Sweet Sensations

Name: Sweet Sensations Pastry
Neighborhood: North Center / Ravenswood
Address: 1918 West Montrose Ave
Map (link above): red marker
Nearest El Transit Locations: 
Montrose Brown Line stop
Hours: 
Tue - Fri  7am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 6pm
Sunday 10am - 2pm
Bake On-Site: Yes - open kitchen
Individual Cupcake Prices: $2.25-3.50
Boxing/Packaging: Box without inserts
What makes this bakery special: The huge open kitchen, the chef/owner (Sharin), and the creative and unique cupcake flavors.

Cupcakes Purchased and Reviewed:
Boston Cream Pie
Cake: Vanilla
with vanilla custard filling topped with ganache and a candy snowflake
Appearance: 2
Size: Average
Bite #: 3
Moisture: 3


German Chocolate
Cake: Chocolate
with German filling (pecan, caramel, coconut) dipped in ganache and topped with German filling
Appearance: 2
Size: Average
Bite #: 3
Moisture: 3

Banana Cardamom (right)
Gingerbread Cardamom (left)

Banana Cardamom
Cake: Banana with cardamom
with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Appearance: 3
Size: Average
Bite #: 3
Moisture: 3

Gingerbread Cardamom
Cake: Gingerbread with cardamom
with Cream Cheese Frosting
Appearance: 3
Size: Average
Bite #: 3
Moisture: 3

Additional Notes:
I love Sweet Sensations! The chef/owner, Sharin Nathan, and her amazing pastry chef develop a heaven close to home. They both work hard to create delicious treats and savory goodies from the finest ingredients in one of the largest open kitchens I've seen yet. I love open kitchens because not only is it fun (and oftentimes educational) to observe people at work, but it's also nice to see how things are done, how the kitchen is kept, and what the environment the food I'm about to eat came from is like.  
At Sweet Sensations, the atmosphere is comfortable and laid back.  It was fun to sit back, enjoy coffee and cupcakes, and observe the regulars come and go, each showing familiarity with Sharin and vice versa. That's pure gold star customer service right there. I've always wanted to be a regular who is greeted warmly by name and only has to say "the usual" to place my order. 
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Flavor combinations here can be super unique (like banana cardamom) or deliciously classic.  D.E. and I couldn't narrow our flavors down so we opted for two cupcakes to split to eat in and two to split to go.  
I have to say, I'm not big on the texture of coconut and picky with coconut flavor, therefore, am not much of a german chocolate kind of girl.  For those of you who also don't really enjoy the coconut texture but like the idea of pecans and caramel (the other two components of what makes german filling what it is), these germans are the cupcake for you.  The cake was rich, ultra-moist chocolate (not the light german fluff most bakeries offer) with sweet delicious ganache.  For those of you who do enjoy german chocolate coconuty goodness, have no fear; these cupcakes are topped and filled with the ooey-gooey filling you expect and love. Still, this is ideal for those who could do without the coconut (like me!).
The Boston Cream cupcake was everything I had hoped for.  The sweet vanilla cake enveloped the rich vanilla custard filling perfectly.  Add the same delicious ganache from above and you've got perfection. Seriously, absolutely nothing was off with the Boston.
The Gingerbread Cardamom cupcake was like a dense, yet fluffy, gingerbread cookie, with subtle but noticable cardamom flavor. Think of the deliciously light cream cheese as a supporting actress--kind of overlooked, but it wouldn't be the same without it.
Lastly, the Banana Cardamom (yes, we were intrigued by the cardamom cupcakes) had the consistency of a fresh-baked banana muffin with subtle cardamom notes and a scrumptious unique chocolate cream cheese frosting! LOVE!
Overall, these cupcakes--all four of them--were obviously fresh-baked, full of flavor, and made in small batches. I now have even higher hopes for every cupcake I eat henceforth.
Indoor seating (and presumably outdoor seating in the summer--wide sidewalk).
Coffee!