There are too many sweet reasons for visiting Sweet Reasons. Owner Lenny Schafer adds a twist to traditional cupcake flavors. How about a goat cheese strawberry cupcake or rose petal tea cupcake? They also have the classics covered with a Velvety Red cupcake topped in tangy cream cheese frosting.

On Cupcake Wars' military holiday episode, Muffy Patterson brought her true Texas spirit with a creative spiced wine cupcake. Judges said her orange buttercream was delicious and that she "brought the party to the party." Note, this bakery rotates its locale with their latest Army deployment.

On Cupcake Wars, baker Carla Peay Hesseltine of Just Cupcakes made sure her sweet treats were "baked with love." Judges took note, calling them perfection. Meanwhile, Just Cupcakes can be found in two permanent locations and one van, which all serve the signature red velvet, Frankly Scarlett.

Twisted Sisters Cupcakes really turns heads with flavors like Cherry Coke Float and its super chocolatey brownies. To add to the twistedness, these Cupcake War bakers drive around Virginia Beach, Va., in a big, pink "diva" van that reads, "Move over ice cream man, we have BIG GIRL treats!"

Everything at Richmond's The Cake Bar Café is homemade and based on family recipes. Cupcakes, cookies, brownies and whoopie pies disappear by the dozen, and custom "cake couture" is available for every occasion. Customer favorites include German Chocolate and Basket-Case Coconut.

The Sweet Lobby is a serious cupcake contender in a big cupcake town. Owned by a chemical engineer from Trinidad and Tobago, this Washington, D.C., shop is, she says, the "ultimate advocate for your sweet tooth," with globally inspired cupcakes, French Macaron, Madeleines and other lovely morsels.

Dawn Eskins's favorite kitchen tool is a drill. (Don't worry - there's a whisk on the end.) This over-the-top attitude fuels the 200-plus flavors at her two Carolina Cupcakery locations, in Virginia and North Carolina. Don't miss the "Pie Oh My" - a whopping classic butter cake filled with fruit.

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On Food Network's Cupcake Wars, the owner of TamiCakes competes for the chance to win $10,000 and have her cupcakes featured at an exclusive party for the Hollywood Black Film Festival.

At The Luscious Crumb Bakery in Mineola, Texas, you savor every bite down to the last crumb. Cake flavors run in the hundreds, the brownies and cookies are Texas-size, and designer cakes are freshly baked and custom-decorated. Unwrap favorite cupcakes like Death by Chocolate and Orange Crush.

Cupcake Wars contestant RGV Cupcake Factory creates cupcakes inspired by pop culture, such as the Yoda, a pistachio cupcake with green buttercream and white chocolate shavings, and the Berry White, a vanilla cupcake with strawberry buttercream and white chocolate shavings.

At Frosted Betty Bakeshop in Houston, owner Nicole Mora bakes unique cupcakes that made her a worthy opponent on Cupcake Wars. While they do offer classics like vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, they also have distinct specialties, like Almond Ricotta Raspberry and Pistachio Cardamom.

Rise and shine to Rise Cupcakes, where owner Brittany Todd rotates her cupcake flavors, ensuring you'll have plenty to choose from each time. Sample tried-and-true regulars like vanilla buttercream, or be fancy with the Ch Ch Churro cupcake capped with cinnamon buttercream and chocolate drizzle.

Terese Yates started baking for her family as a stay-at-home mom, but she soon found herself in charge of her own company at Frost Bake Shoppe in The Woodlands, Texas. A former Cupcake Wars contestant, Terese's bakery is a dynamo offering 30-plus cupcake flavors, including Tiramisu and Margarita.

All roads led to Choco Patisserie in San Antonio for owners Lynn and Lauren Townsend. Their decades of experience in professional kitchens reared two lean, mean baking machines. Their menu of flavors rotates weekly, including essentials Maple Bacon and Boston Cream every Thursday.