The Cupcake Bakehouse

Yummy, scrummy cupcakes!

The peanut butter frosting with edible glitter alone is worth travelling miles for. A regular builders tea and a cupcake comes to just £2.80 which got to be a bargain in expensive Covent Gardens. Cupcake was soft, moist, nutty with loads of peanut butter frosting. There is a nice seating area outside but the only drawback is the lack of pizzazz outside. This shop is drowned out by attention grabbing exteriors of other retailers.

I've been quite an expert in cupcakes now after chasing all the cupcake shops in London.
So that's why I was very excited when I saw this little shop in the covent garden piazza.
Ok the place is very small, and there is place for 3 people tops for seatings, but the set up is very cute in a fuzzy fashion way.
The cupcakes reflect very well the shop, they are well put together.
They even sell a fashion type of cupcakes.

What's not to be missed : it depends on what you like. Oreo, nutella, lemon, raspberry. The fashion cupcakes are nice looking;

Money, Money, Money : They sell mini cupcakes for £1.50 but it's so tiny that you just need a bite to get it over with. The "normal" size cupcakes cost £2.50, add 25 pences for the fashion ones.

That little thing : the topping is not really great, maybe too sweet, but the cupcake itself is so good. Mouth melting!

What needs to be work on : less sugar please!

Sorry Ella!

This place was not the glorious little gem I had expected - with it's sparkling confections, fingerprint free glass case and chic decor. It's extremely tight, too tight to enjoy. There were 5 of us hoping to savor Ella's sweets, but the way it's laid out makes it very difficult to see the options available without being hurried along by the line that quickly flows out the door. Unfortunately, the female working behind the counter is less than enthusiastic about the product and assisting customers.

We make our selections and take a seat at the window. The cakes are beautiful with their glittery icing (earning this spot it's second star). I notice the napkin, that my cake was served on has become wet where my cupcake was sitting. I find this a tad odd. I peel back the wrapper and indulge. Except, this wasn't an indulgence.

The cake lacked flavor. I thought I must have made a bad choice in my selection. I look at both of my friends and they weren't beaming with joy either. I sampled each of my their cakes (both ordered a different flavor than mine) and found the same to be true - a bland, wet cake with pretty icing.

The labels for each of the mini cakes were labeled as sponge cakes. So maybe I am wrong for expecting a rich, buttery, moist cake. Possibly, this is the way a spongecake or fairy cake is supposed to taste. What I do know is, the cake my friends and I tried was not that yummy goodness that many reviewers have raved.

My husband and I split the banana toffee cupcake. We thought it was okay, but we've had much better. These cupcakes are deceiving because they look better than they taste. I wish I could give it a better rating!

Stumbled upon this place while visiting London for my birthday - it's called like me, everything's pink & I had a yummy Oreo cupcake with edible glitter on it - what more can a girl ask for...

Classy cupcakes & pleasing presentation. Though I have eaten better ones
& the place is on the small side, it is full of charme.

Great little cupkace store! Absolutely yummy and the place is just soooo cute! Little bit expensive, but that's just London.

Wifey had some sort of vanilla frosted thing and loved it!

Stop by if you're in the area and in the mood for a treat!

The cupcakes themselves should get 5 stars, but because it's so small and fills up quite quickly, I usually have to sit outside. (COLD and cupcakes don't mix!)

Ella's Bakehouse, despite it's size, is fantastic. They have a brilliant cupcake and tea deal for £2.60, and the interior is incredibly cute.

The staff are always friendly, the cupcakes always delicious, and the tea is always strong. Basically, it's fantastic! (Just don't count on getting a seat!)

Oh, Ella, I am sorry, but you missed the ball on this one.

Keep in mind, I write this as an American, for what it's worth. It may be cupcakes in London are a different animal, and Ella's cupcakes really are fantastic to someone with a European palate ... but I doubt it highly.

When I first saw Ella's, I thought it was a sanctuary on a cold, rainy morning. The service was quick and attentive, the shop was clean, the options plentiful. But the cupcakes? Awful.

The cake itself was dry and reminiscent of a stale muffin left in the refrigerator too long. The frosting atop it tasted like cheap margarine. It was not fluffy or light, but sat like a dense pat of lard on my poor excuse for a cake. I took two bites, and discretely through the rest in the trash. I will not be returning.

I've tried this place 3 times. Each time I hoped I'd be proven wrong. But each time I had the same experience: cute cupcake, great frosting, dry and bland cake.

Lovely service. Overpriced (Covent Garden piazza, though...). But really awful cupcakes.

Not so good, actually.

Not moist.
The red velvet tasted peculiarly like carrot cake.
The frosting was too sweet and the flavor was off.
I hate the glitter on the cupcakes.

The best part of the cupcake was the fact that there was an amazing singer outside to distract me from the epic cupcake failure.