By Erin Frank

The folks at Sibby’s Cupcakery in San Mateo, CA are busy perfecting the art of the cupcake.  Rather than dilute their talents making a wide array of desserts, this is one bakery that knows how to specialize—devoting themselves to creating cupcake perfection in mini, regular and jumbo size. The Cupcakery has been open for business for since 2004, when creator and owner Sibby left the advertising world to start a bakeshop, turning her hobby to a full-time job.

All of Sibby’s Cupcakery’s hand-piped custom creations are baked to order from scratch using fresh ingredients like sweet cream butter from local dairy farms, Scharffen Berger chocolate and Nielsen-Massey pure Madagascar Bourbon vanilla.  The cupcakes have a delicious home-made feel to them and are hugely popular with Bay Area brides who order them by the dozen rather than purchasing a traditional tiered wedding cake.

I stopped by the bakery last week where Gina (Sibby is out on maternity leave) showed me the ropes, and even taught me how to frost a cupcake properly (the secret is to put a big frosting dollop in the middle then use little swipes to push it out to the edges).  At Sibby’s the team starts baking around 6 in the morning, producing dozens upon dozens of piping fresh cupcakes daily.  Sibby’s works with brides to create custom colors and designs to fit any theme, not to mention select the flavors.  Though Buttercup (a traditional vanillla cupcake with vanilla frosting) and Chocolate remain the most popular, Sibby’s has an array of amazing flavors like Lemon Drop, Latte Love and Snickerdoodle.  And don’t let that traditional chocolate fool you—the chocolate requested most is Sibby’s “Grandma’s Chocolate Tea Cake.”  It’s a chocolate cupcake with a cream cheese-chocolate chip center, topped off with a fudgy frosting.  Now, having just moved to SF from New York I’ve had some great cupcakes in my time.  Magnolia, Buttercup Bakery, Crumbs, Billy’s…some true champions.  But I’m confident I’ve never had a tastier cupcake than Sibby’s Grandma’s Chocolate Tea Cake.  It is OUTSTANDING.  That creamy chocolate chip center puts it right at the top of my tastebud Top 10.

Eager to try some for yourself?  Call ahead to sign up for one of Gina’s bridal tastings, or, even better, order up a Sibby’s Sampler—an assortment of tastes as well as their special flavor of the month.  February’s flavor is Dulce de Leche.  Cupcakes come in mini ($24/dozen), regular ($39/doz) and jumbo ($7.50 each).  The jumbo size is a favorite for brides because it is perfect to use in the cake-cutting ceremony. Delivery is available within the Bay Area for weddings, and Sibby’s even rents out items from their terrific collection of cake stands.  To order, call (415) 613-4373 or email sibby@sibbyscupcakery.com.

Sibby’s Cupcakery: 716 South Railroad Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94401.  Call ahead, this is not a storefront, but instead a commercial kitchen so you’ll want to be expected ahead of time.

{Green and White cupcake photos by Silvana Di Franco Photography.}