Stateside Bakery

Saturday afternoon, I was looking forward to eating my salted caramel cupcake since I didn’t get go get one at the cupkate truck. Typically I prefer to eat from the truck since it’s always fresher than at stateside. I don’t know what’s going on but today my salted caramel was inedible!!! It’s usually fluffy and just right! Today it was hard, extremely bitter, I took one bite and threw the rest away. Same goes for the s’mores and vanilla, they definitely don’t taste the same. Good thing I only bought 6 instead of 2 dozens like I usually do. There shouldn’t be an inconsistency like this. I’m highly disappointed and will not be buying cupcakes there again!

The day I visited they were only selling cupcakes, select cookies and macarons. I went for an assortment of six cupcakes flavors to go, thinking they were the were all the rage. I went for the smores, the cream-​filled, velvet, and vanilla. I finished them within a day and felt they were all average. They are also pretty expensive at $ 19 for 6. I’m not the biggest cupcake fan, nor did none of these take me back to childhood flavors (actually none of them were bold or different from its competitors cupcakes).

I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to write a review of my new favorite local bakery. I’ve been a fan of the Cupkates Truck for many years, and when they opened a storefront in my neighborhood, I couldn’t have been more giddy. I’ve been in several times, convincing myself that it’s a reward for the 5 minute walk to get there :)
This weekend, I tried the new black and white cupcake for the first time, and it’s just divine. Hell, I’d eat it if it was just a straight black and white cookie. The flavors are spot-​on Jewish deli deliciousness.
Otherwise, my usual go-​to favorites are the nutella-​stuffed cookie, the moon pie, the hostess cupcake, and the s’mores cupcake… and usually another 2 – 3 things because «well, I mean, I’m here…» even though it’s literally a 5 minute walk from my house. Love.

I have been a long-​time fan of the CupKates food truck. Back in the day, the truck used to be near the UC Berkeley campus. At the time, $ 3 for a cupcake was a little pricey for a college student with a love for cupcakes, but it was completely worth it. I would leave class early to catch it!
My personal favorites were always the salted caramel and the s’mores cupcake, which includes toasted marshmallow frosting and a graham cracker crust on the bottom. Divine!
Alas, the city of Berkeley was banning CupKates from parking and selling for long periods of times (at least I think this is what happened…), so it became harder and harder to come by. When I was in town visiting, I was thrilled to hear that they had opened a store location! It is a small space and frankly not very accessible to students unless they live nearby or have a car. I think this might be why they have modified hours?
Cupcakes are just as delicious as I remember, and they even have specialty items! We got the peanut butter cookie, which was SO DELICIOUS. Kind of like a homemade nutter butter and so worth the extra few bucks.
If they were able to move on or closer to Telegraph, they would give CREAM a serious run for their money.

If you must hasten the onset of diabetes, this is the place to do it at.
Must tries:
* Vanilla Bean Twinkie
* Valrohna Ore-​Ohs
* Dark Chocolate vanilla bean cream cupcake (aka the Hostess cupcake)
* Nutella Cookie
While the cupcakes are good (had the Smores and Red Velvet), the above items and all of Stateside’s re-​creations of classic treats are on another level.

Gluten free cupcakes? I laugh in your general direction… until I had the snicker doodle cupcake from Stateside. Gamechanger, kiiiiid. It was so cinnamon-​y sugar-​y non-​gluten-​y good. Since I f’n love gluten, I also tried the vanilla bean ‘Twinkie’ and the Nutella stuffed chocolate chip cookies topped with sea salt, both really really really really really really… good, no, great. Looking at the other items they make, it seems totally worth a trip out to Berkeley to eat here. Easiest 5-​star review in a long time. Do it.

A cookie so damn good if you leave it on a plate with other people around, you can guarantee it will inch away without even touching it. Why? Cookie thievery at its finest thanks to a sizable treat with both chewy and crunchy bits filled with Nutella. If you start from the outside and piece it off around the rim and work your way in, you are left with a nickel-​size of Nutella spilling out of a dime-​sized cookie. And that is a winning ratio.

Worth breaking whatever fad diet you’re on for.
Why?
1. Nutella cookies so good that you’d be well-​advised to steal one away from a child. (They don’t deserve such refined, gourmet amazingness anyways, they have like zero life experience and probably won’t appreciate it.)
2. Homemade (er, Stateside made) vanilla bean twinkies that made me think twice about the very concept of twinkies themselves. I could have eaten A HUNDRED.
3. Your fad diet is stupid. Just eat some salad sometimes and don’t drink too much and go to the gym sometimes and you’ll be just fine, promise.

Stateside Bakery delivered treats to our office for a work conference and they knocked my socks off! Remember eating a twinkie when you were a kid and thinking they were God’s gift to the world? Then you have them as a grown-​up and realize that you didn’t know anything about food when you were little because now they just taste like chemicals. Blargh, I know you know what I mean! Well the twinkies from Stateside Bakery have all the magic of childhood and now that I’m back home in Honolulu I can’t stop thinking about them. They were so light and fluffy but not overly sweet. I started with just half a twinkie and ended up eating three more. In hindsight I wish I had eaten an entire dozen! The tummy ache and extra ten pound weight gain would have been worth it! I also had the snickerdoodle cupcakes which were lovely but nothing can touch how good those twinkies were! If you’re coming to Honolulu please please please let me know! Buy me two dozen and I will meet you at the airport with cash!!!

The vanilla bean twinkies from here changed my life — the most delicious little nibblet of goodies I have had in ages. I pray it wasn’t a million calories, but even if it were, it would have been worth it. Looking to «wow» the people in your life? Show up with a box full of these this holiday season and enjoy all the love that will be heaped upon you!
P. S. The nutella-​stuffed chocolate chip cookies are nothing to sneeze at either. DELICIOUS!

Ok, get this, you’re at a conference and you are hitting that midday slump. It’s not that the info is boring, far from it, it’s just that you’ve been sitting in a chair all day and your starting to feel it.
But then they tell you that there are cookies and desserts outside and your whole world brightens like a damn sunbeam explosions.
And that’s what Stateside had. They brought chocolate cookies with Nutella in the middle (woah!) and vanilla bean homemade twinkies (woah!) and my whole life was better.
You saved me Stateside, and I will be eternally grateful.

This place has reawakened my New York food withdrawals. Why. You cruel being.
Was the the Nutella cookie the best cookie I’ve ever had grace the tips of my taste buds? Did it make me cry during and after eating that several people came up to me asking if I was okay? Was it the perfect balance of sweet and salty and a texture to die for?
YES. Especially because it’s so soft and dreamy and the ooey gooey center makes it hard for it to maintain its cookie integrity that part of it broke and fell on the floor. (Pro-​tip: use the bag the give you. Don’t let your hubris filled hands ruin ¹⁄₈^th of your cookie)
Worker was super awesome. I came 12 minutes before opening and was super awesome about explaining their items and selling to me (as a former barista I disliked it when people even came 5 min before). So thank you!
Space is itty bitty, and dying to try their cupcakes. Cookie was hella expen$ive tho… ;_​_​_​;

If you enjoy Twinkies, Hostess cupcakes, Oreos, and Poptarts, then you have to try Stateside Bakery’s version of them. b/​c it’s simply better! It’s the grown up version, gourmet, and more refined. Most importantly, it will send you back to your carefree childhood days and wonder how simple bake goods are so good for the soul.
Plus, it’s a local store. so all the better to show your support!

Not too bad at all. This independent bakery has plenty of different kinds of cupcakes and cookies, all starting at $ 3.00 each. I’m not one to eat from these kinds of specialty stores, but it was during a lunch break and my job requires me to drive a lot, so this happened to be in the area we were covering.
The cookie I had was delicious, both sugary and salty at the same time! Pretty nice atmosphere and friendly service.

These folks were at the Unilocal family event at the Oakland Zoo.
We sampled the Nutella and vanilla cupcake.
They are so good!
We’ll have to visit their storefront soon.

Got to sample their goods for the first time at the Oakland Zoo family-​friendly Unilocal event.
I didn’t want to look hella greedy (even though there was a ton to choose from) so all I tried was the Nutella-​stuffed chocolate chip cookies sprinkled with a bit of sea salt (HELL. YES.), double vanilla mini cupcakes, snickerdoodle mini cupcakes (these were vegan but we would never have known by the taste), and their version of Oreos.
And then I sent my kid back for me to get some more so I could have seconds. This is exactly why kids are awesome.
Definitely plan to visit the storefront soon!

They have a great atmosphere and fantastic interior decorating.
We had the Nutella cookie, S’mores cupcake and hostess cupcake. The cookie was the best in my opinion. I’d give the cookie 4 stars and the two cupcakes 3 stars. I’m not a huge fan of cupcakes so I’m a little bias.
Definitely worth a try if you’ve never been.

This is not the place to be if you are dieting. Its a small place packed with some amazingness. I’m guilty of having more than one dessert. For a normal person one would be more than enough, but I’m not normal.
Nutella cookie: this cookie has a Nutella filling. The texture isn’t the best but for some reason it’s pretty darn good.
Smores cupcake: this best part about this cupcake is the bottom crust.
The price is just a little bit high.

Nutter butters — two peanut butter cookies with creamy, peanut buttery spread in between. Enough said! I need to go back and try more things from here. Check their hours before you go there because they are only there for the latter part of the week. Yummy yum and so worth it though!

Stateside Bakery is one of the more unique bakeries I’ve encountered in the Bay Area. CupKates founder Kate McEachern and her brother were reminiscing about all their favorite childhood treats. They wanted to recreate these treats without all the junky/​crap filler «ingredients» associated with these treats. The end result is a bakery that satisfies childhood nostalgia while still sticking to the Bay Area ethos of using fresh/​local/​organic ingredients whenever possible.
From its grand opening in November 2014 to the day I left Berkeley this was my preferred bakery primarily due to its location, its concept and the execution of one of its bakery products (the «Twinkie»). This was also my bakery of choice when I gifted people with pastries as it introduced other people to my foodie «signature style». Everyone that I have gifted their «Twinkies» have said this was the best rendition of Twinkies they have ever tasted. The only negative thing coming out of introducing other people was reintroducing the No1DP to regular Twinkies with all the «bad crap» that comes with it and having to give him an occasional box of the Hostess Twinkies to satiate his desires as Japan doesn’t do Twinkies.
I’ve tried most of their offerings and their signature two desserts are their aforementioned Twinkies (Vanilla Bean Twinkles) and their Valrhona Ore-​Oh, their rendition of the Oreo.
«Twinkies» ($ 4.50÷2). The signature dessert that launched Stateside. It’s more like an airy sponge cake that has a cream mixture of Madagascar bourbon vanilla bean mixed with vanilla cream sourced from Clover Dairy in Petaluma. I usually have good self-​control with desserts but for the most part I have inhaled both «Twinkies» in one sitting, even going so far as to sweeping my fingers inside the bag to get the bits of cake and filling that happen to get stuck in the bag. It’s on the top 5 of best bakery items I have ever consumed.
«Oreos» ($ 3.75/single, $ 3.50/mini 3). The cookie sandwich is made from shortbread mixed with Valrhona cocoa and the filling consists of Clover sweet cream butter and heavy cream mixed with Madagascar vanilla. I usually get an order of 3 as to not finish in one sitting, though it is suggested that the cookies are finished once the bag is opened. The cookie is crisp and the filling doesn’t taste like the preservatives that an Oreo would taste. Bouchon Bakery has something similar (TKO) and I prefer this to Bouchon’s rendition.
I have also enjoyed some of their other offerings such as their rendition of Nutter Butters (Peanut Butter Nutter) due to the whipped peanut butter, which is actually surprisingly light. Their Nutella sea salt cookies are delicious with a moist center and are best served warm when the Nutella center melts.
They serve a weekly macaron flavor, weekly cupcake flavor, their rendition of Pop Tarts (Tart Pops) from Friday-​Sunday and a seasonal dessert. I remember stopping by last December for their crème brûlée and I liked how they burn the sugar right in front of you. As of this writing their «seasonal» dessert is hazelnut shortbread, a good combination of nut and cookie.
Since they’re a well-​loved bakery expect the bakery to sell out real fast, sometimes even an hour before they close.
They deliver to Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville (and limited SF deliveries) with a minimum $ 30 purchase and $ 15 deliver fee. Guess deliveries to SD are out of the question for a single pack of Twinkies and Oreos…