That Takes the Cake

Service great! Cupcakes and cinnamon rolls not so great. Bought my daughter a cinnamon roll it was hard as a rock. Cupcakes were dry and very small. At the price of $ 3.50 a piece I expected something much better and bigger. We won’t be going back there. Whole foods cupcakes much better for $ 1.99 and much bigger.

omg their cupcakes are ssssooo yummy — Ive had all the flavors and key lime is one of my fav fav fav fav

I went into parts of Oakland that I did not know exist! Thank goodness for GPS.
Depending on which direction, you were coming from, the street was difficult to see
especially the address. Luckily, they had a big sign on the street.
Then you had to ring a bell to get the lock door open by a employee ! What?
I felt kinda scare if that has to happen… I figure maybe drunks, addicts or homeless
would randomly come in for food???
The shop was small not like a regular bakery. The selection was small. I guess either I was
in late or they only bake a minimum supply. What I asked for either they didn’t have or had
a few. Their best seller, cinnamon roll was sold out, so no luck to try that!
I guess I must really want their cupcakes to drive so far and risk whatever they had to sell
to come… Cupcakes are delish but small and expensive esp driving there for those?

So good! Got a 6 pck of the day old cupcakes for 7 bucks and added a 3.00 cupcake, best deal ever!

This spot is in a horrible location. It is very easy to drive by and miss it. If you are familiar with the location, you gotta put in work to find a parking spot.
In either case, I committed myself, parked, pulled my main boo out of her car seat and was confronted with disappointment. She didn’t have too many options available. The cupcakes were smallish with a mound of overly sweet icing. I purchased the blonde something and strawberry. The first was horrible and the latter was aight. I appreciated the real texture and flavor of strawberry.
{insert sad face here}

Honeyyyyyy! These cupcakes are damn good! Only 4 stars though because the icing is cloyingly sweet.
I had a lemon cupcake, an eggnog cupcake, and a vanilla cakepop. Ill were true to their said flavor, very moist, and just hella good. The guy in the front must be new, because he was kind of lost, but whatever. Their cupcakes are not cheap but definitely worth it. I will definitely be back…

Called in with 24 hour notice for a custom cake, the staff was amazing and the cake couldn’t have come out any better! I would highly recommend this bakery for anyone looking for a delicious cake.

Very good cupcakes for the price. You gotta get there early of you want the mini cupcakes. I love the lemon and the lime cupcakes the best.

Wanted fabulous desserts for my friends retirement party but didn’t know where to go. I used Unilocal to guide me and I chose That Takes the Cake. Mark, the new Manager, was great to deal with and spent time discussing the options.
Let me just say, the cupcakes were a HUGE hit at the party with everyone! «They taste homemade»…“where did you get these?” «What was this one?» All comments from the party-​goers!
Huge hits: key lime pie cupcake & the Samoa (think that’s the name)… chocolate cupcake filled with caramel.
I definitely recommend this bakery and hope you give them your business. Thank you Mark!

I had the cinnamon rolls they were pretty good could have used more gooeyness and a thinner icing… I will be back to try their cupcakes I’m so curious about the soul sistah I think its called! To be continued…

Great place to get some cupcakes and cinnamon rolls in the mornings. Quiet and private, the store front is squeezed between an empty church and an insurance place, all as one big unit.
The service and staff were attentive and friendly. I was happy with their efforts and interested in what else they have for the next time.
They have pizza there now, adding that makes them cover most of the day for options in baked goods. The pizza was great, cooked well and tasted gourmet. One of the few places in the area to even have pizza, let alone some quality stuff.

I wasn’t going to write a review of this bakery, until… the OWNER called me on the phone to tell me NEVER TO COME BACK TO HER BUSINESS AND THAT I WAS A B**CH!
If you like patronizing businesses that are completely disorganized, unreliable, have poor customer service, think you are an inconvenience, AND will call you later to yell at you — you’ve found the right place!
If you prefer professional & punctual businesses, try Teacake Bakeshop in Emeryville.
Here’s the TL;DR version–
I placed a phone order for two dozen assorted cupcakes (at $ 72 — ouch) 48 hours prior to pickup, when I arrived it wasn’t ready, and they didn’t even know I had an order, even though my credit card had already been charged. The lady (same one who later called me to tell me I was a b**ch) had to call the head baker to ask where my order was; the head baker thought my order was for Saturday. Instead of the woman apologizing, she just offered me the sad looking cupcakes that had been sitting in the case all day.
She NEVER ONCE apologized for the misunderstanding, but instead I heard her say to the baker over the phone «I have to go make this lady happy now…» — no sister, you’re not… that’s only going to make me more angry.
Here’s the full version, if you like details:
Called on a Tuesday to order two dozen cupcakes for my sister’s Bachelorette party. I talked to a very nice man, who was pleasant & helpful. He took my CC, said he would call back to confirm once he charged it (which he never did, and I was too busy with my sister’s wedding to notice). He told me the cupcakes would be ready around 4pm, and I had told him I would be there around 5pm for pick-​up.
Day of, I get to the bake shop around 5:20, my party starts at 5:45 — so I’m anxious for time (but my cupcakes were supposed to be ready at 4, so no sweat). Walk in & say «hi, I’m here to pick up two dozen cupcakes!» — the lady stares at me blankly. Asks me if I’m SURE I placed an order!!! Yes, I say, I even have the charge on my bank statement! She just babbles about not seeing it, and not knowing about an order, says she’ll have to call her baker. As she is calling her baker, she looks up at the wall & finds my order taped to the wall! WITH the credit card receipt attached! AND, there was another order taped above it, so that’s obviously where they KEEP the orders — why she didn’t know I had an order, I can’t figure out! At this point I’m getting annoyed — I’m going to be late for my sister’s bachelorette party that I organized — because this lady can’t figure out how cupcake orders work!
The phone call with the baker takes, what feels like, eons. The call even dropped at one point, so she had to call her back. And I hear her say «ohh, you thought this was for Saturday? Ok… well, I have to go make this lady happy now!!!» This is the part where she should start apologizing. Me hearing her say that she had to make me happy, also, didn’t make me happy — because up to that point — I wasn’t pissed, just flustered.
She came out & offered to make my order, when I asked how long that would take, the time changed from 5 mins to 10 mins, to «oh, how many cupcakes do I have already…1.2…4…9…15…18. 10 to fifteen minutes.» Since I was ALREADY running late, and the cupcakes in the display case were melty and sad looking, I said «no, this is ridiculous! I don’t have time for this! The man said they would be ready at 4! I was supposed to walk in, grab the cupcakes and walk back out! I want a refund!!» The woman waddled over to the «order board», grabbed my order, started to do a refund and then said «Can I have your card so I don’t have to punch all this in?» OH, PLEASE, I WOULDN’T WANT TO INCONVENIENCE YOU! At that point I was livid. I responded «I don’t have my card, because I already paid, and I was just going to walk in and grab cupcakes!!»
So at this point, I’m done. I can’t with this woman anymore, and I am late to a very special life event, and I can’t worry about stupid cupcakes for another second. So I say «You know what? I’m leaving! You refund my money. I’m coming back tomorrow, to make sure you did, and I’m leaving now.» I walked out, and slammed the door behind me (yes, slammed, I was not happy).
…
The next day I went back. There was a different woman there, I was super nice to her, she was super nice to me — IT WAS OVER. Done. Finished! I even thought «I’m not going to leave a Unilocal reviews, because this was just ‘one of those things’!»
Cut to 5pm. I’m on a studio tour with family & friends & soon-​to-​be-​in-​laws, and my phone rings. I assume it’s the wedding planner, so I answer. «Is this Mel?» yes «This is [I think her name was] Linda from ‘That Takes The Cake’» yes, hi, how can I help you? «YOU ARE NEVER ALLOWED BACK IN MY SHOP! DO YOU HEAR ME? DON’T EVER COME HERE AGAIN BECAUSE YOU. ARE. A. BITCH!!!» hangs up the phone.
ok…yelp review time. Joke is on you lady — I live in NYC.

The storefront is hidden away in an area of Oakland I’ve never been to. My GPS kind of overshot me so I had to back track but I was able to park right in front of the bakery. I wondered how safe the area was and since I had to buzz to be let in, I think my trepidation was appropriate.
The young man who helped me was very sweet and I ended up purchasing more than my coupon’s worth. The cupcakes were good; I tried a variety and unfortunately can’t recall which I liked best. But, because of their location, I won’t likely return too soon. But… I’m not opposed to it… just let me get someone to drive me there.

THE DISCOVERY:
This is long over due! I discovered this spot when they were in the City and somehow stumbled upon a delicious cupcake spot… I do remember it was black owned at the time was thrilled to support my people, went in and the shyt is GOOD! But since then they have sold to an adorable couple and moved Oakland they still uphold the original standards of TASTY, MOIST, FLAVORFUL, cakes!
THE VIBE:
Tiny shop close to Mills College, although if you blinked you could miss it… Google maps doesn’t do a good job at navigation, look for sidewalk sign
THE DECOR:
Still cute shabby chic filled with whites and pastels.
THE SERVICE:
Amazing service! It’s still a family business since they moved to Oakland, it has a great feel and they really want to cater to your needs. I love love how sweet and small town they are. Truly a family who want to give you good old fashion baked goods with crazy doses of love!
THE GOOD:
1. Bunny Bites Cookie: Now this is a real deal carrot cake a great balance of nuts, carrots and spice. Super moist the vegan or the regular. Cream cheese frosting not too sugary but equal in texture.
2. Lemon Drop: If you love lemon this is a must, I can’t tell you how all their cakes are moist! Moist lemon cake with lemon curd frosting full of flavor it’s sunshine in between your lips
3. Prom Queen: Strawberry flavored cake with REAL strawberries and intense flavor, the frosting is also strawberry she reigns most high!
4. Key Lime-​O-​Licious: If your into citrus or not, this is a great intro to be hooked. I mean talk about zest! It’s got zing, zap and zam! Always a hit at the party ALWAYS!
5 Sassy Sistah: If you can’t decide which way to go get this, a combo of chocolate, vanilla and red velvet, now the red velvet is not Cake Man Raven but it’s will meet the needs.
THE BAD:
It could be a tricky to find since they have moved to Oakland, but look for the cupcake sign on the side walk.
OVERALL:
My go to cupcake for any occasion baby showers, engagement parties, birthdays, TGIF. A must! I have reviewed over 8 flavors… my hands are too cramped to comment on the others but I’ll update soon! I think I’ve had ALL flavors (regular size) 20ish… a shame, I know!
**They are actually better then James and the Giant. The flavors, cake density and moisture raise the bar… but I still like James too (can’t knock ‘em)

PLEASE NOTE: Although the name of this bakery is the same as the one that had a great reputation in SF, these are not the same owners/​bakers. They are lovely people, but not the original founders of TTTC. We didn’t care for these cupcakes nor the cinnamon roll. Note they have different flavors on each day of the week, so I’d recommend checking the website for what they’re offering that day.
We picked four of various flavors: Key lime, Peach, Chocolate with raspberry frosting, Chocolate with Salted Caramel/​Coconut frosting.
The good: clean true flavors, reasonably moist cake.
The bad: Super-​sweet buttercream frosting with very little butter taste. We are not buttercream fans anyway, as we’re firm believers in ganache.
The cinnamon roll: it’s all too-​thick super sweet dough, too little cinnamon, very little powdered sugar icing. Chain shop Cinnabon is better, to be honest.
My niece loves cupcakes and for her birthday last month, ordered an assortment from CupKates, a cupcake truck vendor (
). CupKates are as moist, and much less sickeningly sweet on the frosting. Also better are the cupcakes at Sweet Bar Bakery in Oakland’s Uptown (Broadway & 24^th St.

CAKE! Okay, everybody that knows me knows that I love CAKE. Everybody knows that I say, «It’s not a party without cake». I saw an Amazon Local offer for this place and knew it was down the hill from my house so I bought 2 deals… why 2… because I LOVE CAKE and I like to have people over so, it was a no brainer as a dessert… cuz it is CAKE!
My friends and I showed up not long before they were ready to close. The people in front of us bought all the mini cupcakes they had so we were «stuck» with full size cupcakes. Delicious cupcakes. The cakes were moist and full of flavor; the frosting was not too sweet. Loved the Lemon and the Elvis and the Strawberry. I don’t have the names exactly right, but I don’t think one can go wrong at this place. We were all very pleased with our dozen cupcakes.

Located in a pretty shady area of Oakland and extremely easy to miss if not for the signage on the street divider that reads «Cupcakes». It’s right next to a church, so if you’re passing by on a Sunday morning as we always are, it’s the little security door to the right of the huge mass of church goers.
They keep their door locked (with good reason I’m sure) so you have to ring the doorbell to be let in. The bakery is tiny, about the size of the hallway in my house and there is only a little display box on the counter that houses all their available cupcakes. That’s plenty as far as I’m concerned.
We were greeted by a very nice young woman, who proceeded to give us a description of each cupcake. Their cupcakes range from $ 3-​$ 3.25 each while their mini-​cupcakes (about 2 bites worth – great for a taste test) are $ 1.50-$ 1.75.
I’m not actually crazy about overly sweet things but my boyfriend adores them. We got an Elvis, a Samoa, and a cinnamon roll which she said was one of their specialties.
Cinnamon roll — I’ve had cin rolls plenty of times in my life but not so regularly that I really remember much specific about them. These were certainly good. The icing was nice and gooey which is how I like it if icing there must be. I’ve had better rolls (my favorite had more of a cream cheese icing) but it’s just a matter of personal taste.
Samoa — being the total pig he is, my boyfriend ate the whole thing and didn’t leave me even a single bite. He knows I don’t have a big sweet tooth, but c’mon, let me taste the thing before you gulp it down. So I can’t say anything about it other than the bf didn’t think it was that good. If you’re expecting something like those samoa girl scout cookies (which he was), this will not deliver.
Elvis in the Building — the girl at the counter said this was her favorite and I can see why. The cake part was like banana bread. I liked that it wasn’t overly sweet and was nice and moist. It was filled with a creamy peanut butter/​caramel filling and had a light peanut buttery creamy icing on top. I enjoyed it very much and ended up eating the whole thing, which is unusual. Like I said, fancy cupcakes are usually too sweet for me. Of course, about a minute after I was done, my stomach was protesting the amount of sugar I had just consumed. But I would go back for this one.

This is truly a hole in the wall place. You need to get buzzed in to get inside. Inside you’ll find a small display case with mini cupcakes and various odds and ends (cinnamon roll).
My husband and I ordered one of each flavor of the day (7 total). Some of the mini cupcakes we tried were good and some not to my taste. But, overall each cupcake had a unique taste to it. All of them were moist. My favorites included the red velvet and a strawberry flavored one with a white daisy on top.

That Takes The Cake doesn’t have a big sign on the storefront so it’s easy to miss this space even if one was actively looking for it.
menu: cupcakes (1.5, 3), cinnamon buns, coffee
eats: minicupcake, (1.5)
–lemon drop
fragrant lemon tasting toping
moist base
–texudo (chocolate)
moist base
semisweet topping
pour: coffee (1.5)
–medium roast, very smooth, worth it.
crumbs:
–cupcakes have «names», time consuming to read descriptions
–very flavorful cupcakes, moist base
–worth the $ 3 for a cupcake, better than the truck cupcakes.

Very interesting that they would move from the Marina to this locale. I have a friend that lives nearby and was the recipient of a banana cupcake which was mighty tasty. I had heard that some guy came in and took their coffee and day olds while they weren’t watching so hopefully they dont get scared off because of some riff raff.