WORCESTER, Mass. — The Queen’s Cups bakery in Worcester is known for its out-of-this-world cupcake flavors: cotton candy twinkie, orange creamsicle, nutella coffee cake, chocolate banana hazelnut, birthday cake, s’mores, Twix bar and more.

While the flavors change each day, the bakers say there are some all-stars.

“We have a few set flavors we do every day,” said Alycia Wagner, who has been with Queen’s Cups for four years. “I’d say some fan favorites are probably peanut butter high hat and blueberry pancakes and bacon. I really like the bright and colorful ones.”

The Queen’s Cups flavors often take inspiration from candy, ice cream and cereal. The recipes were created by owner and founder Renee King and her father, but the bakers often bring their own styles and ideas to their display cases. Sometimes they even pull from pop culture including the Super Bowl and “Game of Thrones.”

“People went nuts,” Wagner said. “People really like the fun stuff.”

“I think that’s what makes us stand out, because we have a lot of fun and creative things,” Wagner said. “We don’t have to do it one way every week, every day. We get to make our own menu, which is fun.”

The bakers start their day at the bakery at 5:00 a.m. The women say they all go to bed by 8:00 p.m., or else they need lots of caffeine the next day.

Kristine Tartaro, who has been with Queen’s Cups for two and a half years now, always had a love for baking. She likes to make batters and doughs for different items on the bakery’s menu including cookies and cheesecakes.

“I like setting everyone up,” Tartaro said. “It keeps it fresh. It’s not the same thing day in and day out.”

Wagner does a bit of everything in the kitchen, but her favorite items to bake are cookies.

“Once you get it down and you make it so often, it becomes almost second nature,” Wagner said.

Wagner said that The Queen’s Cups makes around 1,000 cookies each week, which are used for sandwiches, fluffernutters, and solo treats. They also sell macarons, which baker Sarah Comstock called very “finicky.”

“There are a lot of different ways that you can mess it up,” said Comstock.

Comstock, who has been at The Queen’s Cups for a year and a half, makes the macarons and decorates sugar cookies. In particular, she works on “Galaxy Macarons,” which feature a tie-dye design and d shiny silver specks, emulating stars.

Photo by Monica Sager.

The Queen’s Cups’ repertoire also includes cakes. Jess Larsen, who has been with the company since 2013, was making a Disney Goofy cake at the time of talking with Town Square.  She has made many more “crazy” cakes too, including a pizza cake for Country Music award-winning country singer Luke Combs when he played at the DCU Center.

“I love the creativeness and the artsy aspect of it,” Larsen said. “I went to school for art and education in college, so just using that art background.”

Stephanie Farmer also focuses on baking cakes. She loves taking inspiration from her customers.

“Some people have cool ideas that you don’t see everyday. It’s not just the plain ‘Oh, make me a happy birthday cake’ or a floral cake,” Wagner said. “Some people come up with some really cool stuff which is fun and exciting for us.”

Farmer also added that, as a vegan herself, there’s a wide variety of dietary options at The Queen’s Cups that still taste great.

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Queen’s Cups switched to fulfilling pre-orders. This created a rush of baking in a shorter amount of time, Larsen said, compacting the bakers’ work into a few days.

The baker’s favorite part though? “The girls that I work with,” Wagner said.

“That’s probably the best part, the atmosphere,” she said, and Comstock added that it makes the baking more fun. 

The Queen’s Cups serves the Worcester community, adding different items on their menu to celebrate the city, such as a WooSox-themed cupcake on Opening Day. Sometimes people find the bakers on Instagram and share photos of their events.

“Just hearing that makes it worth it, especially during the last year during the pandemic — helping people to celebrate,” Larsen said. “Even if it was a birthday cake for just a few family members.” 

The bakery often pairs up with other local businesses and shares giveaways on their social media pages. The store donates two cakes each month to Simon Says Give, who throws birthday parties for children whose families cannot do so themselves. They also sponsor local sports teams like the Millbury girl’s youth basketball program.

“It’s been really cool to see, just within the past four years being here, the area coming alive and adding to the dynamic of the Canal District,” Larsen said.