Election Cupcakes

Election Day is upon us! In the final days before voters head to the polls, local bakeries are showing their enthusiasm with Election-themed cupcakes.

Hello Cupcake is selling the adorable Donkey & Elephant cupcakes you see below. How cute! They are $3.50 each or $39/dozen. You can also find Donkey & Elephant cupcakes available at Georgetown Cupcake from now through November 4.


© 2008 JOHN HEALEY/www.jhph.com

So be sure to get out there and vote! And then of course, go grab yourself a cupcake!

Georgetown Cupcake November Flavors

Can you believe it's almost November??? I feel like summer just ended yesterday!! In my mind, there are only three good things about the impending cold-weather months: holidays, snow, and new seasonal cupcake flavors!


Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcake from Flickr user Alicia Griffin's Photostream

Keeping with their monthly tradition, Georgetown Cupcake will have a couple seasonal flavors this November. These flavors include Pumpkin Spice, Caramel Apple, and Thanksgiving Cupcakes that will be available the week of Thanksgiving (November 23-29). The Thanksgiving-themed cupcakes will also be available throughout the entire month of November by special order.

Red Dog Cafe in Silver Spring

I recently discovered another restaurant in the area that has cupcakes on the dessert menu! The Red Dog Cafe in Silver Spring has a Warm Chocolate Stout Cupcake which is apparently quite tasty.

The Cafe, which serves Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, was reviewed back in January by Gazette writer Brian Patterson who described the Chocolate Stout Cupcake as having "felt and tasted like it was made to order — rich, moist and decadent." Sounds delicious! Anyone ever been? If not and you feel like making the a pit stop, reviews say the Java, Juice & Desserts are worth the trip, but the actual entrees are just so-so. No biggie! A coffee & a cupcake is all I need!

Red Dog Cafe is located at 8301-A Grubb Road in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Interview with Washingtonian's Blogger Beat

I recently caught up with Washingtonian Magazine's Emily Leaman to talk cupcakes for their latest edition of the Blogger Beat! Check it out by clicking here


Me out front of Hello Cupcake (my favorite!) Photo by Chris Leaman

New Lavender Moon Flavors

If you were in town this past weekend hopefully you got outside and took advantage of the gorgeous fall weather. I myself headed down to one of my favorite spots, Alexandria, to enjoy the day by the water. And what would a beautiful autumn day be without some tasty fall flavored cupcakes?!?

I walked over to Lavender Moon Cupcakery and picked up a few flavors I've yet to try. My selection included Devil's Food Peanut Butter, Caramel Apple, Smores, and Pumpkin & Fennel.

The Devils Food Peanut Butter tastes like a buckeye. It's a Chocolate cake with a strong peanut butter frosting, but with a mousse like consistency, covered in ganache. To be honest the only thing you can really taste here is the peanut butter with a hint of chocolate. If you love peanut butter you will definitely be a fan of this flavor.


Devil's Food Peanut Butter Cupcake

Switching it up to one of the fall flavors, Caramel Apple has chunks of real fresh apple mixed with cinnamon sugar. The frosting is very buttery and sugary topped off with a caramel drizzle, and the cake itself is very moist. This is the first apple flavor I've tried from anyone yet this fall and I would definitely have it again.

The Smores cupcake on the other hand is the only cupcake from Lavender Moon that I wouldn't bother with again. It didn't taste a thing like smores. There was an extremely thin hardly-there layer of graham cracker crumbs on the bottom of the cupcake which you couldn't taste at all. The chocolate cake was rather sticky, and the whole thing was finished off with a toasted marshmallow frosting. It was like biting into a piece of plain chocolate cake, and I didn't like it.

Last but certainly not least, the Pumpkin & Fennel was my favorite. The light fennel flavor was a nice touch to a light pumpkin taste. The cake was just the right amount of moist, and the sweet cream cheese frosting was the perfect finishing touch.

While I was there, one flavor that caught my eye was the Roasted Fig and Blood Orange. Sounds pretty adventurous, huh? The thing I like about Lavender Moon is that you can always find new and creative flavors like this!

5th Annual Cupcakes for a Cause

This week is the 5th Annual Cupcakes for a Cause week! How can you take part? All you have to do is visit a participating bakery from October 20th through 26th and purchase one of their special CancerCare for Kids Cupcakes and you will be helping save a child's life. Participating bakeries in Maryland, DC, and Virginia include:

Georgetown Cupcake
1209 Potomac Street NW
Washington DC 20007

CakeLove
935 Ellsworth Drive
Silver Spring MD 20910

Couture Cupcakes
Potomac MD 20854

The Baltimore Cupcake Company
1433 East Fort Avenue
Baltimore MD 21230

Blackbird Bakery
56 Piedmont Avenue
Bristol VA 24201

Edibles Incredible Desserts
11917 Freedom Drive
Reston VA 20190

Edibles Incredible Desserts
22855 Brambleton Plaza, 103
Brambleton VA 20148

Reese's Cupcakes
14420 Rosebud Road
Chesterfield VA 23838

Roxie's Cupcakes
5521 Forestview Drive
Virginia Beach VA 23455

Don't have time to make it into a bakery this week? Then try to find a minute to hop over to the Cupcakes for a Cause website and send a friend an ecupcake! $1 will be donated for each ecupcake that is sent (up to $10,000). Right now only 947 ecupcakes have been sent, so we have a ways to go! Click here to get started creating your own ecupcake, or selecting a premade one!

If you're a bakery who would like to participate in Cupcakes for a Cause but haven't had a chance to sign up yet, click here to get yourself on the list.

So if you were looking for an excuse to eat some cupcakes, now you've got it! Get out and get yourself a CancerCare for Kids Cupcake!

Georgetown Cupcake UN Birthday Cupcakes

If you're in Georgetown this week you should pop into Georgetown Cupcake to purchase one of their special UN Cupcakes. The cupcakes are being sold to commemorate the founding of the UN; 100% of the proceeds from their sale will go to support the work of the United Nations.

The cupcakes are only being sold through the end of the day on Friday, October 24th. If you'd like to place an order you can send an email to info@georgetowncupcake.com

Mindful Eating Workshop: Cupcakes!

Want to learn how to have your cake and eat it, too? Then check out this cool workshop taking place next week in Alexandria: Mindful Eating Workshop: Cupcakes!

Join Wellness Counselor Jennifer Howe for a workshop on Mindful Eating – the art of savoring and truly appreciating your food. Jennifer teaches that learning to eat mindfully will avail you more self awareness, fewer binges, more joy and less stress. She will teach you how to get in touch with your intuition around food: recognizing your natural hunger and satiety cues; knowing what your cravings really mean; choosing foods that are both pleasing and nourishing; reclaiming a healthy relationship with all food, all the time. Doesn’t that sound liberating?

The cupcakes will be provided by Occasionally Cake. You may remember that I did a posting on them a couple weeks back, click here to check it out and to see some of their delectable creations. The workship will be held in Old Town Alexandria, 22314 on Monday, October 27 from 7pm – 8pm. There is a charge of $15 per person. Click here to sign up!

MallowDrama Cupcakes & Cake Art

Over the weekend I stopped by the Ayr Hill Art Gallery in Vienna, Virginia. Ayr Hill is a fine art gallery that showcases the work of contemporary and emerging American artists. On Saturday they were exhibiting artwork on a less common canvas: Cake!

David Supley Foxworth of MallowDrama, who was one of the contestants in last month's 1st Annual DC Cupcake Contest, used his background in art to replicate famous works on a number of cakes for display at the gallery. Of course, there were also some cupcakes there to nibble on while you gazed at the art. The flavors were Black Forest topped with Cherry Buttercream, White Chiffon with Raspberries and Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, and Cinnamon Spice with Caramelized Apples.

In honor of Vienna's Oktoberfest celebration that was taking place down the street, the exhibit included edible reproductions of works by famous German and other European painters, including Vincent Van Gogh, Franz Marc, and Edvard Munch. Take a look:


MallowDrama's replica of Irises (Vincent Van Gogh)


MallowDrama's replica of Saltbox Barn (Wolf Kahn)


MallowDrama's replica of The Red Deer (Franz Marc)


MallowDrama's replica of The Scream (Edvard Munch)

Click here to see all that MallowDrama has to offer - they make a number of desserts - from cupcakes to truffles, marshmallows to candied nuts, they have a lot to choose from. Based out of Reston Virginia, MallowDrama has plans to open a storefront in the future. For the time being, they can be contacted by phone or email via their website. To see their contact information, click here.

Couture Cupcake Locations

Couture Cupcakes, from the CC Gallery

As some of you cupcake lovers might know, Couture Cupcakes are now available at both ACKC locations - the one in Logan Circle, DC and the one in Alexandria, VA - but they're also now available at Cafe Tu-O-Tu in Georgetown! Cafe Tu-O-Tu is Mediterranean Cuisine with a Turkish twist. The Cafe serves breakfast specials, large lunch salads and panini style sandwiches, late evening snacks, and of course - Couture Cupcakes!

I gave them a ring to see what the deal is, and found out they have the cupcakes delivered every Tuesday and Thursday. The flavors change every week, so you can probably give them a call at 202.298.7777 to see what the flavors are that week.

Cafe Tu-O-Tu (named after DC's area code) is located at 2816 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20007.

Meetup No. 4 - Hellooooo Cupcake

The DC/Metro Cupcake Meetup Group had it's fourth Meetup this past Saturday at Hello Cupcake in Dupont. Penny Karas, owner of Hello Cupcake, was sweet enough to drop by even though it was her Wedding Anniversary so she could say hi to some of the group members and thank us for coming in!


Half of Hello Cupcake's Saturday Selections


The Other Half!

While she was there, she pointed out Hello Cupcake's latest seasonal flavor: Pumpkin. And let me tell you, it is a MUST try. Seriously, get your behind over to Hello Cupcake and try this cupcake before it disappears. It was moist and crumbly with just the right amount of spice. Those of you who like your frosting minimal and who have expressed dissatisfaction in Hello Cupcake's ample frosting (which, being a frostaholic, I love) will adore this special edition. There is only a small rosette of frosting atop this fabulous fall flavor. Here's a picture:

Everyone had a great time. For some group members it was their first time visiting Hello Cupcake, and I think the overall consensus was that everyone really liked what they tasted! We all got a cupcake (or two) to sit down and enjoy with our coffee, and some of us purchased a box for the road! Check out more pictures from the Meetup below.


Meetup Member Shelley and her friends trying to decide which flavors they want!


Meetup Members Liza & Greg enjoying their cupcakes

Baked & Wired's Carrot Cake Cupcake Recipe!

OMG is this serious?!? Baked & Wired's Carrot Cake Cupcake is the best Carrot Cake I have had in all the DC/Metro Area (Hello Cupcake has the best Gluten-Free Carrot Cake), and it looks like they've posted their recipe on the Taste of Georgetown website! You can see it by clicking here, or check it out below:

Baked and Wired Carrot Cake

Cake:

o 2 ¼ (11.5) oz. all-purpose flour

o 2 cups sugar

o 2 teaspoon baking soda

o 1 teaspoon cinnamon

o ½ teaspoon salt

o 2 cups shredded carrots

o 1 ½ cup canola oil

o 4 eggs

o 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted, and cooled

Pre-set oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9” pans. Whisk together all dry ingredients. Blend all ingredients at low speed, except nuts. Whisk with attachment on mixer for 3 minutes on high. Stir in pecans. Bake for 34 minutes, remove and allow to cool.

Cream Cheese Icing:

o 1 stick butter, softened

o 1 lbs. 8 oz. powdered sugar

o 1 teaspoon vanilla

o 8oz. Cream Cheese

o 1 tablespoon evaporated milk (may not need)

Blend together all the ingredients, and apply to cup cakes. Spread additional ½ cups of chopped and toasted pecans over the icing for decoration. Makes 16 Cup Cakes.

Recipe Provided by: Baked and Wired, Reposted from the Taste of Georgetown Website.

Taste of Georgetown (Cupcakes)!

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.

DC Cupcake Contest Photos

I finally uploaded all of the pictures from the contest to my Photostream on Flickr, so feel free to check them all out by clicking here!