Lavender Moon Cupcake Meetup

Not deterred by the weather, the DC/Metro Cupcake Group had their monthly cupcake meetup at Lavender Moon Cupcakery yesterday afternoon. Since the ground was wet from all the recent rain, we weren't able to go to the park with our cupcakes as planned. However LMC has recently set up some tables inside, so we just took them all over!

The menu looked very enticing - Flourless Dark Chocolate, Almonds & Sea Salt; Vanilla Bean Lemon Curd; Buttermilk Cupcake with Mexican Chocolate Pudding; Devil's Food Peanut Butter; Vanilla Vanilla; Triple Belgian Chocolate; Blood Orange Dreamsicle; Coconut; Coconut Macaroon; Lemon Thyme & Blackberry; and Mocha! All cupcakes are $3 or $30 for a dozen, and they only accept cash or checks (no credit cards yet folks - bring cash!!)

Some of the group members thought the Vanilla Vanilla and Flourless Dark Chocolate Almonds flavors were dry, but two flavors that really stood out were the Blood Orange Dreamsicle and Lemon Thyme & Blackberry - SO good. If you happen to swing by LMC and see them on the menu, we highly recommend them! Other flavors the group members enjoyed were Devil's Food Peanut Butter and Triple Belgian Chocolate.

We're not sure where the next meetup will be, but we're thinking about trying out Cupcakes Actually in Fairfax since it's the new spot around town. Stay tuned to the blog and to the group page on Facebook, as I'll be updating both with new meetup plans!

Lavender Moon Cupcakery

116 S. Royal Street

Alexandria, Virginia

703.683.0588

Lavender Moon Cupcakery Meetup

If you’re looking for something to do this Sunday, head on over to Reston for the DC/Metro Cupcake Group’s monthly cupcake meetup!

The group members have been dying to hit up Lavender Moon Cupcakery, so I thought we could make another outdoor meetup out of it! I’ve posted about LMC many times in the past, but for those of you a little less familiar, Lavender Moon Cupcakery is located in Alexandria, Virginia, right in the heart of Old Town on S Royal Street. They made a name for themselves with exotic flavors like Passion Fruit Mousse Pistachio, Carrot Cashew & Cardoman, Peach Meringue Pie, and Pumpkin & Fennel, to name a few.

We will be taking our cupcakes and sitting in Founders Park overlooking the Potomac a few streets up from the Cupcakery. Founders Park is located on the water, between Queen and Oronoco Streets. If you go to Google Maps and type in “Founders Park, Alexandria, VA” it will show you exactly where it is.

We will be sitting somewhere on the side of Founders Park closest to Queen Street. I figure we’ll meet at 1pm at Lavender Moon, buy our cupcakes and walk over to Founders Park at 1:15. If you think you’re going to be later than 1:15, just grab your cupcakes and come meet us at Founders Park!

On another note – the DC/Metro Cupcake Group has migrated from Meetup.com to Facebook. Why you ask? Well, Meetup.com charges a $19 monthly fee to have a group, whereas Facebook is free. After shelling out $19 a month for the last year I decided to make the move! I know this is a pain for some and I do apologize for the inconvenience, but I hope you jump on over to Facebook and join us!

Cherry Blossom Festival Cupcake Meetup

On April 5th we held another fun cupcake meetup on the Tidal Basin in DC for the Cherry Blossom Festival! While it turned out to be pretty crowded and crazy, and we probably wouldn't do it during the festival EVER again, it was a good time once we got settled! Check out some pictures from the event below. Try to come out to our next meetup in May at Lavender Moon Cupcakery!

The Group at our Cherry Blossom Meetup!

Cupcakes baked by one of the group members!

Adorable Cookie Monster cupcakes made by one of the members!

The beautiful Cherry Blossoms as seen from our meetup spot!

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!

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/

DC/Metro Cupcake Meetup No. 5

The DC/Metro Cupcake Meetup Group had it's 5th Meetup this past Saturday at Buzz Bakery in Alexandria, Virginia. There were 10 of us chowing down on cupcakes and chatting up a storm for about 1 1/2 hours. It was a good time, with good cupcakes!!

There were a lot of cupcakes to choose from. We had our choice of flavors like Chocolate Chocolate, Peppermint, Gingerbread, Red Velvet, Carrot Cake, Bumble Bee, Chocolate-Vanilla, Vanilla Vanilla, and the Buzz Cupcake (an espresso-flavored cupcake)...and I'm sure there's a couple more I'm missing!

Part of the Buzz Bakery display case.

Some of the DC/Metro Cupcake Meetup Group ladies!

My cupcakes...Red Velvet and Gingerbread. The Red Velvet cake I thought was good, but I wasn't crazy about the cream cheese frosting. It was whipped and a little too sweet. The Gingerbread cupcake was really good though. The great blend of spices and gingerbread flavor really hit the spot!

Aggie, her husband who's name I can't remember (sorry!) and Jennifer having a good time.

Meetup members Louise and Kathleen eating some cupcakes!

We were talking about how we'd love to have a meetup at Lavender Moon as soon as they get some seating!!! Either way, keep your eyes and ears peeled for next month's meetup!

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

Meetup No. 4 - Hello Cupcake

Our DC/Metro Cupcake Group is having another meetup! This one will be held at Hello Cupcake in early October. If you've been thinking about joining the group and coming out to a meetup, here's your chance!

Click here to check out the Meetup page and to join the group; while you're there, take a look at the Hello Cupcake Meetup details and see if you can make it!

Wasington Post Cupcake Taste Test

It looks like Joe Yonan, the Food Editor of the Washington Post, has taken it upon himself to conduct a six-week cupcake taste test in and around the nation's capital in order to find the best cupcake in town. Sounds like a good idea to me!


Sticky Fingers Cupcakes, Photo Credit - The Washington Post (James Thresher)

One of the bakeries Yonan has tried so far is Sticky Finger's Bakery in Columbia Heights (where our DC/Metro Cupcake Group had our second meetup). He says that "Sticky Fingers's cookie cupcake earned high marks for presentation, but the taste just didn't win us over." I would have to agree. When I tried a couple different flavors back in July for our meetup, the cake and the frosting had a very flour-like taste to them and weren't something I would eat again.


Cakelove Cupcakes, Photo Credit - The Washington Post (James Thresher)

The other bakery Yonan has sampled is (gag) Cakelove/Love Cafe (same thing). Yonan tried a couple different flavors, one of which he writes "The thin layer of ganache-like frosting gave this CakeLove cupcake a Boston Creme Pie look, but the dry dessert had nothing else in common with its creamy counterpart." Of the second cupcake he tried, Yonan says "a tart cream-cheese frosting kicked this CakeLove cupcake up a notch. It scored a 4.5 on our 10-point scale." Kicked it up a notch to still score less than 5 out of 10 points? Hahahahaha. That pretty much sums up what everyone has said all along about Cakelove - gross, dry and a waste of money. Yonan also adds that "LoveCafe is hardly generous with its frosting. A thin shmear can hardly quench a dry cupcake."

I like this guy! Stay tuned for more of his cupcake adventures in days to come.

Cupcakes in Georgetown Voice

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!

Lola Cupcakes

When I posted a week ago about our DC/Metro Cupcake Meetup at the Reflecting Pool in DC, I mentioned one of our members brought cupcakes from Lola's Cookies & Treats in Leesburg. Well here are some pictures of those cupcakes from another group member!


Smores


Chocolate


Ginger

As I mentioned before, Lola Cookies is a gourmet cookie bakery located in Leesburg, Virginia, in the historic seat of Loudoun County. They ship nationwide and accept catering orders locally, and you can even find their treats at stands at farmers' markets in Northern Virginia (not sure if that includes the cupcakes). However, coconut cupcakes are available every day at the bakery until they sell out. Whereas Chocolate, Ginger, Carrot Cake, and Smores cupcakes are occasional specials which can be pre-ordered by calling the store.

I thought the Smores cupcake was divine, and the chocolate was really good as well. I didn't try the Ginger, but based on the other two, I'd imagine it's probably pretty tasty! I would love to try their carrot cake.

Lola Cookies & Treats is located at 109 South King Street in downtown Leesburg, Virginia.

Meetup No. 3 - Reflecting Pool

Yesterday afternoon the DC/Metro Cupcake Group had our 3rd meetup, and it was a really good time! We had great weather and a great spot in the shade by the Reflecting Pool. Minus a couple of us sitting in Goose poop, everything went smoothly!

There were about 15 of us, and we had wayyyy too many cupcakes (if there is such a thing!). There were so many delicious flavors - two different types of Vanilla, Chocolate with Orange Frosting, German Chocolate, Red Velvet, Lemon with Raspberry Frosting, Golden cake with Chocolate frosting, two different types of Carrot Cake, Strawberry, Smores, Ginger, Double Chocolate, it was fantastic! The Smores, Ginger, and Double Chocolate were all brought by one of our group members, Sam, and his wife who picked them up from Lola Cookies & Treats in Leesburg, Virginia. I didn't try the Ginger, but the Smores was amazing and the Double Chocolate was really really good too. I'll have to check this Lola place out.


Some of our cupcake spread!


Group Members Dana and Sam, with the WWII Memorial & Monument behind them


Group Member Shelley and her husband in front of the Reflecting Pool


The DC/Metro Cupcake Group enjoying some cupcakes!

DC/Metro Cupcake Group Meetup - Cupcake Picnic at the Reflecting Pool

I've posted a new meetup for the DC/Metro Cupcake Group! We'll be having a Cupcake Picnic on Sunday, August 24th at 1:00pm at the Reflecting Pool in DC. Visit the meetup page to join the group and get more details!

Meetup 2 - Sticky Fingers Bakery

This past Saturday we had our second DC/Metro Cupcake Group Meetup! (By the way, the group is now 103 members strong!) It was held at Sticky Fingers Bakery in DC. Sticky Fingers is a vegan bakery that was voted Best Bakery by the readers of Washington City Paper for their 2008 Best of DC Contest, so we thought it would be a fun and different place to try out.

Despite delays on the metro lines all day, there were about 14 or 15 of us that came out. We staked out our little corner of the shop and sat down with some iced coffee and cupcakes. (You'll have to forgive me...I don't have a lot of pretty cupcake pictures this time as a lot of them came out pretty blurry.)

The first cupcake we tried was the Cookies n Cream. It was a chocolate cake cupcake with a white frosting. The chocolate cake was decent. It was thick and moist, which was good, but the frosting had this flour-like after taste that a lot of the group members didn't like. I mean a frosting that tastes like flour? Blah.

Next up was the Vanilla Cupcake with Vanilla Frosting. The frosting here was much better, definitely on the sweeter side compared to the Cookies n Cream frosting, but still with that floury after taste. The vanilla cake, on the other hand, was no good. Very bland and a little on the dry side.

The last one I tried was the Peanut Butter Fudge. The chocolate cake in this cupcake tasted better than the Cookies n Cream version. It was very dark, practically black, and very moist. The frosting on top was good, not sweet but definitely not bland, and had a nice dollop of peanut butter in the center. This one, along with the Almond Creme, were the group favorites. I didn't try the Almond Creme because I was too stuffed from everything else, but if you're ever around Sticky Fingers I would keep these as your go-to flavors.

Other members tried the Raspberry Chocolate, but weren't too crazy about that one either. I wish we had a vegan join us so they could tell us how these cupcakes rank of the list of other Vegan desserts they've tried!

My overall review is that considering Sticky Fingers cupcakes are dairy/lactose-free, egg-free, cholesterol-free, low in saturated fat, and made with soy and non-hydrogenated oils, they didn't turn out too bad. However with all the other fine and delleicious cupcakes in the area, I don't think I'll be returning to Sticky Fingers any time soon. Yes, other bakeries may be higher in fat, but at least I'm getting what I paid for (about $2.75 each).

One more thing before I leave this post, I thought I would see if anyone out there has ever made cupcakes, or any dessert for that matter, that are free of allergin's such as wheat and dairy, etc? One of our group members bakes for children who have severe allergies. She is looking for ideas and as you can imagine it's pretty hard to come up with a dessert recipe that doesn't contain these kind of products. If you know of or have ever used any recipe that's free of these ingredients, please share! Thanks!

DC/Metro Cupcake Group Meetup

I've posted a new meetup for the DC/Metro Cupcake Group! This month we'll be going to Sticky Fingers Bakery in DC. Click here to join the group and come out to the meetup!

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!