Cal Dining joins the cupcake craze

There is new competition for best cupcake in Berkeley. Cal Dining celebrated the launch of its new line of cupcakes, called “Cub Cakes,” with a grand opening event last week on Sproul Plaza. The free event offered a tasting of the new line of confections being made in-house at the Honey Bear Bakery.

After the kickoff event, the sweet treat will be available for purchase Monday through Thursday at rotating Cal Dining outlets beginning today, October 4. The exact locations for each day’s sale will be sent out via Twitter and Facebook. The retail price will be $2.75 for all flavors.

The cupcakes are made in-house by executive pastry chef Bob Reich, a classically trained Pastry Chef with an extensive pastry and baking background, including the Ritz Carlton in San Francisco and, more recently, at Market Hall Bakery.

Cal Dining chose cupcakes as their product of choice because of their popularity in today’s market. “Cupcakes are a hot trend,” said Chuck Davies, associate director of Residential Dining. “Cal Dining and Honey Bear think our Cub Cakes are every bit as good as others available, and we want to be able to provide a quality product — real butter, organic eggs — and exciting flavors to our customers at a reasonable price.”

Flavors being offered include “Saucy Red Velvet,” “Blonde Ambition,” and “Funky Monkey” among others. There are also vegan options available. Reich says he imagines the flavors will change often, though, based on what sells best and customer feedback.

To find out when and where you can get a taste, follow @CalDining on Twitter or visit its Facebook page.