Sweet Competition

In a world where the cupcake seems to be the go-to confection for many, The Woodlands-based Frost Bake Shoppe gives its customers a variety along with its baked fresh daily promise.

Owned and operated by local resident Terese Yates, the bakery offers customers homemade treats, including cupcakes, frosted sugar cookies and brownies.

“Cupcakes are primarily what we do, but our frosted sugar cookies are just as big of business as our cupcakes,” she said.

According to Yates, when she opened her doors a year ago, there were no other bakeries focusing on gourmet cupcakes in The Woodlands. Since then, she said, two franchised cupcake shops have opened in the community, but she said it has not been a factor in her business.

“It really hasn’t hurt us at all,” she said. “In fact, it has kind of helped us, it’s brand awareness.”

Cupcake wars

Helping give Frost Bake Shoppes its edge was the store’s recent appearance on the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars. Yates said when she was first contacted by the show’s producers, she was surprised anyone knew about them.

“At first, I thought it was a joke,” she said.

But after uploading a video submission for the show, Yates said her bakery was selected.

“It was an extensive, two-month-long interview process,” she said. “They chose us a for an episode.”

Yates called the competition crazy and intense, but the bakery came away with third place and she said it was more than worth it.

“We went out there with the attitude, ‘We are going to be on Food Network, we don’t care what place we get as long as we don’t get last,’” she said. “The experience and exposure on (the show) has been amazing. It was pretty surreal.”

All in a day’s work

Frost Bake Shoppe has about 15 employees and Yates said they begin baking each day at 4 a.m. The bakery produces about 1,000 cupcakes a day. Fridays and Saturdays are the stores busiest.

“We don’t have a ton of leftovers, but they never go to waste,” she said. “Leftovers are donated to area churches and nursing homes.”

Yates said what many customers like about Frost is that all the products are baked fresh daily and made from scratch. Frost offers many flavors, including 24 Carrot, Snickerdoodle, Red Velvet, Turtle and Chocolate Overload.

For Woodlands resident Mary Katherine D'Agostino, her sweet tooth led her to the bakery. D’Agostino and her family live in Sterling Ridge and she had noticed the sign that a bakery was opening in the Sterling Ridge Shopping Center.

“I was beside myself,” she said. “I am such a sucker for an iced sugar cookie or cupcake.”

When Frost Bake Shoppe opened, D’Agostino said she tried them and has been hooked ever since. In fact, her favorite flavor is Yates’ seasonal strawberry cupcake.

“They are wonderful,” she said. “Her cupcakes reminded me of cake and cupcakes my mother used to make. There is just a difference in stuff driven in on trucks and homemade.”

D’Agostino said she also likes the fact that Yates is a local resident and she said supporting local businesses is important to the community.

“I love that she is a local mother,” D’Agostino said. “This is her dream.”

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