After getting a recommendation from a reader, I knew I had to check out SweetCakes a made to order cupcake baker located in Ellicott City, Maryland. On their Facebook page I noticed that they attend many vender events around town and figured this would be a good way to sample several of their cupcakes (instead of a dozen of just 1 flavor).

When I asked on their Facebook page if they would be at any upcoming events, they told me about Mistletoe Village at St. John’s Parish Day School. Not being ones to turn up vendor events selling unique items during the holidays, Elisa and I decided to go and see what we could find and try some new cupcakes.

Luckily, they were situated right by the door to one of the many rooms filled with vendors, so we spotted them right away. Our options were Red Velvet, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Vanilla/Vanilla, and Chocolate Cream.

(They were selling them by the half dozen, so Elisa and I decided on 2 Peanut Butter Chocolates, 2 Red Velvets, 1 Vanilla/Vanilla (for me), and 1 Chocolate Cream (for her).)

After getting a quick bite to eat we couldn’t wait to try a cupcake. We each chose the Red Velvet to start with.

Our first bite had us uttering praises with a mouth fulls of cupcake. Elisa, the Red Velvet expert, has sampled countless Red Velvet cupcakes, so if she likes it, you know it’s good. The cake was rich and very moist. Then we realized, there’s cheese cake in the center! Instead of being just straight up Red Velvet, it was more of a Black Bottom with Red Velvet cake. So good!

(While it wasn’t a ton of cheese cake in the center, it was just enough to add some extra texture and flavor to this cupcake.)

The next cupcake that I tried was the Chocolate Peanut Butter.

This wasn’t the best chocolate peanut butter that I’ve ever had, but the frosting was really good and totally made this cupcake. It was gooey and full of peanut butter flavor. The chocolate cake was really dark and moist (almost like a black velvet), but lacked the richness I usually prefer in a chocolate cake.

After having 2 good experiences, I was really looking forward to the Vanilla/Vanilla. After having some great experiences with Vanilla recently, and realizing how good they can really be, I’ve been on bit of a Vanilla kick lately.

Unfortunately this didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It wasn’t bad, it just could have had more vanilla flavor too it. However, if I had ordered these for an event, like a birthday, I would not have been disappointed. The cake was moist and buttery and the frosting was smooth and sweet. And after I finished it, I realized it definitely satisfied my cupcake craving and didn’t leave me wanting more.

The last of the 4 was Elisa’s choice, the Chocolate with Cream Cheese frosting.

She described this as good, with very dark moist cake. Like the Peanut Butter Chocolate, she said it also had more of a Black Velvet feel to it. She said the icing was creamy and smooth, and reminded her of the stuffing in an Oreo and that she would definitely order this one again.

Over all we had a really good experience with SweetCakes. They have a great cake to frosting ratio and their price of $20 per dozen leaves the price per cupcake under $1.75 each. In the Baltimore/DC area, that’s a great price for homemade cupcakes! Some may say they are on the small side, but Elisa and I both agreed that they are just the right size. Not too large that you feel like you shouldn’t eat a whole one, but not so small that it leaves you wanting more.

If I have any future events that need cupcakes (what event doesn’t need cupcakes?) I will be sure to call them and find out what flavor combos I can get. And they only require 48 hours notice! If you have an event coming up definitely contact SweetCakes!

– Posted by Cupcake Crusader, Stacy (Baltimore, MD)