The Major Flaw That Supermarket Cupcakes Suffer From

Many major grocery stores have a bakery section with all kinds of desserts made in-store, which makes it easy for shoppers to grab a cake or pie for any special occasion. A one-stop shop is of utmost value to most of us with busy lives, so being able to pick up a sweet treat for a last-minute celebration while also getting your groceries for dinner is a win in almost everyone's book. When it comes to the quality and taste of supermarket sweets, though, you're often left wondering whether you're getting the best of the best. For some items, like fresh-baked bread or a simple muffin, you might not be majorly put off. But there are some grocery store bakery items to avoid — namely cupcakes.

It doesn't matter which flavor you pick or from which grocery store you get the cupcakes; they all taste starkly sweet. The excessive amount of sugar overwhelms any other flavors that might be featured in the recipe and results in cupcakes that all taste pretty similar — and disappointing. In a pinch, a grocery store cupcake is certainly going to satisfy your sweet tooth, but it will never rival one homemade or from a specialty baker

It's best to avoid grocery store bakery bagels as well because they tend to be more bread-like than the "real" things. All of these flaws make sense; grocery store bakeries have to pump out enough items to keep up with daily shopping demands, so it's only natural that they aren't as good as a bakery that specializes in one or two things.

Of course, making cupcakes at home takes more time and effort, but it allows you to control the sweetness level and add other ingredients for more depth of flavor. For example, adding hot coffee to chocolate cake batter allows the cocoa to bloom, resulting in a more complex flavor. Or add lemon zest to a batch of vanilla cupcakes to balance the sweetness with a hint of bright citrus.

All this is not to say to avoid this section of the supermarket altogether, though. It undoubtedly comes in handy at times, and a cake is a cake at the end of the day. If you do find yourself picking one up, be sure to use the handy grocery store bakery hack to store leftovers: Ask for a plastic cake container rather than a cardboard box for easier transportation and built-in leftover storage.