I first heard about Gigi’s Cupcakes by word of mouth. I was still in high school, living in St. Petersburg at the time, when the sales clerk in a store in Tampa was raving about the cupcake store up the road. Curious, my mom and I tried it, and we fell head over heels in love with their cupcakes.
Fast forward to October of this past year, when I heard a Gigi’s Cupcakes was opening at 3524 SW Archer Road in January. Being the foodie I am, I knew I had to go to the grand opening party and meet the woman herself, Gigi.
Gigi’s Cupcakes started out as a small cupcake store in Nashville in 2008, which soon grew to spread far and wide over this country. You can read her incredibly inspiring story on her website. At the grand opening party, I had the pleasure of meeting Gigi who was probably the sweetest person I have ever met.
As you can guess, Gigi’s in Gainesville became one of my favorite places to eat. The cupcakes are incredible! Your taste buds will feel like they are in heaven after a single bite of one of these cupcakes.
A word of caution though: if you are a person who does not enjoy a lot of frosting, this is not the place for you. However, if you are like me and absolutely adore frosting, you will love these cupcakes. Gigi’s Cupcakes has probably the best buttercream frosting I have ever tasted and the bakers are extremely generous with it when decorating the cupcakes.
Gigi’s menu is also very extensive, with a list of around eight to ten different flavors every day, including different specials that the bakers experiment with. Every six months, Gigi’s Cupcakes release a new lineup of cupcake flavors, including old favorites and new seasonal flavors.
One of my favorites is the chocolate salted caramel cupcake, which is a dark chocolate cake filled with caramel and topped with caramel frosting, chocolate ganache, and a pinch of sea salt. For those of you who love caramel like me and enjoy a sweet and salty mix, this is the perfect cupcake for you! Another outstanding flavor is the chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake, which is a chocolate chip cookie cake topped with cookie dough frosting, chocolate chips, and a small chocolate chip cookie. My cousin, who is not a big fan of cake, absolutely loves this one. When I spoke with Gigi she told me her favorite was Hunka Chunka Banana Love, which is a banana nut cake with dark chocolate chips topped with banana buttercream frosting, chocolate ganache, and a banana chip. This cupcake flavor is not on the current rotating menu, but hopefully it will return soon!
Gigi’s Cupcakes has the most delicious cupcakes that I have ever had and it’s definitely worth a try.
