Starbucks Red Velvet Cupcake

I finally found a standard sized Red Velvet Cupcake from Starbucks! The only one I have had so far is the little version, with the chocolate candy on top. This one tasted exactly the same as the smaller version - like a sweet sugar cookie - but bigger! Have you tried all the Starbucks flavors? What's your favorite?

Fun Pink Cupcakes

As I've mentioned before, one of my favorite things to do for my coworkers is bring cupcakes to my office on Fridays. Since one of my coworkers is pregnant, I thought this time I'd bring in some pink and white-iced Red Velvet cupcakes. Mmm!

Starbucks Red Velvet Cupcakes

Finally! After 7 months of hunting, I found a Starbucks Cupcake! Well technically my friend Lauren found it, but either way, I got it! And I was pleasantly surprised.

This was the only cupcake they had that wasn't a Cheesecake Factory Cupcake: a Red Velvet Cupcake with Chocolate Truffle Filling, and it was great! One thing though, I thought the cake itself tasted fantastic without the filling. I don't think the filling hurt the flavor, but I could have done without it.

The frosting did the job - not too sweet, but not something you want to eat by the spoonful either. The whole package was very fresh and moist, and after finishing the last bite, I realized I thought it tasted more like a really good sugar cookie than your average Red Velvet cupcake! Would I eat this cupcake again? Most definitely!

Occasionally Cake...and Cupcakes!

A few weekends ago I was lucky enough to met Sabrina and Marcia, the lovely ladies of Occasionally Cake, a cake (and cupcake!) business based out of Northern Virginia. While they don't currently have a storefront, they have plans to open one in early 2009.

I haven't had the privilege to taste their adorable cupcakes yet, but they sure know how to make them look good!! Check out these amazing pictures from their gallery:

LOVE this beachy theme

A Red Velvet cupcake for Valentines Day

Check out the detail on those flower cupcakes!

These delleicious looking cupcakes are priced individually starting at $2.25 each for basic flavors and the icing swirl on top. The specialty cupcakes, like some of the ones you see pictured above and below, start at $3.50 each. Click here to check out more on pricing both for the cupcakes, and for their cakes and cookies!

I plan to try Occasionally Cake's cupcakes in the near future, so I'll get back to you with my reviews! In the mean time, if you'd like to place an order with them, they can be reached at 703-780-3519 or you can email them by clicking here.

Meetup 1 - Baked & Wired

This morning was the first meetup for our DC/Metro Cupcake Group! And it was a lot of fun! The owner of Baked & Wired in Georgetown was kind enough to open up half an hour early to accommodate our group. Maggie, pictured below, told us all about Baked & Wired’s flavors for the day, which included Strawberry (made with real strawberries!), Carrot Cake, Red Velvet, Vanilla on Chocolate, Coconut, Vanilla with Chocolate Satin Frosting, and Karen’s Birthday Cupcake (Karen is the owner’s Grandmother, and the cupcake is her original recipe).

We all grabbed our cupcake and coffee and sat down in one of their lounge areas. We chatted up a storm for about an hour and a half, and talked about other area bakeries that might be good for upcoming meetups.

Out of all of the cupcakes we tried, I think our overall favorite was the Carrot Cake with the Strawberry coming in a close 2nd. For me, the only disappointment was the Red Velvet, as it didn’t taste anything like Red Velvet. All of the cupcakes were very thick, but this isn’t a bad thing. They were moist and rich, with the exception of the Vanilla cupcake which was actually pretty dry. I would definitely recommend Baked & Wired though. It’s in a great location, good coffee, friendly employees, tasty cupcakes, and lots of other great desserts (I heard the “Phig Newtons” are pretty good!)

If you have any recommendations about future meetup locations, feel free to post them! And if you'd like to join our meetup group (there's 70 of us so far!), visit the group page by clicking here. It was great meeting everyone, and I’m already looking forward to next time!