March 21st, 2009
Seems that the cupcake craze has made its way to Charlottesville. This small bakery is located in the historic downtown district of Charlottesville, and I had to try it. It’s small and quaint, as most everything is in this brick-lined town. The cupcakes reflected the country like atmosphere by only ringing in at $2 each. There weren’t many flavors to choose from in terms of cupcakes, and I was torn between thinking these cupcakes were cute and pretty or whether they looked like someone in middle-school accidentally spilled their body glitter on them.

The store is small, but sparse–not homey. I liked the chalkboard on the wall, but it was in a location where customers would line up and lean against, so the menu would smear. The service here is possibly the worst that I’ve ever encountered at a cupcakery. I asked the person behind the counter which flavor she would recommend since I like exotic and bold flavors, and she recommended something that had very “subtle” flavors. Then I proceeded to say that I don’t like “subtle” flavors and like bold, exotic flavors, and since I don’t live around here, that I would like to make sure I get the best one possible. At this point, she snapped at me and said “Well, I can’t help you then!”, and shouted “Who’s *ready*?!” to the people behind me (which were with me). This totally ruined the experience for me and I went off with my bruised ego, dwelling how she had treated me all day.

The flavors I got were Chocolate with Raspberry Cream, Brown Sugar with crystallized amber, and Lemon cake with lemon frosting. Others got the “Snoball” cupcakes, which were chocolate cupcakes with coconut on top.

These cupcakes were edible, but the frosting was too sweet and the cake too dry. The frosting was so sweet, I could taste each grain of sugar in the frosting, as if it hadn’t even been blended well. Even if I lived in Charlottesville (still), I wouldn’t go back here. I would rather go for a crepe or brownie somewhere else.

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October 9th, 2008

I visited this nice coffeehouse on TJ (Georgetown) after its round in the WP “Cupcake Wars” and at the urging of a few other people.

Overall, I like the general look and feel of this place better than Georgetown Cupcake. Its prettier on the outside and bigger on the inside (no waiting on stoops for this gal). The inside is split-level-sideways, with most baked goodies to the left and some baked goodies to the right with the coffee bar. The day we went (weekday) there were only three variaties of cupcakes: Ken’s Birthday Cake, Texas Sheet Cake Cupcake, and Carrot Cake Cupcake. On weekends there is much more of a selection.

The Carrot Cake was dan’s favorite (and in his opinion is better then Hello Cupcake’s and Georgetown Cupcake’s). The cream cheese frosting isn’t too sweet and the carrot cake bottom is the perfect combination of cake and carrot. Texas Sheet Cake is made by “putting the icing on the cupcake while its still hot” a la helpful (maybe a little too perky?) store clerk. It tastes better than it looks, but its nothing special (aka will not re-buy or crave for–ever). It tasted like those kind-of bad no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies my mom makes…

I also like the cupcake wrappers, which, though unconventional, actually help to preserve the cupcake better if/when traveling. We got a box with the plain cupcakes in it, but I saw the option of cupcake inserts (6 pc. boxes).

More interesting was the fact that this place also has an assortment of bars, brownies, breads, and doggie treats, as well as coffees that call to me from my Ballston cubicle. Some people come to Baked & Wired just for the coffee, in fact, they even have their own blend. The breads available the day we went (at very size-able pieces: Zucchini, Orange Poppyseed, and Carrot Ginger)

Seating inside is all the way in the back, and looked very comfortable and trendy. Most of the seats had been snagged already, so we sat at the one table in the coffee section of the coffeehouse.

Note to self: must re-visit to try other baked goods and their Chai Lattes!

From the Washington Post ‘Cupcake Wars’

About: Tony and Teresa Velazquez opened this little shop, attached to their graphic-design business, in 2001. 1052 Thomas Jefferson St., Georgetown, 202-333-2500; » More About Baked & Wired

The Range: Six varieties when we visited: vanilla/vanilla, chocolate with buttercream (dubbed Karen’s Birthday Cake), carrot cake, chocolate peanut butter, coconut and Texas sheet cake.

Price: $3.50. These are the most expensive yet, but they’re also the biggest by far, making them among the cheapest per ounce.

Size: Large, with generous frosting. (Average weight: 4.6 ounces.)

How do they taste?: Hallelujah, these are cupcakes! We love the folded parchment liners, which make these easier to unwrap. And then we love what’s inside: buttery, mostly moist cakes with good, simple flavors and a nice, thick layer of not-too-sweet, fresh-tasting frosting. The vanilla cakes tended to be a tad dry, perhaps from overbaking, but all in all, it was a selection we’d be happy to tuck into again.

Best of the Bunch: A truly delectable, nearly perfect chocolate peanut butter (shown above), which one taster described as “Snickers as a cupcake — and what’s wrong with that?” (Score: 8.6 out of 10.)

Price Per Ounce: 71 cents

From Washingtonpost.com, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake & Vanilla/Vanilla Cupcake

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I figured that, in order to partake in this “Cupcake War” happening in the Washington Post, that I’d have to stray from my top-seeders and try some of the other local cupcake flavor. I’ve tried Couture Cupcakes twice. These cupcakes, from a wedding caterer in Maryland, are sold at two places in the District: Cafe Tu-o-tu in Georgetown and ACKC Cafe in Logan Circle/Alexandria (there are two locations).

First taste was the “Sophie”, a chocolate cake topped with a cookies & creme buttercream frosting. Of course, this description was on their website. If you walk into Cafe Tu-o-tu, you have to ask about the cupcakes. They say this one is an “oreo” cupcake with no mention of its makers. This cupcake had an under-whelming frosting (I expect much out of my frostings after Baked & Wired, Georgetown, and Hello). and the cake was so dry. I hate to say this, but the cupcake was so bad that I couldn’t even finish it–half of it went to the birds.

Now, I thought that this was might, might, be attributed to the fact that the cupcakes were sitting on un-covered trays by the register for who knows how long. So I made it my mission to visit ACKC (a formidable hike from the Dupont metro) and see whos fault it was: cupcake or re-seller.

ACKC itself is an amazing place (and will have its own review soon), but I was also let-down by the cupcakes here. No excuses here since the cupcakes were fresh from the back in closed boxes and were then transferred to a closed plastic container. The flavor options here were more expansive, and I settled on the “Bella Lucia” (vanilla cake with Nutella center topped with a stracciatella Buttercream) and the “Mrs. Kimery” (pumpkin spice cake with pumpkin spice cream cheese frosting). I chose these two because I love stracciatella and Nutella and have been having my own Pumpkin Spice and Carrot Cake Cupcake Battles on the side. Like Cafe Tu-o-tu’s “Sophie”, the “Bella Lucia” went half/three-fourths un-eaten and went into the trash. The frosting was like nothing I had ever tasted–it had the consistency of lotion, and did not taste like the yummy stracciatella truffles that I often find myself craving in the winter months. The nutella center was quite lacking, and all around it was dry dry cake that grated against my tongue. I had to wait until today to eat the pumpkin cupcake, and it wasn’t any better. While the cake was moister, the frosting was worse! The cake had no particular flavor and the frosting tasted chemical-esque, like soap. I kept expecting my mouth to be filled with the great wonderful fall flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin, and cream cheese that is all a pumpkin spice anything should be, but it never was. This cupcake was also un-finished.

Unfortunately, the descriptions of all of CC’s cupcakes are amazing. I dont know what goes wrong between the thinking-up and baking steps of the process, but there IS something wrong. I would be ashamed to have these cupcakes catered to my wedding/shower/birthday, and would rather eat Costco sheet cake anyday!

From the Washington Post ‘Cupcake Wars’

About: Paola Domenge started this Potomac-based venture as a hobby with her mother, Silvia, but formalized it as a business in April. At a leased kitchen in Gaithersburg, they bake primarily custom orders and sell at two cafes in the District: ACKC in Logan Circle and Cafe Tu-o-Tu in Georgetown. 301-926-7333; www.couture-cupcakes.com. ACKC, 1529C 14th St. NW, 202-387-2626; www.thecocoagallery.com; ACKC Alexandria, 116 E. Del Ray Ave., Alexandria, 703-635-7917; www.artfullychocolate.com; Cafe Tu-o-Tu, 2816 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 202-298-7777; http://www.cafetuotu.com

The Range: We bought the cupcakes at ACKC, where the selection is wider than at Tu-o-Tu, and there were six varieties: lime, red velvet, vanilla/Nutella, Boston cream pie, chocolate/raspberry and brownie.

Price: $3.50

Size: Standard, with the perfect amount of frosting. (Average weight: 3.4 ounces.)

How do they taste?: For the most part, these were very nicely done, with creamy frostings, moist cakes and vibrant flavors. The vanilla cakes tended to be on the dry side, and the brownie cupcake was gummy and underdone, but many of the others won us over.

Best of the Bunch: Red velvet (a.k.a. Savannah, shown above), with a beautiful deep color and light cocoa flavor, topped with a truly lovely cream cheese frosting, was just about everything a cupcake should be. (Score: 8 out of 10.)

Price Per Ounce: $1.01

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So I heard through the grapevine about Georgetown Cupcake, located on Potomac Street NW (across from Dean & Deluca). I finally made my way over there a couple months ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since! Though the space is very small (sometimes you have to wait outside for your cupcakes), including only one table, this sister run cupcake-palace it worth it, especially now that they have daily and monthly schedules on their website! They also serve cafe drinks here (coffee, tea, etc) and the staff is super helpful. You can almost see the cupcakes being baked in the back, and if you don’t know what to get, they’re more than happy to share their favorites. I’m slowly trying to taste every one of their flavors, but their seasonal flavors keep evading me (blueberry coffee cake, cherry blossom, carrot cake, independence day).

They are most famous for pre-ordering (people buy these by the dozens for their friends, office mates, parties, or their children). The only bad thing is that the smallest box is for 4 or 6 cupcakes, and you have to pay for single cupcake boxes ($0.50 each). Other than that, a short walk across the key bridge can result in disaster (depending on your pace and packaging) in the form of smushed cupcakes or mixed flavors. Though these cupcakes are very moist and super yummy, sometimes there is just a little bit too much frosting on it for me, so I wipe it off.

Recommended flavors: Summer: Lemon Berry, Key Lime Everyday: Mocha, Lava, Chocolate Ganache, Chocolate Squared

Score was updated after visiting Hello Cupcake in September 2008.

From the Washington Post ‘Cupcake Wars’

About: Sisters Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis quit their jobs last year to open this business on Valentine’s Day 2008, creating such a sensation that they now sell thousands of cupcakes a day (more than 4,000 on Saturdays). 1209 Potomac St. NW, 202-333-8448; » More About Georgetown Cupcake

The Range: A dozen varieties when we visited, including all four permutations of chocolate/vanilla, plus triple chocolate, chocolate ganache, lemon blossom, mocha, coconut and caramel apple (a special September seasonal flavor that will return in November).

Price: $2.75 each, $15 for six, $29 for a dozen.

Size: Smallish, with just the right amount of frosting. (Average weight: 3 ounces.)

How do they taste?: Wow! These are the Nadia Comanecis of the Cupcake Wars: cute, diminutive and the first to get scores of 10. Not all of them, of course; we liked the vanilla cakes less, and we weren’t too crazy about the coconut, but most of the others had us using descriptions such as “dreamy,” “creamy,” “bright” and “sensational.”

Best of the Bunch: Chocolate Squared was so moist, with deep chocolate flavor in both cake and fudgy frosting, that one taster wrote, “I’m not even a huge chocolate fan, and that is a perfect chocolate cupcake.” (Score: 9.8 out of 10.)

Price Per Ounce: 86 cents

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