DC Metro Cupcake Group Meetup No. 6 - Red Velvet Cupcakery

Today was the DC Metro Cupcake Group's January Meetup. Everyone braved the cold and headed to the new Red Velvet Cupcakery in Penn Quarter, right by the Verizon Center. The Red Velvet Cupcakery is a cute little shop, with a big cupcake display and a small area for about 4 people to sit down.

Since there was about 20 of us, everyone grabbed their cupcakes and went next door to TangySweet - which is owned by Aaron Gordon, brother of Red Velvet Cupcakery owner Canada Gordon. TangySweet has plenty of space to sit down and encourages RVC go-ers to bring their cupcakes in. We got a chance to talk to Aaron, who manages both Red Velvet and TangySweet, who was really nice and fun to talk to! Aaron was sweet enough to give the group some free cupcakes fresh out of the oven - Vanilla, Peanut Butter, and Devil's Food. And when I say fresh out of the oven, I'm serious - they were still hot!

Since this is Red Velvet Cupcakery, let's first talk about the Red Velvet cupcake. Delicious! A lot of the group members tried this one, and everyone raved about not only the cake portion but the frosting. It was the perfect combition of sweet and cream cheese flavor; very light and fluffy. I would definitely recommend it.

My other favorite? The Vanilla! Finally, someone who does the Vanilla cupcake correctly! A lot of Vanilla cupcakes I've tried in this area are dry with a way too sweet buttercream that literally makes your teeth ache. Not this one. You can see the vanilla beans in the frosting, which is, like the cream cheese frosting, just the right amount of sweet but with a great vanilla flavor. The cake portion is moist, not at all heavy, and has more of the natural vanilla flavor. I loved this one too.

The other one I tried was the Peanut Butter Cup. There was a salted peanut atop a delicious mound of peanut butter frosting, above a warm chocolate cake. So good. Other flavors the group members tried and really enjoyed included Summertime (Lemon Cake w/ Coconut Frosting) , Key West (Key Lime Cake w/ White Chocolate Buttercream), and B-Day (Yellow Cake w/ Milk Chocolate Ganache).

In summary, if you haven't checked out Red Velvet Cupcakery already, get over there and get yourself a cupcake!

Art & Soul Baby Cakes

Have you heard of the relatively new Art & Soul restaurant that opened up shop this past September in DC? Apparently the much publicized new spot serves up “baby cakes” for dessert – how cute are they?

Photograph by Stacy Zarin-Goldberg

You may have heard of the owner – Art Smith – who was once Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef and was even rumored to be considered by fellow Chicagoan Obama to be taking over the head chef position at the White House. From what I understand, the chef that was there during the Bush Administration is there to stay, but pretty cool none-the-less!

Anywho, back to Art’s babycakes, Todd Klimen (writer for the Washingtonian) did a review of the restaurant and says of the desserts:

“Smith’s signature “baby cakes”—including coconut, lemon curd, and Lady Baltimore—hit the spot. Two bites at most, but they conjure an entire culture and tradition.”

Art and Soul
415 New Jersey Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-7777

Bakeshop DC to open in Clarendon

Justin's Chocolate Chip Cupcakes, from Bakeshop DC's site

Looks like Bakeshop DC, the online bakery who has been selling their cupcakes at Murky Coffee for quite some time, has finally found a storefront! Justin, owner of Bakeshop DC, just posted this week that he found the perfect spot in Clarendon and is set to open this spring. He plans to post some pictures soon, so I'll be sure to share!

A Red Velvet Cupcakery Review

Last posting on Red Velvet Cupcakery for the day, I promise! I’m just excited for our upcoming meetup! I took some parts of the ModernDomestic's (Jenna Huntsberger) review of her experience with Red Velvet Cupcakery and posted them below for you guys to see!:

Photo courtesy of the ModernDomestic

"I tried three cupcakes on my visit: the coffee-flavored Morning Call, the Red Velvet, and the Peanut Butter Cup. Each was $3.25/piece or $36 for a dozen.

The cupcakes were well made, with the exception of a small technical difficulty. All the cupcakes I sampled had a hard, slightly bitter, crust on their tops, as if they’d been left in the oven too long. But that problem is easily fixable, and may just have been opening day jitters.

Photo courtesy of the ModernDomestic

My favorite cupcake, by far, was the Peanut Butter Cup - a chocolate cake topped with a slightly salty, rich peanut butter frosting. The cake was tender and had a deep chocolate flavor, but the frosting really stole the show. It had a fluffy texture, with a rich salty-sweet peanut butter flavor. I love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter together, and this cupcake was really to die for.

Photo courtesy of the ModernDomestic

The Red Velvet was also a strong contender - the cake was fluffy and tender, and had that deep red color of a proper red velvet cake. The cream cheese frosting was the right balance of tangy and sweet, with a smooth texture.

Photo courtesy of the ModernDomestic

The Morning Call, an espresso-chocolate cupcake with mocha buttercream, was my least favorite. I didn’t taste the espresso in the espresso-chocolate cake, although it had a rich chocolate flavor and tender crumb. The frosting tasted like a classic buttercream - it tasted strongly of butter, had an oily texture, and was overwhelmingly rich. To be fair, the mocha flavor was well balanced, and the richness and the texture are all things I’ve encountered in buttercreams before. But I’m not a huge fan of classic buttercreams, so my dislike of the Morning Call may be more a matter of personal taste than anything else.

Photo courtesy of the ModernDomestic

I was pretty happy with Red Velvet Cupcakery - just writing this makes me want to make a b-line for the store so I can get that Peanut Butter Cup cupcake again. But I also think that Red Velvet has some room to grow.

Red Velvet’s flavor combinations are classic, but seemed a little boring and expected - as though they took a gourmet dessert menu and adapted it for cupcakes. This isn’t a bad thing, but Red Velvet Cupcakery is competing with stores that are passionate about cupcakes, and which offer daily rotating menus in addition to seasonal offerings. Doing classic flavors well just isn’t enough to compete."

All around, great reviews so far for RVC! Have you meetup members have picked out which flavors you're going to chow down on?! I have!

More on Red Velvet Cupcakery

And here’s Red Velvet Cupcakery’s second mention of the week in the Washington Post Express. The great reviews continue!

Photo from Express Night Out Eating Around Article

The Velveteers

Canada Gordon has always had a crush on cupcakes, and Ceiba's original pastry chef, David Guas, shares a similar affinity for the dainty desserts. They've opened Red Velvet, a lovely little place to spend a date and grab a sugar high.

Try the Morning Call, a chocolate espresso cake with mocha butter cream. Devil's food-chocolate buttermilk cake with bittersweet chocolate ganache is sinfully satisfying; the Peanut Butter Cup, a chocolate chocolate-chip cake dolloped with salted peanut butter frosting is a textural marvel of sweet and salty. And the Southern Belle is the, well, belle of the ball: A red velvet cake with whipped cream cheese frosting; it's simple, elegant and too scrumptious for words.

Red Velvet Cupcakery 675 E St. NW; 202-347-7895.

Red Velvet Red Velvet Red Velvet!

Red Velvet Cupcakery is everywhere! The new cupcakery has had two mentions in the Washington Post Express this week - I’ve attached one below, and I’ll post the second one here in a minute.

Photo by Jonathan Ernst - Washington Post

DINE&DASH
The Trend Is Marching On: Red Velvet
SERIOUSLY, WHEN IS the cupcake trend going to end? Not that cupcakes are objectionable — how can anyone truly oppose tiny islands of delicious? — but there is a recession on, and those tiny islands often cost upwards of $3 each. And yet the cupcake juggernaut does not appear to be slowing, with last month's opening of Red Velvet, a new cupcake-only spot in Penn Quarter.

But don't hold your flagging enthusiasm for cupcakes against Red Velvet. The cake is moist, the frosting is intensely but not off-puttingly flavorful. Think vanilla cupcakes are boring? Try their vanilla bean cupcakes, whose frosting carries just a touch of bourbon. The red velvet flavor — avoiding the characteristically sanguine color in favor of a more appetizing burgundy — is light and tasty, with cream cheese frosting that won't leave you gasping for water, milk, anything to cut the sweetness.

Red Velvet's tiny counter top is only long enough for four or five people to gaze out on 7th St., but it's a lovely place to relax for a glass of milk — and yes, in an incredibly smart move, they do sell milk. Nothing else goes quite so well with cupcakes.

Even if the ubiquity of cupcakes irritates you, you won't be able to hold it against Red Velvet. The food is wonderful, the service is fast and chatty and if you're with a cupcake-hater you can send them to the adjacent TangySweet for their mid-day sugar fix.

Posted By Fiona Zublin at 12:00 AM on January 23, 2009

Although I’m not a fan of the cupcake hating (it’s times like these where people can truly appreciate the little things like a cupcake!), this is a pretty good review!

MallowDrama Valentine's Day Cupcakes

Don't be left out in the cold this Valentine's Day! Check out MallowDrama's special cupcake offerings, available February 8-15, to celebrate with your friends or loved ones.

MallowDrama has created four distinctive designs for Valentine’s Day, available in two delicious flavors: Red Velvet iced with Vanilla Buttercream; and Spicy Chocolate topped with Cinnamon Ganache.

Each collection includes 2 Red Velvet cupcakes and 2 Spicy Chocolate cupcakes and is available for $14. Order a dozen cupcakes for just $33! Vegan or gluten-free cupcakes (Spicy Chocolate only) are available for Valentine's Day by special order. Single cupcakes can be purchased for $3.50 each at Dinner Zen, February 12-14.

Small Talk

Each cupcake in the Small Talk collection is decorated with a conversation heart and made of fondant and hand-lettered by MallowDrama's chefs. They'll get the message with cupcakes that say: HI QT, UR SWEET, CALL ME, BE MINE.

I Love You More

Sentiments included in the I Love Your More collection include: MARRY ME, 4EVER YOURS, SAY YES, I DO.

Not at All in Love

Enjoy these with your friends - you can even share one with your ex if you'd like: I'M OVER U, UR 2 GOOD FOR HIM, U KNOW WHAT U DID, 2 HOT 2 HANDLE.

Sleep Tight

Each cupcake in this collection is topped with white chocolate lingerie that we have hand-piped and hand-painted. Colors and designs vary.

ACKC VA Discontinues Couture Cupcakes

I found out via one of our blog readers that the ACKC in Alexandria no longer carrier Couture Cupcakes. When I called up ACKC to confirm this, the manager said that “people stopped buying them here, so we had to discontinue them." The DC store does still carry them.

Couture Cupcakes, by the way, has changed its name to The Blushing Bakeshop. Their website however, still uses the same internet address. Apparently the name was changed because Couture Cupcakes plans to offer a line of gifts and baking products.

Nostalgia Cupcakes Grand Opening

Nostalgia Cupcakes has finally arrived! Sharon White's delicious and Cupcake Contest winning cupcakes will be available from her storefront beginning this Saturday, January 24th at 10am.

Sharon has lots of tasty options on her menu - over 20 selections of standard flavors and 8 premium flavors. Standard flavors are $3.50/each, and I believe premium flavors are only made to order, but I couldn't find this out for sure. Aside from cupcakes, Nostalgia Cupcakes also sells a variety of cookies, brownies, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate with their own homemade marshmallows.

You can check out which flavors and available on which days by checking out the Nostalgia Cupcakes website. Looks like the flavors available this Saturday will be Southern Red Velvetcake, Old Fashioned Spicecake, Pink Lady, Peanut Butter Cupcake, Lemoncello, Coconutcake, Gold Rush Carrotcake, Little Boy Blue, MM Mmochacake, Chocolate City Cake, Grandma's Best Yellow Cake, and Grandma's Best Chocolate Cake. Whew! Lots of choices!

See you at the Grand Opening! 188 Main Street, Suite 102, Annapolis, MD 21401

Capital Cooking Crazy For Cupcakes Episode

Attention Cupcake Lovers! DC's very own Lauren DeSantis of the Capital Cooking show is prepping for her Crazy For Cupcakes episode set to air on February 7, 2009. Lauren thought it would be a great idea to see what you, the DC area cupcake lovers, would like to see on the show in terms of flavors. What are your top 5? Are you a chocolate fiend? A Red Velvet lover? Or maybe you like something a little more exotic? Tell us! Either leave a comment on this posting sharing your top 5 favorite cupcake flavors, write to me at Danielle@delleicious.com, or write to Lauren at capitalcooking@gmail.com.

Also, do you have a favorite cupcake recipe you'd like to demonstrate for your fellow Washingtonians?? Capital Cooking is asking for recipe submissions, and the person who submits the tastiest cupcake recipe will have the opportunity to step into the kitchen with Lauren and demonstrate the recipe for the episode! To submit a recipe for an opportunity to appear on Capital Cooking's Crazy For Cupcakes episode, write to capitalcooking@gmail.com

Sugar & Champagne Affair - Washington Humane Society

Looking for a fun social event, and a great cause to get behind? Check out the 7^th Annual Sugar & Champagne Affair being held at the Ritz Carlton on January 28^th, 2009 from 7:00 – 9:00pm. The event is being hosted by Todd and Ellen Gray of Equinox Restaurant and Salamander Resort: Spa.

Guests and their dogs will be greeted by the world’s finest sparkling wines, champagne and delicious desserts from the area’s top Pastry Chefs. And I’m pleasantly surprised to see a number of local cupcake bakeries on the list of participating restaurants! Included on the list are Hello Cupcake, Buzz Bakery, Locolat, and Suga Chef Desserts. Lebanese Taverna, Brasserie Beck, Art & Soul, and 2941 are also on the list, along with beverages being provided by Moet Hennessey, Fabbioli Cellars, Country Vintner, Williams Harris Imports, and Mt. Gay Rum, to name a few. Check out the whole list of Participating Restaurants and Beverage Companies by clicking here.

Tickets are $85 per person, with a special VIP ticket for $125. The VIP reception will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. and feature three 30 minute chef demonstrations. This annual event is in honor of the Washington Humane Society Officers who work 24-hours a day, saving the homeless, lost, neglected and abused animals and our Humane Education program that teaches elementary school children compassion and respect for animals.

There will also be a Book Signing by Harold J. Creel Jr., Author of Do Old Dogs Dream?

For more information about the event, including chefs, sponsors, tickets, or info on how to donate, check out the event homepage by clicking here.

The Ritz-Carlton
1150 22nd Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037

Wednesday, January 28
6:30pm – VIP Reception
7:00-9:00pm – General Reception

Cupcake Trinket Boxes

I found out about these cute cupcake trinket boxes through one of the blog readers, Linda L. Linda recently picked one up at a local Hallmark store and wanted to share them with the rest of us.

Here's a description of the colorful little boxes:

Crafted of ceramic with bread dough trim, our cupcake trinket boxes come packed in a gift box - ready to give. Loaded with colorful sprinkles, jelly beans or frosting, each cupcake boxes by Ganz bursts with different personality, color and fun.

Wrap up tiny jewelry, special notes or small gifts with style. Any small gift gets noticed packed inside our cupcake trinket boxes.

Cupcake trinket boxes include: Happy Birthday, It's a Boy, It's a Girl, Congratulations, and Get Well. We can also special order the following: Thinking of you, You're Special, Thank you, I Love you, Good Luck, Happy Anniversary, and Celebrate.

Frosted Cupcake Jewelry Trinket Boxes (3-1/2D x 4-1/2H)

You can find these little treasures online at the Bay Village Store.

Update #2: DC Area Obama Cupcake Roundup

UPDATE: I've updated the DC Area Obama Cupcake Roundup posting from this past Monday to include the goodies from another cupcakery: Red Velvet Cupcakery in DC's Penn Quarter! I'll add the information to the original DC Area Obama Cupcake Roundup posting I did a couple days ago. Click here to read.

Make Your Own Obama Cupcake Toppers

Favorite cupcakery not baking Inauguration cupcakes? No worries! One of the blog readers, Cindy Hopper, who is a Craft Contributor over at the Alpha+Mom, showed me this really cool method for making your own Obama Cupcake Toppers! All you need are some toothpicks, a large circle punch (1 3/4 " to 2"), scissors and a glue-stick.

Here are the templates Cindy provides:

Printable Obama Cupcake Toppers and Stickers
Printable Inaugural Circle Cupcake Toppers
Printable Inaugural Flag Cupcake Toppers
Printable Flag Cupcake Toppers

Cindy says to “Download a cupcake topper PDF and print on card-stock. Center the image in the punch and cut. The large open bottom of this circle punch makes it really easy!”

“Place glue on the backs of the circles and sandwich a wooden pick in between two circles.”

“For the triangle flags fold in half, cover inside with glue and place a wooden pick in the fold.

To check out the process on the Alpha+Mom, click here. All photographs are from Cindy's original posting!

Update: DC Area Obama Cupcake Roundup

UPDATE: Charm City Cupcakes of Baltimore along with Baked & Wired in Georgetown will both be selling Inauguration Cupcakes...stay tuned for more info! Keep checking the original post below (DC Area Obama Cupcake Roundup) as I will edit that with the new info.

DC Area Obama Cupcake Round Up

For all you who will be in town for the Inauguration, I've rounded up where you can get your Obama Cupcakes! Check out the list below to see if your favorite bakery is making Obama Cupcakes. I myself will be escaping all the madness and heading to Indiana!

Baked & Wired
1052 Thomas Jefferson St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20007
B&W will be serving up some really cool treats for Inauguration Day. The flavors that will be decorated are Red Velvet, Karen's Birthday, Vanilla/Vanilla, and Chocolate Doom! The prices will stay at $3.50/each. Aside from cupcakes, B&W will be making their “Big Ass Cookie,” which is an iced sugar cookie that will have fun sayings on them like, "Obama for your Mama, Barack and Roll, Change, Yes We Did, Sir Obamalot,” and well, you get the jist!

They’ll be open from 7am to 8pm next Tuesday, and will also have a TV set up so customers can watch the swearing in and any festivities!

Charm City Cupcakes
326 N Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
CCC will be selling the Obama Cupcakes you see below, along with a really cute limited edition cupcake/Inauguration T-shirt! 100% Cotton and in White, they come in both long-sleeve ($21.95) and short-sleeve ($17.95). Printed on the front: “The 2 Hottest Things in America” and on the back: A cupcake with an Obama-like campaign symbol. You can also purchase one online by clicking here!

Furin's of Georgetown

2805 M Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20007

Just voted DC'S Best Bakery by MSN Network 2008

Box of 6 Custom Obama Cupcakes $25

Georgetown Cupcake

1209 Potomac Street NW, Washington, DC

Available every day during Inauguration Week & by Special Order all month

Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe

2150 N. Culpeper Street Arlington, VA 22207

Heidelberg will have Red-White-Blue Patriotic Themed cupcakes available for purchase in honor of Obama's Inauguration. Call ahead for availability!

Hello Cupcake

1351 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036

Very Berry Obama: An explosion of red and blue berries in our moist vanilla cake, topped with tangy/sweet vanilla cream cheese frosting, “stars and bars” sprinkles, and an American flag.

Red Velvet Cupcakery
675 E. Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004
Red Velvet Cupcakery is mixing up the most original Inauguration-themed cupcake in DC: The Big Kahuna. This will be a Hawaiian (Obama’s place of birth) inspired pineapple cake with coconut frosting and a Hawaiian sea-salt topping. No photos available yet as the cupcake is still in production! Since I will be out of town for Inauguration, if anyone snags one of these guys, be sure to take a picture and send it my way!

If you know of any who are not on this list, please share and I'll be happy to add them!

Lola's Cookies & Treats in NOVA Magazine

Back in December, NOVA Magazine did a little piece on Lola's Cookies & Treats based in Leesburg, VA. I was introduced to these lovely cupcakes by one of my meetup group members, Tony. Here's what NOVA Mag had to say about Lola's:

"Leesburg’s Lorraine “Lola” Hooper has won the hearts (and bellies) of neighbors with her award-winning baked goods.

And while her signature ginger-chocolate cookies certainly turn heads (piquant dough, gooey center), we dig the rotating cupcake selection.

One zest-filled number is slathered in lemony-sweet frosting (tartacular). Milk chocolate serves as base (crumbly, mocha-like bedding), middle (ravishing ganache adorns multiple creations) and accent (white-chocolate shavings imbue creaminess) extraordinaire. Meanwhile, seasonal gems (carrot cake, almond joy) split time with evergreen favorites (coconut)."

Though not cupcakes, Lola's Congo Bars were recently featured on Rachel Ray's show as the "Snack of the Day." I've been wanting to get the DC/Metro Cupcake Group out here, but since the bakery is small we're going to wait until spring so we can utilize her outdoor seating.

Lola Cookies & Treats: 109 S. King St., Leesburg; 703-669-6970; http://www.lolacookies.com/

Another Cupcake Holder

While at Bed, Bath & Beyond today I saw these cupcake holders for sale. Of course I forgot to write down the price but I think they were $3something a-piece. What do you think? I think I like the cup-a-cake holders better...

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!

Betsey Johnson Cupcake Ring

Check out this cute ring by Betsey Johnson!

The "Cupcake Mouse" ring features a turquoise cupcake atop a goldtone ring. The cupcake actually opens to reveal a tiny mouse charm on a delicate little chain! The ring only comes in one size, a size 7, and sells for $50. Click here to check it out!!

Coconut Cupcakes Recipe

Looking for a good Snowball (Coconut) Cupcake this winter?? Try this recipe adapted from "Baking By Flavor," by Lisa Yockelson and tested by Joe Yonan, Food Editor for the Washington Post. Yonan raved that in all the coconut cupcakes he tried during his judging of the 8-week cupcake war series, not a single one came close to these!

(Joe Yonan - The Washington Post)

Coconut Cupcakes

Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients: For the cupcakes

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unsifted flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream (do not use low-fat or nonfat)
1 cup lightly packed sweetened flaked coconut

Ingredients: For the frosting
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
5 tablespoons (1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons heavy cream (may substitute coconut milk)
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
5 1/2 cups unsifted confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups lightly packed sweetened flaked coconut

Photograph from Fresh From The Oven Blog

Directions: For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg on a sheet of wax or parchment paper.

3. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or a hand-held electric mixer; beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add half of the sugar and beat for 1 minute; add the remaining sugar and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed for 45 seconds each time, then add the vanilla extract. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

5. Reduce the speed to low. Alternately add the sifted mixture in 3 additions and the sour cream in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the sifted mixture. The batter will be smooth and moderately thick. Add the coconut, beating on low until incorporated.

6. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners, filling them slightly more than half-full. Bake for 18 minutes (start checking at 15 minutes) or until the cupcakes have risen and completely set. A wooden toothpick inserted in the center of a baked cupcake will withdraw with a few moist crumbs attached.

7. Cool the cupcakes in the pans on wire cooling racks for 15 minutes, then transfer the cupcakes to the wire racks to cool completely.

Directions: For the frosting

1. Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or a hand-held electric mixer; beat on medium speed for 1 minute, until creamy and well incorporated.

2. Add the vanilla extract, heavy cream and nutmeg; beat to combine, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed. Reduce the speed to low; add the confectioners' sugar in 3 additions, beating between additions until thoroughly combined.

3. Use a flexible palette knife to spread the frosting as thickly as possible on top of the cooled cupcakes, creating a generous 1- to 2-inch cap on top. Sprinkle the frosted surfaces of the cupcakes with the coconut.

Free Cupcakes at Red Velvet Cupcakery

When I was searching for some cupcake dirt yesterday, I came across a tidbit saying that Red Velvet Cupcakery would be giving away 500 cupcakes on Thursday. Only problem - yesterday was Thursday! How could I not have known about this!? Sad sad sad.

Red Velvet Cupcakery. Photograph from User Alicia G.'s Yelp Photo's

So today when I was looking on CTTC and saw they did a posting on the giveaway, but saying the free cupcakes are being handed out NEXT Thursday the 15th, I double checked the Washington Post source and sure enough, IT IS NEXT THURSDAY! Woohoo!

Red Velvet Cupcakery. Photograph from User Alicia G.'s Yelp Photo's

So here you go folks: Red Velvet Cupcakery will offer free cupcakes to the first 500 customers, starting at 11 a.m. There will probably be a line, so make sure you get there before 11 if you want a free cupcake!

Happy Birthday Elvis (Cupcakes)!

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

Yes this picture is quite the throwback, but I like to remember him in his more attractive days! In honor of The King’s would-be 74th Birthday, I thought you should know of the two places you can pick up an Elvis cupcake in the DC/Metro area!

Hello Cupcake
Velvet Elvis – Banana Cake topped with Peanut Butter Frosting

(This flavor is on Thursday’s menu, so go pick one up!) $3.00

Hello Cupcake Velvet Elvis Cupcakes, photograph from PanacheNosh.com

Edibles Incredible
Elvis – Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Filling, Peanut Butter Frosting, and Peanuts on top! $3.95

Edibles Incredible Elvis Cupcakes, Photograph from their website.

And I wanted to give a shout out to one of my favorite out-of-towner cupcakes (Indianapolis):

The Flying Cupcake

Red Velvet Elvis - Red velvet cupcake loaded with chocolate chunks and topped with cream cheese icing.

Flying Cupcake(s)! Red Velvet Elvis is on the left

If you plan on picking up an Elvis cupcake from Hello or Edibles, remember, always call ahead to make sure they haven’t sold out!