Best Cupcake: Cupcake Royale

The people have spoken.

Lavender buttercream. Stumptown coffee tiramisu. Dark chocolate curls and rainbow sprinkles and lemon drops and raspberry Pavlova. It’s no wonder the delicious offerings at Cupcake Royale have Seattleites drooling. But lest you judge yet another cutesy, artisanal baked-goods shop, let it be known that when this one opened in 2003, it was the very first of its kind in Seattle—in fact, the very first all-cupcake bakery in the U.S. (OK, besides New York City.) Confectioners here use cage-free eggs and local cream, compostable boxes and eastern Washington wheat, and donate 40,000 cupcakes every year to local nonprofits. Various locations, cupcakeroyale.com

First runner-up: Trophy

Second runner-up: Sugar Plumb

Honorable mention: Stuffed Cakes, The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co.

Read about the rest of the Best of Seattle Reader Poll winners here. If you didn’t get a chance to vote this go-round, make sure your voice is heard next year. Email us at bestofseattle@seattleweekly.com and we will let you know when nominations open for BoS 2017.