Welcome back to Pop 5! This week we move on from our savory lists, which ended with the best thin-crust pizza in Chicago, to the sweet stuff, and we're starting with cupcakes. There are so many great options around the city these days that this list was hard to make, but with some help from our friends (you!), we picked the top five tiny cakes in town.

  1. Sprinkles (50 E. Walton St., 312-573-1600) might be an LA import, but since it opened shop downtown, it's totally changed my perspective on how amazing a cupcake can be. This month's Boo box, featuring vanilla milk chocolate, red velvet, black and white, and caramel apple cupcakes, only reaffirms my love.
  2. New York-based chain Crumbs Bake Shop (303 W. Madison St., 312-263-6500) opened shop in the Loop last year with success so immediate that two more Chicago shops have already followed (134 N. Lasalle St. and 42 S. Clark St.). While the cupcakes are almost too cute to eat, with awesome flavors like cookie dough, peanut butter cup, and white hot chocolate, somehow I think you'll manage.
  3. Magnolia Bakery (108 N. State St., 312-346-7777) just opened on Oct. 1, but the cupcakes — which have inspired insane lines in New York's West Village for decades — are already a huge hit. All of the desserts are made from scratch in-house every day, and your nose will prove the freshness.
  4. Chicago's cupcake scene has it all, but when it's sophistication you're looking for, More (1 E. Delaware Pl., 312-951-0001) is the place to find it. The chic shop is great at keeping its treats fresh and timely, constantly introducing new seasonal cupcakes and sampling inventive flavors like the recent pumpkin-cinnamon-cream-cheese and sake-cucumber-lime.
  5. For almost 10 years, Sweet Mandy B's (1208 W. Webster Ave., 773-244-1174) has been delighting customers with its nostalgic vibe and award-winning cupcakes. Available in three sizes (mini, regular, and jumbo), a ton of flavors, and with custom decorations, these cupcakes have been a staple at pretty much every wedding and baby shower I've ever attended in the city — and for good reason.

Source: Sprinkles