"We are opening our second shop in response to the overwhelming demand we've had from our customers in Montgomery County," said Sophie LaMontagne, who owns the high-end Georgetown bakery with her sister, Katherine Kallinis. "We think cupcakes have, and will continue to be, an affordable treat, even during recessions." Cupcake businesses are doing better than most bakeries during the recession because smaller treats tend to sell better during hard times, said Paul Sapienza, vice president of operations for Retail Bakers of America in McLean, Va. "People like to award themselves with little treats that don't cost much," Sapienza said.
"I think that people are so used to eating very low-quality food in general, and around here, there's not that many great bakeries. Some of these new places actually have a great taste, but they have to keep the quality up," she said. Goldman-Poyourow, who has owned her cake shop for 14 years and just moved it from Gaithersburg in October, said the cupcake market is becoming oversaturated, with many people "hyper-focused" on them. She suspects the trend may die down soon, with Maryland on the tail end of the craze. "There will always be something new," she said.If you're a Strawberry Cupcake lover and have yet to pick one up from Georgetown Cupcake, you better hurry! Tomorrow is the last day of June, and so ends this flavor of the month!
I must say, it was pretty amazing. It has chunks of strawberries both in the frosting and in the cake. The frosting is one of their standard cream cheese frostings and fit perfectly with the fruity cake. Baked & Wired Strawberry cupcakes are still my favorite, but these were very good!
WASHINGTON -- Actor Owen Wilson was spotted eating in Georgetown Tuesday. After dining at the Peacock Café, he stopped by Georgetown Cupcake for a red velvet and a white chocolate raspberry cupcake, according to Georgetown Cupcake. He ate alone at a table in the store. According to the staff, Wilson dropped by Georgetown Cupcake on Monday but it was closed. My question is, how in the world did he manage to snag that one lonely table! It’s always taken!
It looks like a radioactive cupcake zombie!
Photo from BashDC.com
Can you believe it's December already?!? Crazy! One good thing about a new month though, new cupcake flavors! So for all you Georgetown Cupcake lovers out there (and from that constant line around the corner, I know there's a lot of you!) Georgetown Cupcake's new monthly flavors are Chocolate Peppermint, Gingerbread, and Snowball (Coconut), as well as Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Years Eve-themed Cupcakes. Be sure to stay tuned later this month when Georgetown Cupcake will be releasing their 2009 Seasonal Flavor listing.And speaking of Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes, when I was in Alexandria this past weekend I stopped to have brunch at one of my favorite places: Bread & Chocolate on King Street in Old Town. If you've been here you know they have a large dessert case at the front of the restaurant, and sure enough they had cupcakes! I was way too stuffed from my Mediterranean Omelet to even fathom eating a cupcake, but I took a picture for you guys. They have Chocolate Peppermint as well as traditional Vanilla and Chocolate. They're $2.50 each or $9 for 4.
Chocolate Peppermint is on the left, Chocolate & Vanilla on the right.
Planning on hitting up this weekend's Taste of Georgetown? Make sure you stop by Georgetown Cupcake and Baked & Wired's tents! They're both slated to be serving up some cupcakes at the annual event. Taste of Georgetown is this Saturday, October 11th, from 11am to 4pm. Personally I think the whole thing is a bit chaotic, but if the weather is nice and you have patience, go for it! Entry into the Taste of Georgetown does not require a ticket, but tasting any of the restaurant/bakery fare does! One tasting ticket is good for one tasting. $5: One Tasting Ticket, $20: Five Tasting Tickets. Tickets can be purchased the day of the event, or you can skip the line and purchase them by clicking here. And just an FYI - for the month of October, Georgetown Cupcake is offering a couple special flavors - Pumpkin Spice and Chocolate Orange. Has anyone tried them? They'll also be offering Halloween Cupcakes during the week of Halloween (October 26 - 31); but they can be special ordered for the entire month of October.
Earlier this month, a journalist from the Georgetown Voice, Michael Keller, had contacted me with some questions for a column he was doing on cupcakes! The story was about cupcakes' rise in popularity over the years, more specifically in our area. In analyzing why cupcakes are so popular, Keller says "the cupcake still retains that childhood particularity, evoking the delight of a birthday or special occasion treat, something out-of-the-ordinary and significant." Keller also talks about where to get cupcakes around town, and even promotes our DC/Metro Cupcake Meetup Group! Check out the column by clicking here!
I hate to admit it, but I kind of missed the ball on this one. Tonight at the City Tavern Club in Georgetown, on the corner of Wisconsin and M, Miss DC 2008 (Katie Marie Grinold) is hosting the Cocktails & Cupcakes for Innocents at Risk event. What is that you ask? Have you rode the Metro lately and seen those awareness posters about human trafficking? Well, the proceeds from this event will benefit Innocents At Risk, a group that works to stop human trafficking. They'll be auctioning off items donated by Cafe Milano, the Nat's, and the Washington National Opera, to name a few. And, can't forget to mention that Georgetown Cupcake is catering the event with 250 cupcakes. So, my apologies to anyone who would have liked to go (I know I would have!) for not letting you know sooner. Hopefully I'll find some good pictures and post them for you guys.
Penny Karas, Owner & Executive Pastry Chef of the much anticipated Hello Cupcake (set to open later this summer in Dupont), graciously offered me a sneak preview of her treats before the shop’s Grand Opening. With original flavors like the Velvet Elvis and Maya Favorite Cupcake, I was SUPER excited to make my way over to Penny’s place and put my taste buds to work. And work I did! After tasting 5 different flavors, I can safely say that Hello Cupcake's cupcakes are the best I have had in this area!
With charming little touches like both indoor and outdoor seating, recycled pink packing, a flashy pink chandelier, and the perfectly crafted cupcakes themselves, Hello Cupcake is all about the details. And you can taste Penny's attention to detail in each and every bite. I think it's this special attention that is going to make Hello Cupcake so successful. Here are my reviews:
Gluten Free Carrot Cake - Oh.My.God. GLUTEN FREE?!?! I’ve died and gone to cupcake heaven. The cream cheese icing was SO delicious it’s hard to put into words! The mixture of cinnamon, real carrots, walnuts, and pineapple was perfect. When you go to Hello Cupcake, you have GOT to try this masterpiece.
Vanilla Gorilla - A light and fluffy banana bread with an anything but average vanilla frosting. I gave one to a friend who is a banana bread connoisseur, and her eyes about bulged out of her head when she took her first bite. “This is AMAZING!!” I would have to agree. I've never really liked bananas, but I LOVED this cupcake.
Vegan German Chocolate - I tried this one both room temperature and warmed up. I think I prefer the warmed up version as it makes the caramel topping a little creamier. This combined with chocolate cake was a great combination.
Triple Coconut - My taste buds had a field day with this one. The Triple Coconut is exactly how a cupcake should taste: sweet, light, and moist. Normally I avoid coconut as I’m not a big fan, but this was just divine.
Peanut Butter Blossom - WOW. The peanut butter frosting on this cupcake is so creamy and delicious you must try it for yourself. Unlike many other peanut butter frostings I’ve had, this one is not at all oily or overpowering. It’s perfect. The chocolate cake was smooth and rich. Put them together and you’ve got one amazing combination.
You can find these and over 15 other flavors on Hello Cupcake's menu. Speaking of which, I asked Penny if we could be expecting any new flavors once the shop opens, to which she replied "Oh definitely! Coming up with new flavors is the best part." For more on what Penny had to say about her cupcakes and her shop, check out our conversation below:
(In regards to the Vegan German Chocolate Cupcake)
Penny: “The caramel topping doesn’t have the butter in it to make it really gooey, so it hardens almost into a caramel fudge, it’s awesome. If you wanted to have the gooeyness, I would recommend just warming it up. Pop it in the microwave for about 10 seconds and it goo’s right up.
Penny: And then this is Gluten Free Carrot Cake.
Danielle: OH those are my favorite!
Penny: Oh good! This is really good even if you’re not eating gluten free, so I think you’ll enjoy it but the real stuff is also amazing
Danielle: I love the way you do your icing. I was checking out the website and everything is so cute, people are loving it! You know you’ve got so many good reviews already and you haven’t even opened. Everyone is just like, “I love the way they look!”
Penny: It kind of validates the whole idea of really going for a high end brand look too. I mean, I think the products are number one, and they’re really good, so that’s a good thing, but I also think that just having the brand appeal has really attracted people.
Danielle: People really go for presentation.
Penny: I think that’s true; and I wanted the shop itself to have a modern aesthetic. The whole idea behind the shop is that when you walk in it feels more like you’re walking into a little boutique.
Danielle: Yea, I read about your pink chandelier!
Penny: Hahaha Yea!
(Back to cupcakes)
Penny: This is Peanut Butter Blossom which is my basic Scharfenberger chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, which is addictive. [This is] Vanilla Gorilla, which is banana cake and has real bananas, not just banana flavoring, and vanilla cream cheese frosting. It’s a really nice moist cake because of the Banana.
Danielle: Speaking of the Banana, your Velvet Elvis cracks me up.
Penny: Isn’t that great? I didn’t know if people would get the reference! There is another one called Lucy, “the sassy red head.” A friend of mine who is like 10 years younger than me said “are you sure younger people are going to get this reference?
Danielle: Oh, I definitely think so.
What I like most about the cupcakes from Hello Cupcake is that not only are the cake and frosting delicious on their own, but when you bite into them together, it's the perfect combination. They look great, they're moist, the flavors are rich but aren't overpowering; they’re absolutely delicious.
Penny was shocked that I came all the way from Bethesda to her corner of DC to try the cupcakes. Are you kidding?? People are going to be coming from all over to try these cupcakes! Keep your eyes and ears peeled for the Grand Opening later this summer, Hello Cupcake is going to be a huge hit.
