Baked & Wired In The Atlantic Magazine

One of the blog readers recently pointed out an article to me in the March ’09 edition of the Atlantic having to do with cupcakes – The Not So Guilty Pleasure.

Photo from Article, Image Credit - Iwan Bagus

Author Corby Kummer believes “a good cupcake has all the frosting you really want at a birthday party but can’t ask for. It’s celebratory but restrained, a suitably small indulgence for tough times. And, surprisingly, a cupcake can be a smaller indulgence than a wholesome-seeming muffin: under the icing, as any baker knows, there’s practically no difference.”

Kummer has tasted cupcakes from New York to DC, and writes that “The only just-right cupcake I’ve found so far was at Baked and Wired, a hip Georgetown café. The plain white icing on its “birthday” cupcake (pictured here) had exactly the right crackle when I bit into it, and the chocolate cake was moist, airy, and not too rich.”

Wow! Quite flattering for B&W! I wonder what he thought of the Strawberry cupcake…pictured above but not mentioned. I think it’s amazing! Nice to see Baked & Wired receiving credit where it’s due!

Hello To Go!

Cupcakes on Wheels! Check out this release from the Hello Cupcake newsletter:

A recent addition to the Hello Cupcake team is wrapped in sprinkles and delivering sweetness all over the city. Our new delivery vehicle provides ample room for all the Hello Cupcake flavors while spreading the word about the shop to people throughout the District. Check out the rendering of our adorable cupcake-mobile (above). Keep an eye out and prepare yourself for Hello To Go! A 2-dozen minimum can be delivered anywhere in the district for a nominal flat fee. For large orders involving set-up (such as weddings or other social affairs) delivery charges vary. Our delivery service will be in full swing by the end of March!

Cupcake Vineyards Wine

Last month when skimming through the Gazette I was reading an article about Merlot and how it deserves a second chance. I was reading over the wine writer's current favorites when I came across this little excerpt:

The winner for best packaging is the Cupcake Merlot 2006 ($15) that arrived at my door in a pink cake box and a tin of cupcake mix. Blackberry and dark plum flavors predominate in this beauty, along with a bit of chocolate.

CUPCAKE Merlot?! Blackberry and dark plum flavors, with a bit of chocolate??? Wow, that really does sound like a cupcake! I had completely forgot about it until this past weekend when I was at the Beer & Wine store, and snagged myself a bottle. I've got to admit I kind of want to order it so I can see this cute pink packaging!! Anyway, haven't popped the cork yet, but I'll let you know how it tastes when I do!

The Cupcake Wine is made by Cupcake Vineyards (Underdog Wine Merchants), whose website is under construction (see screen shot below) but can be found by clicking here.

Hello Cupcake Recipe Demonstration, TOMORROW

St. Patty’s Day is upon us! If you’re looking for a good Drunken Irish Cupcake recipe for all the St. Patrick’s Day festivities taking place this weekend, then you must watch (or DVR!) Channel 9 News at 9am TOMORROW, Wednesday March 11th! Hello Cupcake owner Penny Karas and one of her pastry chefs, Alanna Markley, will be on demonstrating how to make the shop’s Baileys Irish Dream Cupcake (seen above in a photo from their monthly(ish) newsletter). It’s a Guinness-infused chocolate cake topped with Bailey’s Irish Cream frosting.

So either catch the show or go pick up a few for yourself in the bakery! They’re available now through March 17th.

Fancy Flours Cupcake Liners

You know what website I can never get enough of? Fancy Flours! And guess what they just got back in stock? Folded Cupcake Liners! You know the kind, the same kind Baked & Wired uses on their cupcakes. They peel off so perfectly and give the cupcake a whole different look!

If you feel like picking some up, Fancy Flours carries them in Blue, Brown, Green, Pink, Red, White and Yellow. They come in sets of 40 to 45 and sell for $5.50 a set.

Another cupcake liner I think is pretty cool looking is the Fluted Brioche Baking Liner. These high quality cups are made of grease-proof paper and are sturdy enough to bake without using a pan. They come in a package of 50, and a package sells for $5.

Washington City Paper's Best of DC

Last year thousands of Washingtonian's voted for what they deemed the Best of D.C., be it bakeries or burgers, and now it's time to do it all over! And the best part of this years contest? The Washington City Paper added a "Best Cupcake" category!

The "Best Cupcake" category didn't exist last year, but Locanda took home the title of Best Desserts while Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe took the crown of Best Bakery (I provided both websites here, but for some reason both websites seem to be down). So who do you think has the best cupcakes in town?? Red Velvet? Hello? Georgetown? For a reminder of local cupcakeries and bakeries/shops carrying cupcakes, check out the running list on the left side of my blog!

Vote for the Cupcake and other Best Of categories by clicking here! Only 6 days left!!

Community Cupcakes Fundraiser

If you have lived in this area for a few years, chances are you remember the tragic death of 12 year old Luke Carter-Schelp back in November 2006. Luke slipped on some leaves while crossing Strathmore Avenue in Garrett Park and was struck by an oncoming van.

To celebrate his life, every year Luke's mother, Val, hosts a fundraiser event that involves, you guessed it, cupcakes. Check out the story from the Metro section in today's Washintgon Post:

Every year on Luke's birthday, Val organizes an event she thinks he would have liked. On Saturday at Walter Johnson High School -- the Bethesda school where Luke would have been a freshman this year -- 11 middle and high school groups will compete at a battle of the bands fundraiser.

"For me it's been a really good way to think about Luke's birthday without thinking, 'Oh, God, he's not here,' " Val said. "On Saturday, if I weren't doing this, what would I be doing? It's Luke's 15th birthday. I could go climb a mountain, but why not spend it with a bunch of people doing something else?"

And doing something good. The event will raise money for Hungry for Music, a nonprofit group that provides musical instruments to needy kids. In the past, Luke's friends have done other charity work in his name, including collecting sneakers to be ground into playground surfaces. Because the events always include a cupcake for everyone, Val calls her group Community Cupcakes.

To understand why, you have to go back to a week before Luke died. It was Election Day, and Val had dragged Luke out of bed to take him to the polls, where she was volunteering with True Vote MD.

"I was forcing him to go," she said, "telling him, 'It's important. We live in a democracy. We have to do our part.' "

Luke was having none of it. He raged against the fundamental unfairness of being a 12-year-old snatched from bed on a day off. Then they came around the corner and he saw the hustle and bustle around the elementary school. "He said -- I'll never forget this -- he said, 'Well, I'll volunteer if they have cupcakes.' I was crawling on the sidewalk, I was laughing so hard."
What kid doesn't like a little bribery?

Val, 45, is a physical therapist for the early intervention program in Montgomery public schools. I know her from my church, where the energy with which she throws herself into social justice issues is legendary. For Saturday's event, an army of bakers will help her ensure that every person receives one of the aforementioned cupcakes.

Family Photo of Luke, From the Washington Post

So if you are in town this weekend and would like to donate to a good cause, then head on over to Walter Johnson High School and enjoy the bands (and a cupcake!) Bands competing Saturday include Metrophish, Those Guys, Trees Have Cars and Danger. Admission is $5, and attendees are invited to donate used musical instruments. For more information on the event and the bands, visit http://www.communitycupcakes.com/.