March 30th, 2009
I went to the newly opened cupcakery in Fairfax Corner before they eve had their official opening. I was hoping that this cupcakery would be good because it’s in a location that I regularly visit. Unfortunately, the quality is less than that of other cupcakeries and they’re actually more expensive! Even though they are open relatively late for a bakery, by the time I get there, they’re always cleaned out and they have only a few cupcakes left.

The red velvet cupcake was fine. The frosting had specks of vanilla in it, but had a slight sour taste to the cream cheese. I did not care for the candy on top at all, it tasted exactly like chocolate melts that come out of bags at the grocery store. Also, I felt that they were copying Georgetown Cupcake’s red velvet, which has the same design, but smaller, fondant heart. I was surprised at how red the cake was.

The strawberry cupcake (Strawberry Fields–vanilla cake with strawberry  purée) was way too hard and dense–it had the taste of a stale muffin. Unlike normal cake, I had to exert some effort into getting the fork to go into it! That was a bad sign.  The icing was strawberry buttercream, which had a slightly grey-ish, off-putting color to it. It could have benefited from a few drops of coloring to make it more appetizing. It had a nice flavor though, and not too sweet.

The method for transporting individual cupcakes is flawed. I tried to bring home a mocha one and it was smeared all over the inside of the box.

The store only has one lone table, and it’s high and slightly awkward to sit at. The decor other  than that rings slightly of CakeLove with the mosaic-bottomed display case, though I did like the back-lit flourescent menu.

I’m not sure if I would ever go back here ever again, especially since some cupcakes are almost $4 each! I always want to pop my head in and look, but I’d much rather get a cookie or shake at Potbelly, Starbucks, or some other tried-and-true local stop.