Cupcake Travels - the Windy Cindy!

Happy Belated National Cupcake Day Everyone!!! I’ve been traveling the last few days and have been neglecting the blog. Where was I, you ask? The windy city! Yup, my first visit to Chicago and it was a really great time. And of course, you know I can’t go anywhere and not look for cupcakes!

As you might know, there is certainly no shortage of cupcakes in Chicago. The two bakeries Mike & I were able to navigate our way to were the charming Molly’s Cupcakes, and of course, Swirlz!

Molly’s Cupcakes, who’s logo I love by the way (it reminds me of The Very Hungry Caterpillar book everyone reads when they’re a kid), uses a recipe the founder inherited from his third grade teacher. As a way to give back, a portion of their profits are donated to local schools. The bakery does make other treats, including ice cream, but they had a great selection of cupcakes…their center-filled flavors included the likes of Chocolate Mousse, Tiramisu, Chocolate Strawberry, Key Lime, and my personal favorite, Dirt & Worms (Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Ice Cream, Oreo Cookie Dirt, and Gummy Worms served in a flower pot!) to name a few. Chocolate, Vanilla, Carrot, and Red Velvet made up their classic flavors, and they even have a couple Vegan flavors.

Part of the Display Case at Molly's Cupcake

Mighty Mint Cupcakes at Molly's Cupcakes

Mint Velvet Cupcakes on display at Molly's Cupcakes

I picked up a Peanut Butter Cupcake with Nutella filling, which Mike and I were fighting over the last crumb for because it was SO good, along with a Mint Velvet, Carrot Cake, and Pumpkin Spice. The Pumpkin Spice and Red Velvet were really good, but I wasn’t crazy about the Carrot Cake. Next time in Chicago, I will definitely go back and pay this place a visit…I want the Dirt & Worms!! You can visit the site, which is still being built, by clicking here

My Molly's Cupcakes selections. Clockwise from the top right, Pumpkin Spice, Carrot Cake, Mint Velvet, and Peanut Butter with Nutella.

Display at Swirlz Cupcakes

We happened upon Swirlz by accident really…we had been looking for them, gave up, and when heading out of the city we got lost and stumbled upon their street. It was fate! The store was cute but very very tiny. I picked up a regular Vanilla cupcake and the “Surprise” flavor of the day, which was some sort of White Chocolate Nut flavor (the lady described it but I can’t remember!) She packed them up in two adorable little plastic containers and I was on my way. And you know what? Both of them were great! The Vanilla tasted moist and sweet, and the Surprise flavor was rich and unique, with some sort of crunchy nut layer between the cake and the frosting.

"Surprise" Cupcake from Swirlz

Vanilla Cupcake from Swirlz

All in all, it was a great trip with great cupcakes!

Georgetown Jingle 2008 Holiday Tastings

If you’re looking to support a great local cause this holiday season, you should check out DC’s Annual Georgetown Jingle taking place this Sunday, December 14th, at The Four Seasons Hotel from 4:00 to 8:00pm. The event raises funds for two programs at Georgetown University Hospital: the Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program and the Childhood Cancer Survivorship Program.

The Georgetown Jingle showcases the talents of 15 interior designers through holiday tree displays. The event features a CVS children’s workshop, tastings from DC metro restaurants; and a fabulous silent auction.

Picture from blog.georgetownvoice.com

Why am I sharing this with you? Well not only is it a great cause, but Georgetown Cupcake will be in the mix of Holiday Tastings! For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.

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!

Couture Cupcakes at ACKC DC

When I needed to pick up some chocolates yesterday for my mom's birthday, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and swing by ACKC's DC location to check out their selection of Couture Cupcakes! If you've never been, the store is really adorable with plenty of seating and sweet goodies.

Towards the back of the shop there is a dessert window, with a little display case on top for Couture Cupcakes' selections. I'm assuming their selections change every so often, but this week they had:

Savannah: Red Velvet Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Duracelle: Carrot, Walnut & Pineapple cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Betsy: Chocolate Cake with a Vanilla Buttercream

Bella Lucia: Vanilla Cake with Nutella center topped with Stracclatella Buttercream

Antoinette: Chocolate Cake topped with Raspberry Buttercream

Pamela: Chocolate Brownie Cake with Vanilla Buttercream and a Caramel swirl

Mrs. Kimery: Pumpkin Spice Cake with Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Frosting

Back in August Paula Domenge, owner of Couture Cupcakes, was kind enough to give me a sample of seven different flavors. Of those seven flavors, Pamela was the only one from the group above that was in the sample. The rich, moist and gooey mixture of chocolate and caramel made it not only my favorite flavor of all the samples, but it was one of the best cupcakes I'd ever had. So of course when the Washington Post's team of taste testers for the paper's recent Cupcake Wars gave the Pamela Cupcake a less than satisfactory rating, calling it "gummy and underdone," I was in total disagreement

All that being said, when I walked in the store yesterday afternoon and saw Pamela sitting there in the display case, I had to do another taste test. After one bite all I can say is...WHAT HAPPENED?!? This cupcake was both gummy and dry, nothing like the delicious chocolatey goodness I tasted almost 4 months ago. Was it because the Pamela I had was fresh, and maybe this one had been sitting for a while?? Whatever the case, this was not a cupcake I would eat again. I am so bummed out!!

I'm not ready to write off Couture Cupcakes compeltely though. Based on my taste test from this past summer I know that Paula has good cupcakes; if you read the results of the Washington Post's Cupcake Wars, you'll see they agree. I regret not picking up another flavor, like Savannah (which the Cupcake Wars taste test team gave a good review) or Mrs. Kimery. I'd like to know if the Pamela's poor taste was a just a fluke, or if that's what's to be expected of ACKC's selection of Couture Cupcakes.

New Cupcakery Opening This Month

Santa Claus isn't the only one coming to town this December! Have those scarves and mittens handy because Washingtonian's will be coming out by the usual cupcake-crazed masses for this month's opening of Red Velvet Cupcakery.

Opening in the heart of Penn Quarter, cupcake lovers will be able to feast on flavors like Devil's Food, Summertime (Lemon Cake w/ Coconut Frosting), Key West (Key Lime w/ White Chocolate Buttercream), and of course, Red Velvet. The new cupcakery will have at least 8 different flavors at $3.25/each, or $36/dozen.

Owner Canada Gordon recently came back to her roots here in DC after living in LA to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. While on the west coast, Gordon developed a love for the cupcake scene, and despite what appears to be a rather successful career in film & television (Gordon has worked on projects like Vanilla Sky, Shopgirl, National Treasure, Lord's of Dogtown, and HBO's Entourage) she returned to the DC area to pursue the perfect cupcake.

In her pursuit of sugary sweet perfection, Gordon enlisted the help of David Guas, who is the creator and executive pastry chef behind Red Velvet Cupcakes. Guas is also no stranger to the entertainment industry, making regular appearances NBC’s Today Show and having his desserts recognized in such publications as Food & Wine, Cooking Light, and the National Culinary Review.

Will Red Velvet Cupcakery put at end to Washingtonian’s endless hunt for the best Red Velvet Cupcake in town? I’m looking forward to finding out!

While there is no firm opening date (just “December 2008"), Red Velvet Cupcakery will be opening on the corner of 7th Street and E Street, at 675 E St. NW, Washington, DC 20004

Lavender Moon Cupcakery Store Hours

Even though Alexandria's Lavender Moon Cupcakery opened 3 months ago, they've yet to put up a website. So when I was walking by this past Saturday I snapped a shot of the store hours for those of you who'd like to make a trip out there some time. As you can see, LMC is closed Monday and Tuesday, but opened Weds-Fri from 11am to 7pm, Saturday from 10am to 7pm, and Sunday from 10am to 4pm (or until the cupcakes are gone!).

I also took a picture of one of the inside rooms (seen below). I love the paint job and the overall ambiance, but the use of the room you see here is a gargantuan waste of space. All that occupies the room is a decorative table. Wouldn't this room be of more use if LMC set up a couple tables for their customers to sit down and enjoy their cupcakes??

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes, and other Holiday Flavors

Photo from BashDC.com

Can you believe it's December already?!? Crazy! One good thing about a new month though, new cupcake flavors! So for all you Georgetown Cupcake lovers out there (and from that constant line around the corner, I know there's a lot of you!) Georgetown Cupcake's new monthly flavors are Chocolate Peppermint, Gingerbread, and Snowball (Coconut), as well as Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Years Eve-themed Cupcakes. Be sure to stay tuned later this month when Georgetown Cupcake will be releasing their 2009 Seasonal Flavor listing.

And speaking of Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes, when I was in Alexandria this past weekend I stopped to have brunch at one of my favorite places: Bread & Chocolate on King Street in Old Town. If you've been here you know they have a large dessert case at the front of the restaurant, and sure enough they had cupcakes! I was way too stuffed from my Mediterranean Omelet to even fathom eating a cupcake, but I took a picture for you guys. They have Chocolate Peppermint as well as traditional Vanilla and Chocolate. They're $2.50 each or $9 for 4.

Chocolate Peppermint is on the left, Chocolate & Vanilla on the right.