Okay, I admit it. I’ve been holding out on you. There’s a bakery within a bike ride’s distance from my home. Yet when Stir Crazy opened its doors a couple of months ago on Daggett (just off Main near the old location for Trinity Bikes), the selections were going pretty fast. So I held back while I did some reconnaissance work to make sure the bakery was as good as I thought. After dozens of cupcakes, I’ve decided this place rocks. So, I’m telling you now. No hard feelings? Go get yourself a cupcake.

Flavors from top right: sea-salt caramel, classic vanilla, tequila lime with avocado buttercream, oreo cookie.

Since I moved to the Fairmount historic district 6 years ago, I’ve watched countless restaurants pop up along Magnolia and an onslaught of food trucks park in back alleys and in our new coffee shop parking lot. And each time I become more disappointed that no one has invested in 2 much-needed businesses: 1) a bakery and 2) a grocery store (in no particular order). So you can imagine my excitement when one of my dreams came true. I first sampled Stir Crazy’s sweet selections at Open Streets, a little festival that Fairmount hosts twice a year in which various streets are blocked off to car traffic. At this particular fest, we got a new puppy (Abbey) and a delicious lemon and raspberry cupcake. Then we waited 2 agonizing months for this gem to open. The bakery specializes in cupcakes, but it also boasts a wide selection of cakes, pies, cookies, muffins and breads.

Many of the cupcakes are vegan, which are so moist that you would not be able to guess they are vegan. I asked about gluten-free options, and although the baker hasn’t experimented much with other flours, she does have a flourless chocolate cake. You can get said chocolate cake with vegan buttercream frosting for a truly healthful indulgence. So far I’ve tried cupcakes in lemon, chocolate-cherry-almond, tequila lime with avocado buttercream (surprisingly good), classic vanilla, mocha, salted caramel and cinnamon. And I tell you every single crumb was delicious. I also managed to pop in at the exact moment that some delicious Rahr beer bread was coming out of the oven. I was told that it tasted like warm macaroni and cheese. These people don’t lie. It was like mac -n- cheese and a big fat yeast roll had a baby.

Not only did we luck out and get a bakery on this side of town, we got the BEST bakery. So pedal down there and keep Stir Crazy in business. But save a cupcake for me, would you?

(Rumor has it a grocery store might be coming to that side of town soon.)