have never had one of their specialty cakes but I did get to peak into the kitchen and saw a rather amazingly detailed cake of a burrito, chips and a cup of pop.
Don’t listen to the negative reviews, listen to me, their cupcakes are great and you won’t be disappointed.

I visit Cake Nouveau a few times a month for a Chocolate Truffle cupcake *one of their every-​day flavors* and sometimes one of their custom flavors. The cake is tasty — good-​flavor, never mushy or weak — good crumb.
The frosting could seriously use more flavoring — sometimes the amount is complete overkill (don’t need ¼ of butter on my cuppie…) I had Cake Nouveau make cupcakes for my 2008 wedding. I ordered 7 dozen in 3 different flavors: chocolate with white-​chocolate raspberry frosting, lemon-​vanilla cake with vanilla frosting, and Asian tea-​house (green tea-​cake with honey-​brownsugar frosting.)
All of the cupcakes were delicious, I DID make a special request of ½ the usual amount of frosting + extra flavoring ingredients — which they did with no fuss. The shop gals are very friendly, the owner as well. I highly recommend CN for special orders, just ask and they are willing to work with you: O)