Cupcake Eating Contest

Attention Cupcake Monsters! As part of the event lineup for the 3rd Annual Columbia Heights Day, there will be a cupcake eating contest! The contest is being hosted by Sticky Fingers Bakery (the vegan bakery in DC) and I believe to register you must contact Kenny Dubin by emailing him kennydubin@gmail.com.

There will be plenty of other restaurants, artisans, contests and events that day. Columbia Heights Day is being held this Saturday beginning at 10am at Harriet Tubman Elementary School, 3101 13th St. NW, at Irving St. The cupcake eating contest is from 3:30 to 4:15!

The Bacon Cupcake Buzz

I have been waiting and waiting to see who would be the first to bake the Bacon Cupcake in our area - it's been at bakeries in NYC and Chicago for months now - and it looks like we have a winner! Buzz Bakery is whipping up...er, frying up...well, both...the savory treats at their Alexandria shop. Julia Beizer of the Washington Post recently went to have a taste herself, and here is what she had to say:

(This bacon cupcake photo by Zandy Mangold is NOT from Buzz Bakery and was NOT used in the Post Article; it's via NYC's Kumquat Bakery's Blog!)

"You Have to Try This Bacon Cupcakes at Buzz. Open a box of these Buzz Bakery treats and you're greeted with the overwhelming aroma of crispy-fried bacon. The experience is as discordant as it sounds -- until you try one.

The cupcakes themselves, as it turns out, are actually quite tasty. Peanut butter frosting flecked with itty bits of bacon tops a simple moist chocolate cake. It's a marriage of salty and sweet that had all four of our testers wishing only for more bacon in the icing. Seriously.

Buzz pastry chef Josh Short is the mad scientist behind the dessert, which is offered at the Alexandria bakery through at least the end of August. For him, the earthy flavors in the dark chocolate, peanut butter and applewood-smoked bacon tie the cupcake together. For us, the peanut butter played a crucial role, bridging the chasm between breakfast meat and chocolate cake. The cupcake is a food dare -- an I-bet-you-won't-eat-this challenge. If you're a bacon fan, you should."

The cupcakes are $2.75 each, and Buzz Bakery is located at 901 Slaters Lane in Alexandria, Virginia. So if you want to try one, you better hurry! Only 13 days left!!

Celebrate Hello Cupcake's 1st Anniversary!

Next week, Tuesday, August 25th, is Hello Cupcake’s 1st birthday! To celebrate, Hello Cupcake will be hosting a “Free Cupcake Day." Could this mean what you think it means??! Yes! Free cupcakes!

Hello Cupcake will be making many of their best sellers that day. They're offering one free cupcake per person - no special orders, deliveries or multiple cupcake boxes that day, just one cupcake for anyone who wants one, to help them celebrate!

Remember, this is only while supplies last, so get yourself over to Hello Cupcake next Tuesday and say Happy Anniversary!!

Occasionally Cake Opens in Alexandria!

Occasionally Cake has had customers hooked on their cupcakes, cookies, and amazing cakes for quite some time now, but the moment they’ve all been waiting for is finally here! OC opened the doors to their bakery late last month and has been luring in customers with the sweet smell of their cupcakes ever since!

OC has cupcakes every day; usually 6 different flavors from a rotating menu of over 50 flavor combinations!

The shop’s Grand Opening will be held on September 9th – so stay tuned to their website that month to watch out for the many specials they will be having. Speaking of specials, OC will be introducing a Cupcake Happy Hour after their Grand Opening which will feature half price cupcakes from 3pm to 4pm on Tuesdays and Wednesday. In addition, they will also have cake truffles for sale every day starting in September.

Aside from their website, you can check out Occasionally Cake on Facebook! Become a fan of their page and check back each day to see which flavors they have.

Speaking of their flavors, I’ve been really excited to check out the shop since they opened last month, so this past weekend I headed down to Alexandria and picked up some cupcakes! I snagged 4 – Peanut Butter Cup, Raspberry Lemonade, Carrot Cake, and Neapolitan.

I dug into the Raspberry Lemonade first. The Lemon Cake had a very light flavor which paired really well with the sweet Raspberry Buttercream. Usually my teeth are very sensitive to sweet buttercream, but this didn’t hurt them one bit! I really liked this one.

Next up was the Peanut Butter Cup (one of my favorite flavors to get anywhere I go). I love how the Chocolate Cake was dipped in Chocolate Ganache, it gave the cupcake a little something extra. The chocolate flavor was right on point – not too rich, which is good when you have such a strong frosting like Peanut Butter atop the cupcake. The cake was light and moist and the frosting was just the right texture – not too thick, and it didn’t taste like someone just gobbed peanut butter on top (I have come across that before!) This one was definitely my favorite of the bunch.

Next I tried the Carrot Cake Cupcake. I think the cake had too much going on for my taste buds – lots of carrots, raisins, and coconut mixed in – and it doesn’t help that I’m not a big coconut fan in general. I am a really big fan of spices – nutmeg, cinnamon, etc., and I definitely could have used a little more of that!

The last flavor which I was really excited to try was the Neopolitan. OC does their Neapolitan different than how you normally see it (with the split cake). This cake was a light, sweet Vanilla Truffle Cake, dipped in Ganache (again, good touch!) and a strong (but in a good way) Strawberry Buttercream on top. This is definitely one I would have again.

One thing I didn’t get to try that I’ll have to in the future (as if I needed any more calories after consuming 4 cupcakes!) was their sugar cookies. I’m a sucker for a good frosted sugar cookie, and I hear OC’s are very good.

Occasionally Cake is located at 8859 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA. Their phone number is 703-780-CAKE (2253). Store hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 AM until 7 PM; they’re closed Sunday and Monday. Now go check them out!!

Going Out Guru's Party, with Cupcakes!

Looking for something to do this Thursday?? Four of the Washington Post's Going Out Guru's are throwing themselves birthday celebration at Clarendon Ballroom!

Since David, Jen, Stephanie and Rhome all have August birthdays, they're turning their monthly happy hour into a joint birthday party. Georgetown Cupcake is providing 400 of their delicious treats (so come early to make sure you get one). You can also to enter a raffle to win their end-of-summer prize: a two-night stay at the Bellmoor Inn in Rehoboth Beach, Del.

On the main floor inside, there'll be free food from the Ballroom (while it lasts): look for veggie nachos, hummus and veggies, soft pretzel bites, grilled chicken quesadillas and lemongrass beef skewers. Sounds like a good time to me! 6:00 - 8:00pm Thursday, August 13th.

Almond Joy Cupcakes at Lola's

Check out this flavor currently at Lola's in Leesburg - Almond Joy: Coconut cake iced with chocolate ganache and covered with moist coconut and toasted almonds. Looks VERY good!

Most days there are six flavors of cupcakes at Lola's - 3 regulars which include Coconut, Chocolate with Chocolate Ganache & Vanilla, and then 3 special flavors which can include any of the following: Ginger, Lemon, Carrot Cake, Red Velvet, Chocolate with Vanilla Buttercream, S'Mores, Chocolate Mint, and Almond Joy.

Correction to Obama Mystery Birthday Cupcakes

Hey everyone - just needed to make a quick adjustment to my last posting on the cupcakes Obama gave Helen Thomas earlier this week. While Baked & Wired DID send cupcakes to the staff and aides along with the Pecan Pie for Obama's Birthday, the cupcakes that Obama gave to Helen Thomas were NOT from Baked & Wired.

Thanks Baked & Wired for clarifying! One more thing we learned - Press Secretary Gibbs is a fan of B&W's Berry Cherry Berry Pie!

Obama's Mystery Birthday Cupcakes

aaHA! Looks like the cupcakes that Obama gave to long-time White House Journalist Helen Thomas yesterday came from none other than Georgetown's Baked & Wired!

Photograph by Carrie Devorah, Washington Examiner.

To celebrate their mutual birthday, Obama surprised Thomas with a plate of cupcakes from Baked & Wired while leading the press in singing “Happy Birthday." Obama also reportedly ordered one of B&W's famous pies (Pecan Pie) for himself to enjoy later on. I haven't tried the Pecan Pie, but I was able to sample some of the other pie flavors at the Washingtonian Magazine Best of Party last month and they were great!

Photograph by Amie Parnes, Washington Examiner

And in completely random DC Cupcake news, the Washington Examiner reports that Madam Tussauds' threw the wax Obama, his wife Michelle, Bill and Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush an over-the-top birthday party in a balloon decorated “Oval Office.” An Obama-theme cupcake tower from Georgetown Cupcake — complete with presidential seals and birthday candles — was served to the party-hat wearing wax figures amid a sea of balloons and a nine-foot tall balloon column.

Cupcakes, Denim & Daily Candy at Tysons TODAY!

Just saw this posting on the Daily Candy and thought I should share! "

Calling all jeaniacs. This Thursday, 7-9 p.m., join DailyCandy and Madewell Tysons Corner for music, cupcakes, tips on distressing your denim, and 20 percent off all jeans."

What better way to get girls to buy high end denim than seducing them with cupcakes and discounts?! The cupcakes will be from Fairfax's Cupcakes Actually, one of the latest additions to the Metro area cupcake scene. Enjoy!

Cupcakes Actually cupcakes from their website

Obama Birthday Cupcakes

I just got an email from TMZ (the LA celeb gossip/news co.) asking if I made cupcakes for Obama for his birthday. I wish!

I found a picture posted by the AP/Chicago Sun Times of the cupcakes TMZ must be talking about though - anyone recognize these? Obama gave them to veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas, who shares the same birthday and turns 89 today. Anyway, they look homemade to me! Maybe Michelle made them!

The Obama's sure are cupcake lovers. The Prez gave cupcakes to Biden for his bday this past November:

And Michelle Obama made these berry-topped cupcakes with the kids of Bancroft Elementary when they stopped by the White House this past June for a little garden education and vegetable planting with the First Lady!