DC CUPCAKES MAKE ME PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN

Most people go to Washington DC to check out the sites, learn more about our nation's history, or to get a glimpse of modern day politics in action. I went to DC with one thing in mind - Cupcakes. Of course. My 2 year old daughter and I tagged along with my husband who was on a work trip visiting his stores in Maryland and Virginia, so my time in DC was limited. I checked out some food reviews and DC blogs, and I decided that Georgetown Cupcakes was the place I needed to go.

I have to say, the drive to the Georgetown area was a major highlight of my Cupcake Quest. We crossed over the Potomac River which runs in front of Georgetown University. Such a cool setting. Spring time in the DC area is breathtaking.

Georgetown Cupcake is on a busy street with lots of cute shops and restaurants. There are people walking everywhere. It's a cool area with a fun vibe.






We were there on a Wednesday afternoon, so there wasn't too much of a line. Apparently on the weekends, the line can sometimes run out the door and down the street. We only waited for about 5-10 minutes.


Georgetown Cupcakes is a cute shop - simple and modern. It's mostly black and white with hints of pink. I absolutely love how they have their cupcakes displayed. Every flavor is on its own 3-tiered stand with labels on the top so you know exactly what it is. I hate when you go into any kind of dessert shop and you have to ask the clerk what every single item is because nothing is labeled. The stands and labels made the whole process much easier. By the time it was our turn to order, I didn't have any questions, I was able to go ahead and order.


I ordered half a dozen cupcakes for Shawn, Lucky, and I to try, and I ordered half a dozen more for Shawn's store employees. Every cupcake is frosted and decorated perfectly, and they package them up in cute pink boxes. Obviously presentation is important here. I couldn't wait to try them!






So here are the 6 I ordered and tasted, and here's what I thought about them (my husband gave me his thoughts on some too):


Red Velvet: This flavor is my obsession, so I never leave a cupcake shop without a Red Velvet Cupcake. I consider myself a "Red Velvet Purist." The RV here was very good - could probably hold its own with the best of them. The cream cheese frosting was pretty much perfect, and the cake was dense and moist. Overall, I was happy with my RV cupcake.
Carrot: This flavor is Shawn's favorite. The cake was excellent - many carrot cakes are too "spice cake-y" but this was a good "carrot-ness." And the cake wasn't too sweet, so the very sweet cream cheese frosting made it a perfect combination.
Chocolate Vanilla: The vanilla cream cheese frosting was excellent, and the chocolate cake was definitely decent.
Chocolate Banana: This one was probably my favorite. The cake part tastes almost like a perfect chocolate banana bread, and the banana cream frosting was like no frosting I've ever had (especially because I'm not really a banana flavor lover). This cupcake was completely amazing.
Lemon Berry: I ordered this cupcake simply because it was pretty (the frosting was a cute pink color, and it was garnished with a little gummy lemon wedge) and because it sounded interesting. Classic example of how looks can be deceiving. This cupcake was not good. Not even a little bit. In fact, it was awful. The frosting totally ruined it. I'm not sure what flavor they were going for, but all I could taste was a weird, almost chemical taste (almost like someone had sprayed some kind of household cleaner on it). The frosting didn't taste like lemon or berry, it sort of tasted fermented, and it left a horrible after taste. Maybe if I had scraped off the frosting and just ate the lemon cake, it would have been fine. Yuck - what a disappointment.
Cherry Blossom: I'm not sure if this flavor is always available there, or if it was just because I was there during the famous Cherry Blossom festivities, but I'm sure glad I had the chance to discover it! I am not a cherry person at all, but I absolutely loved this cupcake. Shawn said this one was probably his favorite. The frosting was heavy on the cherry flavor, but that is probably why it was so good. And the cake part had little cherry chunks in it. Almost like a muffin with fruit chunks. The only reason why this cupcake wasn't my favorite is because it almost tasted like a breakfast pastry instead of dessert, but I still loved it. What a cool flavor!

So there's what I know about cupcakes in the DC area. Overall, I am super pleased with Georgetown Cupcakes. They are the only thing that has come even close to the famous (and my very favorite) Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills.

Wish me luck on the rest of my Cupcake Quest.

Happy Cupcaking!!!