Cupcakes go retro in Lincoln Park

CHICAGO (WLS) -- ABC7's Hungry Hound has found a brand-new cupcake store in Lincoln Park with a decidedly retro feel.

Who doesn't get excited about cake and frosting? At the cozy Molly's Cupcakes in Lincoln Park, the owners are definitely going for a more retro feel.

"Molly was my teacher, and she used to bake us cupcakes, so it's named after her, and in honor of Molly, we donate part of our proceeds to help schools in the community," said John Nicolaides, Molly's Cupcakes.

The heartfelt, good intentions extend to their line of cupcakes, all of which are made in-house, several times each day. From the batter to the frosting -- everything there is made to order.

"We let customers create their own perfect cupcakes; you can pick one of four cake flavors, chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, carrot, and with that you can combine five different frostings; there's brown butter, French butter cream, vanilla, chocolate and cream cheese, and you can add toppings like hot fudge, caramel, whipped cream," said Nicolaides.

While cupcakes are the mainstay there, they also turn out exquisite brownies and chocolate chip cookies. If you don't want to make the full commitment to a large cupcake, you can always try a smaller version - they make about three or four kinds each day.

A more recent development: the stuffed cupcakes, which contain some luscious interiors.

"The lemon one is really good, it's cream cheese cake with a lemon curd center and buttercream and a candy lemon on top so there's a bunch of different center-filled ones that we rotate throughout the week," said Nicolaides.

The one thing they've learned: people have very specific ideas of what they think makes a "proper" cupcake.

"People are very passionate about cupcakes," said Nicolaides.

Another cool flavor they have at Molly's is a strawberry shortcake cupcake, which has strawberries inside a vanilla cake, topped with whipped cream, strawberries, and a little vanilla ice cream. Another great retro touch are the wooden swings at the bar, which really take you back to your childhood.

Another nearby cupcake store worth checking out is Swirlz where they now have great retro flavors like PB and J, malted milkshake and s'mores.

Molly's Cupcakes
2536 N. Clark St.
773-883-7220

Swirlz
705 W. Belden Ave.
773-404-2253

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