Vanilla Pastry Studio

I do like the cupcakes at Vanilla. However, there have been times (1 – 2) when they were dry and almost stale. All in all it’s a good place. I travel a lot and definitely prefer NYC cupcakes.

Crazy good salted caramel cupcakes. Crazy good. I can’t even describe them. They are heavenly. The espresso ones are also quite good. Usually I just choose between these two, and the flavors in these particular cupcakes destroy the rest of them. But oh so worth the price. These really are Pittsburgh’s best!

First, from my vantage cupcakes are an extravagance that do not require an entire store. Good cupcakes can be gotten anywhere or baked yourself. Granted these are more attractive looking but I don’t see them as worth the extra effort or expense. This store has quite ample parking in Regent Square. As Regent Square is full of neat boutique shops and parking is at a premium I just can’t see that this store requires this much parking and in fact it is often used by people frequenting other stores.

was visiting my daughter in Pittsburgh and we were headed to lunch and saw this cute little place. decided to stop. very good cupcakes. a little pricy but it was worth it…

Vanilla Pastry Studio may be good by Pittsburgh standards, but compared to every cupcake place in New York, DC, or Chicago, these cupcakes are a real bummer.
I have wanted to try here for years, and my friend surprised me with three cupcakes upon moving back to Pittsburgh. She bought a chocolate buttercream, red velvet, and lemon. Shockingly, the chocolate buttercream was probably the best, with a nice and moist cake. The red velvet was OK. The lemon was a vanilla cupcake with lemon icing, and it was OK as well. There was far too much icing on the cupcakes, considering how small and mildly flavored the cupcakes were.
The cupcakes looked pretty, but the decorations were mostly chocolate, which didn’t go with the red velvet or lemon. The shop looks cute from the windows, but I find their hours to be a bit inconvenient.
Overall, I wouldn’t turn down cupcakes from Vanilla, but I would rather go to many other places for cupcakes.

I recently ordered a cake from vanilla and had a minor issue with it, and sent them the below email that I never got a response from. So, I thought I’d put it up here. Husband said I was way too nice.
**
Hello,
Several months ago I placed an order for a vanilla cake with chocolate butter cream. I picked it up today but when I went to your studio (I was too early, my bad) I was told it would be a vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream but covered in white buttercream. I said that’s not what I was ordered and not what I reiterated when I called a week ago to confirm order. When I placed the order I was never told this was the «policy.»
The baker said she could marble the cake which was kind. And she did, and the cake looked lovely but it isn’t what I ordered nor what I wanted.
You should know I love your bakery. Before we moved to Pittsburgh we lived in New York, where I was one of the food buyer. I know good food and I have recommended your bakery to everyone. I still would recommend it despite the issue I had today. But I have cake maybe once a year. So I was disappointed.
I never had a chance to actually order a cake before from your bakery (I’ve always gotten the cupcakes) so I wanted to make a recommendation: that your front of house review orders and explain your cake policies. I had no idea that if I ordered a vanilla cake w chocolate buttercream it would actually not be covered in chocolate buttercream!
There are bigger issues in this world than my birthday cake. I will still visit your shop. Today was just a bummer.
**
Anyway, that’s what I wrote. I would still like to hear from them.

My boyfriend and I each got a cupcake. Two different kinds, both were extremely dry. How is it possible that you charge $ 2.50 a cupcake and the cake is dry? I’ll stick with Oakmont bakery for all of my cupcake needs.

Hands down, one of my favorite bakeries! My favorite cupcake is the lemon buttercream. Well, I can’t forget about the caramel cupcake either. I don’t know how she does it, but the cupcakes are sweet and tasty yet so light at the same time.
And the location is just adorable! They used to be located in East Liberty but have since relocated to a larger space in Regent Square. While the previous location was charming and quaint, the new location is still charming with a more modern twist.

My husband and I met with Vanilla last year to design individual wedding cakes for our guests attending our wedding dinner this May.
We had tears in our eyes when the restaurant staff brought out these gorgeous cakes to us and our guests. They were even better than we could have imagined — incredibly light, moist cake, lightly sweetened buttercream frosting and a gorgeous candy flower on top of the cake. Our guests were stunned and after a delicious meal, they couldn’t wait to dig in to these beauties.
Vanilla Pastry Studio, you will forever have two fans right here! Thank you for helping to make our wedding dinner extra special.

I liked it when they were a lot closer to where I live but they are worth the drive out the Parkway for. They are higher priced than most bakeries but seem to be worth it.

This review is not judgement on the quality of their cakes, but instead the horrific customer service I received while trying to commission a wedding cake.
I live 6 blocks from this bakery and have given them numerous chances to make me a fabulous wedding cake.
1. First visit — Me: Do you do wedding cakes?
cashier: Yes. (Rather rudely and no other information).
2. Let’s give them another chance. We make an appointment to have a wedding cake tasting. Because of my work schedule, we chose the first Saturday available. 1 month away! We send an email about our interests for the wedding cake and grooms cake without response.
3. Day of the scheduled cake tasting
The owner is not there, and no samples are ready. After asking to explain this situation to the manager or owner, they said she wasn’t there. When I asked to speak with her on the phone, I was told to call of Tuesday.
My appointment with name and phone number is on their calendar. If you fail to keep an appointment I made a month ago to taste some cake, call to reschedule or cancel. When you as a business royally screw up, I need to speak with the owner not an employee who can only offer me some free cupcakes as consolation.

This place is a joke. Where to begin… first of all «gourmet» is not throw a gob of icing on a dry piece of pastry. Then there is the price, $ 2.50 for a tiny cupcake. I can only reason that this place is still in business because of the drunk hipsters next door at D’s having a craving something for «sweet» and stumbling next door. If you want to see what a real bakery looks like and how desserts and sweets are suppose to be, go down to highland park to Food Glorious Food.
The owner would be wise to go to the Oakmont bakery to see and taste good cupcakes. A day trip to an actual bakery would do them good.
The people that like this place are your typical Pittsburghers that never travel, never experience anything new or out of their comfort zone, and don’t know any better. This place sums up the city… bland and dry.
Avoid this place unless you like overpriced garbage or can’t get to the store for dog food.

Cute little bakery in Regent Square. They have a parking lot, which is really convenient. The inside reminds me of someplace a fairy would live.
I’ve liked pretty much every cupcake of theirs that I’ve tried. They often have quite a selection. I’d say my favorites are red velvet and key lime pie at the moment. I really like their icing — it’s very light (not dense like some other frostings/​icings I’ve had before) and they apply just the right amount. Cake is always moist and airy. I’ve sampled a few of their other treats and have enjoyed those as well, though my go-​to is definitely the cupcakes.
I recommend checking them out if you’re in the area.

I think giving this place 1 star is generous.
I tried several different different kinds of «treats» at several different times… Each one more disappointing than the one before. Nothing was terrible, but nothing was above not terrible. The prices reflect that these «treats» are spectacular.
***Please do not waste your time going here. Everything is outrageously overpriced for what you get.***
Although if you’re a Pittsburgh hipster, this place is for you!!!

A week ago, my lab manager surprised me with cupcakes from here for my birthday. He got us a dozen cupcakes, consisting of the following flavors: mint chocolate, peanut butter chocolate, chocolate fudge, chocolate buttercream, vanilla buttercream, red velvet, gingerbread, and lemon crème (see photo). What a delicious surprise!
Aesthetically, the cupcakes were beautiful – particularly the decorative details appropriate to each flavor placed on top of each cupcake. In terms of flavor, the icing was excellent – very creamy, rich, and dense, dominating the cupcake in terms of amount and flavor. The flavors really stood out – particularly the cream cheese flavor for the red velvet cupcake. My favorites were that and the mint, though every flavor I tried was good, which surprised me given that I’m generally not a huge fan of red velvet cake. However, the cake portion of the cupcakes wasn’t as fresh as I’d like it to be, given that it was a bit crusty around the edges.* I asked my lab manager when he’d bought the cupcakes, and he said he’d picked them up the day before and kept them in the refrigerator overnight, so I’m not sure whether the cake portion is fresher when served. *See edit below.
Overall, I thought VPS did a great job of balancing flavor with aesthetics. If I were in the market for baked goods for a wedding, I’d definitely consider them!
EDIT: I tried a fresh cupcake on 1/​11, and it didn’t have the dryness issue – in fact, it was quite velvety. As a result, I’m increasing my rating to 5 stars.

What a charming little bakery! I found this gem thanks to a wait for a table at D’s and the need to kill some time in the neighborhood.
When you walk in, the smell is amazing. If you weren’t already craving something sweet before you walked in, you will no doubt be tempted to order one of everything.
The display case had about 8 different types of cupcakes, various cookies and other pastries. Not a lot of options compared to other bakeries, but what they do have is quality. I sampled the red velvet cupcake and my husband tried the key lime. I am not a huge fan of cakes/​cupcakes in general, but really enjoyed theirs. The cake part was moist and flavorful and the frosting was just the right amount of sweet. I took a bite of my husband’s cupcake and enjoyed it equally as much.
Since it is a gourmet bake shop, the prices are on the high end ($ 2.50 per cupcake) and cookies were $ 3, so come prepared to spend quite a bit on dessert. But don’t fret it because it will be worth it.
They also have coffee, espresso and other hot drinks available.
There are a few cute tables set up in the shop for dine in options and they pack the cupcakes with a divider for to go orders
Overall, worth a stop for something sweet and delicious.

Such a pretty storefront and such a pretty display of pastries. ugh.
The peach poptart was perfect, hands down best «poptart» in the world. The toffee jumble was probably my favorite though. I’m not much of a cupcake girl (I know) but I wanted to stay here all day to smell their delicious inventions.
I just wish there were more pastries!

1. I love cupcakes. 2. I love Vanilla!
I think these cupcakes are different from many other gourmet cupcakes you will find. Their cake is light and fluffy. I also think the icing is lighter than many other bakeries. As far as options go, they have a wide selection but they seem to have many of the same selection every time you go so I am not sure how often they mix up the variety. One thing I have consistently noticed about the chocolate cupcakes is that the consistency is different from the other cakes and the top always seems to fall apart off of the bottom when you try to eat it but I am not sure why this is.
I’m a chocolate lover and my favorite is the Cookies and Cream!
I recommend Vanilla if you are interested in cupcakes that are more delicate and fancy than some of the other gourmet cupcake bakeries. Enjoy!

I die.
I just die.
Oh my god these cupcakes are so good! The Key Lime Pie, the cookies and cream, the maple bacon – all the cupcakes BRING THEM TOO ME
Everything here is delicious. I cannot more highly recommend this bakery.

So good, I’m usually not a sweets person but their key lime cupcake was delicious. Light whipped like flavored icing with a perfect consistency of cake (not to light, not to heavy) you can order coffee and enjoy right in the store or take your sweets to go. If I’m back in Pittsburgh I’ll be sure to stop back by!

I inquired here to have cupcakes made for my wedding. I asked if they had square pans to mimic wedding cake slices and they said no. They would not accommodate my request even after I offered to BUY them. I had money in my hand, ready to order, and they couldn’t even handle this simple request. Not very professional!
Bella Christie offered to get square pans and even make me an allergen-​free cupcake for my wedding day. Now THAT is customer service.

It’s been six years since my first visit to VPS. It’s not that I have an extraordinary memory. I just checked on Unilocal.They were first located in the West End. Then Shadyside. And now they are in Regent Square. I love their new store. They have their own off street parking. And the new store is very cute, lime green and pink are perfect together.
My review is for their cupcakes. Although they are only a portion of their business, I think this is what they are best known for. Sugar Fairy April Gruver is a master of wedding cakes and creative custom cakes. VPS is also known for using natural ingredients, quality chocolate and pure vanilla.
There was a time when I thought these cupcakes were the best in the country. However, either they have changed or my taste buds have changed. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy their cupcakes, but they fail to be the best. Of the last flavors that I purchased, I found the chocolate cake of the double chocolate to be very dry. The strawberry filled had very little strawberry, although the cake part of the cupcake was just about perfect. The cake of the mango was much like eating a sponge and the icing was a bit tart. Another disappointment, is the decorations. Other bakeries that I have visited put a lot of attention in this detail and outshines VPS by a mile.
Other treats that we love, are their whoopie pies, chocolate truffle cookies and blondies. Another treat is their iced chai tea. So yummy! But seriously, those pink cardboard straws have got to go!

I never had a cupcake that tasted better than any dessert dish iv ever tasted… I will be getting my wedding cake from here… enough said!!! Vanilla Carmel is my fav, along with passion fruit mango and new to me… chocolate peanut butter!!! THE BEST IN PGH!!! Period!!!