Category Archives: DC

2012 CupcakeCamp DC Recap

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When CupcakeCamp DC posted that they had an opening for a fan judge, I jumped at the opportunity. Finally I could put all of my “practice” into use, and for a great cause. CupcakeCamp DC is in its third year and raises money for DC Candlelighters: Childhood Cancer Foundation. I’ve heard criticism about the past years, but being a new event organized by a single person, that’s expected. Each year changes have been made to make a better experience for all who participate.


(Cupcakes tasted by Crusaders Stacy and Elisa.)

This year the event was held at the very chic Continental Modern Pool Lounge, located in Arlington, VA (but right over the bridge from Georgetown Park in DC). From a judge’s perspective, check-in was super easy. I saw that a line was forming, mostly due to the rain bringing in people from the Jazz Festival across the street, but was able to bypass it with my oh-so-important title. I checked in with a volunteer, who had the list on his phone and took my spot at the judges’ table. The other blogging judges arrived and then cupcakes started coming our way.

(Judges from left to right: Adrienne from Little Miss Cupcake, Jill from Cuisine Queen, me, Kimberly from Yelp NoVa, and Nikki from Cupcakes for Breakfast.

Judging went fairly smoothly. Cupcakes were brought to us, in no particular order. Finding them on our score sheet was fairly easy, unless a baker switched up their entry at the last minute. We asked for knives to divide the cupcakes among the judges, but there weren’t any available. Luckily none of us were germaphobes, so we decided that we would dig in and wipe off excess frosting and cake on our forks, instead of slobbering all over them. We had to request forks, napkins, water, and a trash bag. The volunteer, who was working hard and running around a lot to bring the cupcakes to us, didn’t look too thrilled with our requests…but how else could we taste the cupcakes? Other than that, the judges were treated well and, to show their appreciation, we all received event t-shirts and awesome swag bags, provided by Izze, one of the event sponsors.

I asked Crusader Stacy for insight from an attendee’s perspective. She said that when they arrived there was a line and it seemed a bit disorganized, but that could have been due to the rain and people who hadn’t registered wanting to get in. Lines also seem to form at these cupcake events because the guests are aware that it’s first come first served. Although the venue could be tight to navigate sometimes, it had a great ambiance. It seems like people enjoyed that you could order adult beverages and there were a lot of areas to lounge and indulge in cupcakes. The venue also offers game tables, like billiards, for added entertainment. Stacy mentioned that she and Crusader Elisa did not realize that the people’s choice ballot was in the brochure, and wished they had known. At the end of the event, it was hard to hear the winners (I think due to background sound…not much you can do about that) and it was a little confusing when announcing the winners was mixed in with the announcing the raffle prizes. Luckily all the winners heard their names called, and we were all very excited that Joel Gill, from Josie’s Confections, took first place for his Chicken N Waffle Cupcake!


(The Cupcake Crusaders with 1st Place Winner Joel Gill from Josie’s Confections.)

1st Place CupcakeCamp DC Winner & Crusaders’ Favorite:
Chicken N Waffle Cupcake by Joel Gill

(Chicken & Waffles Cupcake)

It’s no surprise that we adore Joel’s cupcake, having first had it at our 2012 DC Cupcake Picnic (see Crusaders’ review). What did surprise me was that the other judges were very excited to try a Chicken N Waffle cupcake, especially when most people question this creation. I was relieved when they all agreed that it was the best they’d had all day.

Crusaders’ Favorite:
Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcake by Hilary Nelson


(Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcake)

Stacy and Elisa both agreed that this was their favorite cupcake of the day. It had a peanut butter cake with grape jam filling, topped with peanut butter buttercream and grape coulis. They both love the nostalgia of PB&J cupcakes and thought the grape was a nice change from the strawberry jams most bakers use.

Crusaders’ Favorite:
Earl Grey Cupcake by Tess McEnery


(Earl Grey Cupcake)

This cupcake was a standout for me on this day. I have wanted to try a tea-infused cupcake and I think Earl Grey was a perfect choice, with its hint of lemon flavor. The base was an Earl Grey buttermilk cake with Earl Grey and lemon buttercream frosting. Crusader Stacy also really liked this cupcake and would like to dabble in making her own tea-infused cupcakes. She described it as, “Heaven for a tea drinker, with light, airy cake and spot-on flavor.”

Crusaders’ Honorable Mentions:
We would also like to recognize some of the other cupcakes we enjoyed, with our own Honorable Mentions (separate from the CupcakeCamp DC winners):

1. Megan Ferrey, from Cakes by Megan: Banana chocolate chip cake filled with chocolate ganache and topped with peanut butter frosting.
2. Monika Geraci, 2ND Place CupcakeCamp DC Winner & Crowd Favorite: Salted Caramel Apple – apple spice cake filled with salted caramel and topped with cream cheese frosting and a caramel drizzle.
5. Melissa Westervelt, from Honeybee Bakeshop: Pumpkin spice latte – pumpkin espresso cake topped with cinnamon and spiced buttercream and a caramel/fondant pumpkin pie decoration.
4. Claire Almquist: Chai tea latte cupcake with buttercream frosting.

So Many Cupcakes!
The three of us all tasted so many cupcakes at the event, obviously with me trying the most:

1. Amanda Rouse 3RD Place CupcakeCamp DC Winner: Vanilla cupcake with Nutella ganache and Nutella buttercream topped with roasted hazelnuts.
2. Shelly Facemire, 4TH Place CupcakeCamp DC Winner & Crowd Favorite: Chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and chocolate ganache.
3. Shanika, from Couture Cakes by Nika: Lemon lavender cupcake topped with lavender butter cream, candied lemon, and an edible lavender flower.
4. Valerie Estep, from Silver Swirl Cupcake: Salted Caramel & Chocolate – Butter yellow cake with salted caramel cream cheese frosting and topped with a chocolate covered pretzel.
5. Heather Jesness: Vanilla bean cupcake with chocolate frosting.
6. Megan Ferrey, from Cakes by Megan: Dark chocolate cherry filled cake with pistachio meringue buttercream.
7. Kelly Zonderwyk: Lemon lavender cupcake with a glaze and filled with lemon curd.
8. Elisabeth Shankle: Banana cupcake with peanut butter frosting.
9. Shannon Paciorek: Key Lime Pie Cupcake – Graham cracker crust, lime infused cake filled with a lime curd, and lime cream cheese frosting.
10. Paola Veronica: Mini mocha cupcake with espresso buttercream.
11. Chinwe Aldridge: Vanilla cupcake with cream cheese/buttercream frosting, graham crackers, white chocolate, candies, and shoe decoration.
12. Alicia Hadley: Red velvet cake with a walnut cream cheese frosting.
13. Katie Walker: Canoli Cupcake – Vanilla cupcake with orange zest, ricotta and chocolate chip filling, and vanilla buttercream frosting with chocolate garnish.
14. Kat Harper: Chocolate cake with raspberry jam and vanilla buttercream
15. Jennifer Hlad: Hummingbird cupcake with coconut cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut.
16. Meghan Ochs: Vanilla cupcake, with cinnamon apple compote, topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and a caramel drizzle.
17. Kathleen Mudge: Vanilla bean cupcake with chocolate fudge icing, topped with a brownie truffle and cookie.
18. Michelle Byers: German chocolate cake with caramel buttercream topped with bacon.
19. Danny McGibney: Sweet potato pie cupcakes with browned buttercream frosting.
20. Mini Guinness Cupcake (not in competition – baker unknown)

The 2012 CupcakeCamp DC raised $2,000 for DC Candlelighters and in the end we all had a really great time, Stacy and Elisa as guests and myself as a judge. I met some great people and I’m looking forward to seeing what next year brings, but I think I’ll just enjoy the event as a spectator or volunteer. Twenty-five cupcakes were A LOT to taste!

To see more event more photos, visit CupcakeCamp’s DC Flikr pool.

– Posted by Cupcake Crusader, Jenn (Westminster, MD)

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Guest Review | First Annual Cupcake-A-Palooza | DC Area

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When we found out our graphic design colleague, Kristina, was in a cupcake club and had organized their first ever Cupcake-A-Palooza, we had to find out more. Luckily she agreed to be a Guest Crusader and share her story and reviews with everyone! Thanks Kristina!

What’s Cupcake-A-Palooza you ask?

Well, it all started about a year ago, with me, two of my friends and our mutual love for cupcakes. We decided we needed a cupcake club. Better yet, a SECRET cupcake club, just because that’s more fun, complete with a secret handshake and secret knock! We started meeting once a month, and on members’ birthdays, just to eat and critique those delicious mini cakes. Little by little we started inviting more friends (and cupcake lovers) until we completed the group at 6 (it’s worth mentioning, we are coed). This way, when we bought a dozen cupcakes, everyone could have 2.

And then Cupcake-A-Palooza came to life. We realized there were so many cupcake shops we were missing out on because either they didn’t deliver, or they were not feasible to get to during a workday.  So we picked a day – August 10th – where we would take the day off of work and go on what is now dubbed “a cupcake crawl.” We decided to hold our first annual event in DC.

We chose 10 bakeries/cupcakeries to try and one of the club members graciously mapped out our plan of attack. But what is Cupcake-A-Palooza without an event T-Shirt? I’m not only a cupcake lover, I’m a graphic designer, and so, our t-shirts were born.


(Our official Cupcake-A-Palooza t-shirts, complete with a concert tour inspired list of stops!)

Decked out in our matching tees, we headed into DC and began Cupcake-A-Palooza. After four hours of eating cupcakes, here’s how I think the shops rate (with the help of some of my club members)…

1. Baked & Wired (Georgetown)
This happened to be our first stop. So not only did I need a cupcake, I needed some caffeine! I decided on the Dirty Chai cupcake. And just to stick with the theme, a Chai Latte. Both were outstanding!


(The staff at Baked & Wired was just as fun as their hand drawn flavor signs)

The cupcake was bigger than usual, but the cake was perfectly moist throughout. The espresso buttercream melted in my mouth and was just strong enough to complement the spice of the cake. As an extra treat, it was topped with a chocolate covered espresso bean. Yum! This cupcake and latte left me longing for fall…

2. The Sweet Lobby (Capitol Hill)
This was our final stop of the day. There were so many interesting flavor choices, that I went a little cupcake crazy here. I decided on Chocolate Raspberry, Green Tea Pistachio, Caramel Apple, Bananas Foster, Butterscotch Crunch, and Pineapple Inside Out. I gave a couple of them to another club member and gifted a couple. Ultimately, I only tried two.


(Top row, from left to right: Chocolate Raspberry, Butterscotch Crunch, and Green Tea Pistachio. Bottom row, from left to right: Caramel Apple, Pineapple Inside Out, and Bananas Foster)

The Butterscotch Crunch won me over in two bites. As soon as I hit the butterscotch center, I was sold. The vanilla cake and buttercream were an excellent balance so that the butterscotch flavor was not overpowering. Topping it off, were some Butterfinger crumbles.

As an avid Green Tea drinker, the Green Tea Pistachio cupcake was an obvious choice. Although, I’ll admit, I was skeptical. This cupcake is a Cupcake Wars Winner and one of The Sweet Lobby’s signature “MacTops,” meaning it had a Green Tea macaroon on top.  At first I thought, this is different…then, half way through, I thought, this is good! I enjoyed the cake with the bits of pistachio and macaroon most. I wasn’t crazy about the green tea buttercream; I would have liked it to be a little sweeter.

3. Georgetown Cupcake (Georgetown)
With all the hype and long lines…I really didn’t want to love Georgetown Cupcake, but it was inevitable. I was excited to try one of their seasonal cupcakes, Banana Split. Complete with sprinkles, hazelnut bits, fudge drizzle and a cherry on top, I felt like I was indulging in the real dessert. The vanilla cream cheese frosting was so smooth and acted as the ice cream, while the fudge center mixed perfectly with the banana cake.

Another club member tried Georgetown Cupcake’s other season flavor, Blueberry Cheesecake. The fresh blueberry cheesecake was just as advertised. The cupcake had the graham cracker bottom, adding to the authenticity of a cheesecake. While there was no icing, the top had a soft cheese texture and a blue fondant flower.

4. Hello Cupcake (Dupont Circle)
This shop prides itself on its use of fresh and all natural ingredients. Well, it’s working. It was a no brainer as soon as I saw the selection; I went for the flavor of the month, Root Beer Float.

I imagined sipping the real thing while I enjoyed this spicy/sweet cupcake topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting (my absolute favorite) and a fun chocolate straw. This cupcake was rather refreshing.

5. Sweet Themez Cake & Cupcake (Adams Morgan)
The employee in this shop won brownie points with his enthusiasm over our Cupcake-A-Palooza tees. He even offered me a dozen free cupcakes if I send him one!


(Sweet Themez isn’t as glitzy as some of the other shops from the outside, but it’s worth the stop)

I can’t vouch for myself on this one, but one of the club members had the Cookies ‘n’ Cream cupcake. The scent of the cupcake was amazing – it made you want to dig right in! While the rich chocolate cake was moist, it crumbled. The icing and the mini Oreo on top made the cupcake.

6. Red Velvet Cupcakery (Penn Quarter)
This shop is teeny, tiny. So if you pay them a visit, don’t plan on staying to enjoy your cupcake inside. As a coffee lover, I chose the Hazelnut Café cupcake.


(Hazelnut Café on the left, another club member’s Carrot Cake cupcake on the right.)

However, I was disappointed. The cake was pretty dry and was only saved by the bits of crunchy hazelnuts throughout. I wasn’t a fan of the whipped icing, as I always prefer something creamier, but the pinch of espresso on top was a nice touch.

7. Sprinkles Cupcakes (Georgetown)
I was really looking forward to trying Sprinkles, as I had heard mixed reviews. I’m a sucker for pumpkin anything, so I went for their Pumpkin cupcake.

I was really hoping to taste pumpkin, but the flavor was barely there. It was overpowered by the cinnamon cream cheese frosting, which was the only part of the cupcake that I enjoyed. On top was one of Sprinkles signature modern dots, which added no flavor value.

8. Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats (Columbia Heights)
This shop is 100% vegan. While I am not, I recommended we add this shop to our list of stops 1) Because I liked the name 2) They were two time Cupcake War Winners and 3) My mom went dairy free in the past year for health reasons, so I wanted to taste things from her perspective.

I had not had a red velvet cupcake all day, so I tried theirs. Unfortunately, I couldn’t even finish it, and neither could my fellow club member. I found the cake to be plastic-y and lacking in flavor, but as the shops name suggests, it actually was also sticky! I thought the icing was grainy, and was not up to par with the other cream cheese icings of the day. Lesson learned: I need my dairy.

However, another club member saw it differently. She tried the Lavender Lemon. Although she found the cake to be denser than non-vegan cupcakes, she thought it was moist and quite delicious. The lavender flavor was very present, without being overwhelming. Lesson learned: try it for yourself!

Out of the 10 stops we planned to make on Cupcake-A-Palooza, we only made it to 8.

When we got to Cupcake Felicity, or at least, what used to be Cupcake Felicity, it was no longer there. Instead there was a café called Bread & Brew. We found out that Felicity, who also makes 100% vegan cupcakes, now sells her cupcakes to the café. Unfortunately, they did not have any available that day. Chatman’s D’Vine Bakery & Café was supposed to be our last stop, but by 2PM we were stuffed and coming down off our sugar high. The shop didn’t open until 3PM, so we decided to save it for another time.

Our first annual Cupcake-A-Palooza was a fun, sweet filled day! Up Next: Cupcake-A-Palooza 2013, Northern VA…

– Review by Guest Crusader, Kristina (Baltimore, MD)

Part 3: Cupcakes + Wolf Trap + Idina Menzel = Perfect Night Out with Cupcakes from Cupcakes!

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As Crusader Jenn and Crusader Stacy said in their posts the past two days, we all adore Idina Menzel. My adoration only began because they introduced me to her and I thank them, because she is amazing… but enough about her talented self and onto more cupcakes.

Crusader Stacy and I made two stops before meeting up with Crusader Jenn and Guest Crusader Ashley at Wolf Trap for the concert. Our second stop was Cupcakes! in Vienna, VA. Located in a cute little shopping center, and upstairs from an eclectic gift shop, Cupcakes! was the perfect spot.

Cupcakes! boasts a lovely cupcake display with a variety of flavors to choose from, but they also have cupcake related gifts and gift items. Stacy went home with a new cupcake stand that has to be the most perfect little mini cake stand ever made. The staff were very helpful and sweet, explaining that they bake fresh every day and that the cupcakes are moist and flavorful, while the frosting is just sweet enough. They are just lovely; great customer service is never wasted on the Crusaders, we really appreciate it, as it can be hard to find.

We stuck to our “one cupcake per person, per location” rule for the day and decided on the following:

Dolce De Leche

Moist cake with smooth frosting that embodied Dolce de Leche. It’s a tough flavor to begin with, as it is sweetened milk that is heated and reduced down to an almost caramel type consistency, but Cupcakes! nailed it. The cake alone was lacking a little in flavor, but with the frosting and spot-on texture, all together it created perfect harmony. We liked this cupcake, and agreed its decoration was simple, but cute.

Strawberry

Two words: Strawberry CAKE. The staff told us that they use fresh strawberry in their cake, instead of using the strawberry in the frosting – we all thought this was brilliant! This allowed the strawberry flavor to shine, while the frosting wasn’t overly sweet. (I find fruit frostings to be on the sweeter side because you have to add more sugar to keep it stiff.) All of us enjoyed this cupcake, but I have to say that it was my favorite of the day and makes my list of top 5 cupcakes I have ever eaten. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

Our experience with Cupcakes! could not have been better. Friendly staff and fantastic cupcakes, who could ask for more? Its only downfall is that it is so far away from Baltimore – because I wish I could go once a week for my strawberry cupcake fix. Whenever any of the Crusaders are in the Vienna, VA area we will have to stop into Cupcakes!.

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

Part 2: Cupcakes + Wolf Trap + Idina Menzel = Perfect Night Out with Cupcakes from Sticky Fingers Bakery

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Since you’ve most likely already read Crusader Jenn’s review from yesterday, you don’t need me to go on and on about how much we adore this woman:


(In case you don’t know or haven’t guessed, this is the wonderful Idina Menzel.)

I will say though that the concert was fantastic, as always. She sang amazing songs, told some great antidotes, and even encouraged lots of audience participation. But, you probably want to hear more about the cupcakes now, right?

Crusader Elisa and I decided to stop at two locations since they were both almost on our way to Wolf Trap. Our first stop was at Sticky Fingers Bakery located in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington DC. Back in March, Crusader Jenn and I were fortunate enough to meet the owner of Sticky Fingers, Doron Petersan, at the National Capital Area Cake Show’s Cupcake Challenge. Whether or not she remembers, we promised her that we would stop into her shop this summer, and we always like to keep our promises.

Upon arriving we instantly fell in love with the decor. With high ceilings and a concrete floor, the space is filled with nods to the 50s and can be best described as retro industrial. From the old fashion refrigerator that serves as a product display and an neat old stove that creates a makeshift coffee area, Elisa and I weren’t quite ready to leave after receiving our coffee and cupcake orders from the attentive staff. Unfortunately we had another stop to visit before meeting Crusader Jenn and Guest Crusader Ashley, so we had to leave after spending just a few minutes there.

Once we arrived at Wolf Trap and spread our blankets out, we revealed our cupcake selections to Jenn and Ashley:

Elisa and I decided that trying the Orange Creamsicle and the Lavender Lemon were absolutely necessary. The bakery, which sells all 100% vegan goods, was serving many cupcake flavors that day, but Elisa and I like to be adventurous so the Lavender Lemon was an easy choice.

The lemon flavor wasn’t very strong in this cupcake, but was present enough to balance out the lavender flavor and keep it from tasting like soap. That is often a reaction we hear from people when they encounter lavender in their food, but for the Crusaders, we didn’t think this tasted like soap at all. The cake was a bit crumbly though. It wasn’t really dry, but the texture isn’t what we would normally expect in a cupcake. Maybe this has something to do with vegan products? We’ve only tried vegan baked goods a couple times, so we really aren’t experts on what to expect from the texture.

Next, after taking in all the flavor options, we finally chose the Creamsicle, knowing it would be the perfect addition to a summer pre-show picnic.

Our first reaction from this cupcake was, “OMG. THE FROSTING IS AMAZING!” I think I could have easily eating an entire gallon of it. Elisa called it “dreamy” and I couldn’t agree with her more. The cake was also crumbly, similar to the Lavender Lemon, but that frosting easily saved this cupcake and left me wanting a whole one for myself.

Even though the cake texture wasn’t our favorite on each of these cupcakes, I would love to go back, sit in one of their shiny pink vinyl chairs, and enjoy another cupcake and delicious cup of coffee. The flavors made these cupcakes ones I think anyone would keep going back for.

Tomorrow we’ll share our last review from our Wolf Trap cupcake tailgating tasting, so stay posted!

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

Cupcakes + Wolf Trap + Idina Menzel = Perfect Night Out with Cupcakes from Edibles Incredible

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It’s no secret that the Crusaders are theater geeks and, as such, we of course have a favorite Broadway performer: Idina Menzel. Some of you may know her as the woman who originated Maureen in Rent, others from Elphaba in Wicked. However, it’s not only her Broadway resume that has given her the title of favorite performer for the Crusaders. She is also an amazing songwriter and we love her solo albums. When we found out she would be returning to Wolf Trap (Vienna, VA), we thought there would be no better way to spend the day than to pick up cupcakes from bakeries nearby, and arrive early to picnic in the grass. Any time we can combine theater with cupcakes is a good day for us.


(Above is our cupcake loot from Edibles Incredible, Cupcakes! Cupcakery and Sticky Fingers. Reviews for Cupcakes! Cupcakery and Sticky Fingers coming this week. And, it wouldn’t be tailgating without a little booze, Crusader-style, with Cupcake Vineyards Prosecco.)

Guest Crusader Ashley, who is also an Idina fan, visited for the weekend to attend the concert with us. She had visited Edibles Incredible (Reston, VA) with family the month before. Since it is only 15 minutes from Wolf Trap we thought, what better place to go?

Edibles Incredible caters to more than just cupcake lovers. They also sell whole cakes, chocolates, fudge, gift baskets, specialty and wedding cakes. One of the things that surprised me when we walked in was the size of the cupcakes. Ashley hadn’t adequately warned me that they are the large ones, right on par with Snickerdoodles Bakery (which we have reviewed a few times) and can easily feed two people (the cupcakes are priced at $3.95, which is understandable with the size). The shop is located in the Reston Town Center, which ended up being perfect for Ashley and I. It’s a great outdoor shopping area, so we were also able to grab dinner. If we had more time, it would have been nice to sit outside and eat dinner and a cupcake, but concert parking was a priority for us, so we grabbed our food and were on our way.


(Cute, but can you see the predicament the packaging puts one in when it comes time for removal?)

Our cupcakes were uniquely packaged in Chinese food containers. While this is a creative idea, it doesn’t bode well for the cupcakes. There is a paper “lift-strip” but with cupcakes so large, and the strip not always landing perfectly under the cupcake, it doesn’t help very much. We really like to have our cupcakes coming out of their packaging perfect, or nearly perfect, looking. The cupcakes at Edibles Incredible were already a little messy looking in the display case, and these containers just made the frosting worse. Aside from liking our cupcakes pretty, trying to get them out of the container just made a sticky mess of my fingers and hands…not cool when you are on a blanket and eating outside!

The first cupcake we tasted from Edibles Incredible was the Butterscotch Baby. When Ashley and I saw the description we had to have it: butterscotch cake, with caramel buttercream frosting, filled with caramel, and topped with homemade toffee candy. This was our favorite of the two we purchased, although still not the best. The caramel filling was like a chewy caramel and the cake tasted like Duncan Hines’ yellow cake mix. Because it was richer, denser, and moister than a box mix, Crusader Stacy and I actually really liked the cake. But Crusader Elisa was disappointed and wished she could taste the butterscotch the cake was supposed to have.

Ashley and I also decided to purchase the Neapolitan cupcake for all of us to try. It had a little bit of everything, including a marble strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate cake, strawberry filling, and topped with the three different buttercreams to mimic the ice cream. Us Crusaders recently had a great Neapolitan cupcake from IcedGems, so I was hopefully we’d be getting something that fell into the same category. Unfortunately the cupcake was overly sweet, and no particular flavor came through, even when trying parts of the cake separately. The filling, which was similar to strawberry jam, seemed out of place and overpowered the cupcake. Although the cake was moist, it wasn’t enough to save this treat.

We passed on the Lemon Dream Pie during this trip because Ashley had tried it on her previous visit. It looked and sounded very good (you all know we are suckers for curd fillings), but Ashley informed me that, although she liked the overall flavor, the cupcake was very sweet for her taste.

I’ve been trying to decide if I would give Edibles Incredible’s cupcakes another chance. I think that I would. The one unifying factor was that they all had moist cake, and that’s one of the most important things to me. Flavors seem to be hit or miss, but having only tried two myself, I’m curious to see how some others stand up.

This week we’ll bring you more reviews from our Wolf Trap cupcake tailgating tasting, so stay posted!

– Posted by Cupcake Crusader, Jenn (Westminster, MD)

Josie’s “Creative & Delicious” Confections

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What do fried chicken, waffles, and cupcakes have in common? Josie’s Confections. But that isn’t the only amazing cupcake creation up “The Cupcake King’s” sleeve! After the Westminster cupcake picnic this past weekend, we Crusaders realized that we hadn’t actually reviewed Joel’s creations?! So here goes:

For our Washington DC Cupcake Picnic, Joel brought 4 flavors:

Fried Chicken & Waffle

All three Crusaders loved this cupcake. The fried chicken alone was amazing, in fact Crusader Jenn said she wouldn’t mind eating a bucket of the chicken and I agree. The maple cake was moist and very flavorful, with the light maple frosting pairing nicely with the perfectly fried chicken and sweet waffle. Crusader Stacy says it is in her top 5 cupcakes of ALL the cupcakes she has ever had, and ate 3 in one day, the perfect testament to just how delicious this cupcake is. (Wow, just writing about it makes my mouth water and my stomach grumble for fried chicken, waffles, and this cupcake.)

Maple Bacon

(Photo courtesy of Josie’s Confections)

If I were a cupcake, I would be THIS cupcake. My love of bacon is no secret, and this cupcake had perfectly cooked, crispy bacon on top AND in the cake. The maple frosting was again smooth, flavorful and paired perfectly with the bacon. Sweet, savory, salty, bacon-y perfection in cupcake form. I ate 3 at the picnic and took 3 home – and yes, I ate every one of them.

Strawberry Lemonade

I didn’t try this cupcake (I was too busy eating the Maple Bacon), but Stacy shared her thoughts: “This cupcake was a perfectly light and refreshing summer cupcake. It’s no wonder how Joel won 4th place for People’s Choice at the National Capital Area Cake Show’s (NCACS) Cupcake Challenge with this cupcake.”

Salted Caramel(Photo courtesy of Josie’s Confections)

This mini cupcake packed a caramel punch, with a hint of salt. Moist and flavorful, this mini had more caramel flavor than some full-sized caramel cupcakes I have encountered. The caramel drizzle on top added to the light, creamy, smooth texture. In a sea of regular sized cupcakes, this little mini stood out.

For our Westminster, MD Cupcake Picnic Joel brought 4 new flavors to share:

Red Berry Ciroc

Perfect summer boozie cupcake. Even better, you could still taste the Red Berry Ciroc vodka! While this is not a cupcake for a kid, it would be perfect for a bacholerette party or grown-up party. Love the fun bright frosting too – how Joel achieved that amazing red/pink hue without it tasting like food coloring is a mystery.

Tiramisu

This cupcake had all the right flavors, which worked together in unison to create the perfect Tiramisu dessert in cupcake form! The moist cake, tasty mascarpone and Kahlua filling and smooth frosting was one of the favorites of the day. This is one of my favorite desserts, and I was very impressed with just how much it tasted like the traditional dessert.

Capt. Morgan Rum and Coke  &  Mango Passion Fruit

Capt. Morgan Rum and Coke: At first sight you might think this cupcake looks like it has chocolate frosting, but the frosting tastes exactly like Coke – which amazed everyone at the picnic! And the cake tastes exactly like Capt. Morgan and was very moist. Like the Red Berry Ciroc, this is another 21+ only treat, but a treat that the Crusaders wouldn’t mind eating again.

Mango Passion Fruit: Another great summer cupcake! Light and sweet and full of mango and passion fruit flavor. The cake and frosting were an amazingly bright and refreshing orange color, how does Joel do it?! It reminded Crusader Jenn of tropical fruit candy; and while it was a bit sweet for me, it isn’t a cupcake I would ever turn down.

Overall Joel’s unique confections have intrigued and amazed us at each turn. Consistently moist and flavorful cake, smooth and creamy frosting, and inspired flavors are apparent in each cupcake Joel creates. Each inspired flavor has been meticulously paired together to create a delicious confection that anyone would be lucky to eat. He’ll be the first person I call the next time I need to order cupcakes for an event, party, or just when I need a Maple Bacon cupcake “fix.”

For information on ordering Josie’s Confections, call Joel at 301-541-7046, email him at joelegill@gmail.com or visit Josie’s Confections Facebook page.

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

Our DC Cupcake Picnic Recap!

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Enjoying cupcakes, relaxing in the beautiful weather, and gathering with people who share a similar interest was what our first ever cupcake picnic was all about. This past Saturday the Crusaders, with the help from Joel (AKA: the Cupcake King) of Josie’s Confections, organized a cupcake picnic in Georgetown Waterfront Park. It was only a small gathering but it was filled with TONS of cupcakes and good times.

We were lucky enough to land a spot in the shade under a tree, and slowly everyone arrived. The group included us three Crusaders, my dad, Joel, Lamorea from That’s So Morie Cupcakes and her family, and fellow cupcake lover, Danielle, and her boyfriend.


(Candid shot of our some of our attendees. From the left going clockwise: my dad admiring Lamorea’s to-go wrapping for each of her cupcakes; Lamorea’s little girl (she’s so cute!); Lamorea going through her photos; happy cupcake eater, Charles; Crusader Jenn; and our youngest Crusader, Jenn’s daughter, Leah.)

After chatting for a few minutes, it was time to dive into the cupcakes! Joel, from Josie’s Confections, brought his signature Chicken N Waffle cupcake, as well as Salted Caramel minis, Strawberry Lemonade (which won the 4th place for People’s Choice at the NCACS’s Cupcake Challenge), and Maple Bacon.


(The AMAZING Chicken N Waffle cupcake! For information on ordering this cupcake call Joel at 301-541-7046, email him at joelegill@gmail.com or visit Josie’s Confections Facebook page.)


(Strawberry Lemonade with strawberry filling and candied lemon peels! For information on ordering this cupcake call Joel at 301-541-7046, email him at joelegill@gmail.com or visit Josie’s Confections Facebook page.)

Lamorea, from That’s So Morie Cupcakes, brought a big assortment of cupcakes all individual wrapped up and tied with a ribbon. She came totally prepared for people to take cupcakes home with them! Among her flavors were Pina Colada, Simply Strawberry, Chocolate Chocolate, and Citrus in the City.


(Alcohol Free Pina Colada all wrapped up! For more information on this cupcake call Lamorea at 443-603-8060, email her at Thatssomoriecupcakes@yahoo.com, or visit her Facebook page or website.)


(Citrus in the City! For more information on this cupcake call Lamorea at 443-603-8060, email her at Thatssomoriecupcakes@yahoo.com, or visit her Facebook page or website.)

Other cupcakes present included another Strawberry Lemonade, a variety from Red Velvet Cupcakery, an assortment from the Giant Bakery, and the Crusaders’ contributions: Mojito (me), Mocha Brownie (Jenn), and Strawberry Basil (Elisa).


(From top center moving clockwise: Strawberry Lemonade from Josie’s Confections; Chocolate Chocolate from That’s So Morie Cupcakes; Mocha Brownie from Crusader Jenn, Mojito from me; and Maple Bacon from Josie’s Confections.)


(Cupcakes scattered all over the place!)


(More cupcakes! They were everywhere!)

While we always enjoy eating cupcakes and chatting, the fun really started when Danielle said that she would still like the challenge of eating five cupcakes for the cupcake eating competition. She was the only one who stepped up in advance so we told her the prize was hers, but she was determined to earn her prize fair and square.


(It’s all smiles before you reach the 5th cupcake! She did a great job and was such a good sport!)

About halfway through Danielle’s challenge, the Cupcake King, Joel, decided he wanted to see what he could manage. Since he helped us put together the prize pack, he was entering the contest purely to take his title of Cupcake King to the next level.


(Joel smiled most of the way through, before hitting the more challenging chocolate cupcakes. But he still came out on top and decimated all 5 cupcakes!)

It was like witnessing an episode of Man Vs. Food in person. They both did an amazing job! Danielle put down 4.5 cupcakes is 5 minutes (at first she wasn’t focusing on her time so much, but picked up the pace as soon as Joel decided to join the fun) and Joel ate 5 cupcakes in 3 minutes and 45 seconds. He truly has earned his title, Cupcake King.

We couldn’t have asked for a better first picnic and we are really looking forward to the next two in our series. Sunday, July 29th we will be meeting at the Westminster Community Pond in Westminster, MD and on Saturday, August 25th we’ll meet in Patterson Park in Baltimore, MD. For more information click here. We hope you can join us and make those cupcake picnics just as memorable as this one in Georgetown Waterfront Park was!

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

We want to give a special THANK YOU to Joel, The Cupcake King, from Josie’s Confections for helping us organize this month’s Cupcake Picnic. He searched for the perfect location, helped us brainstorm activities, and even contributed nice Wilton products for the prize pack. Thanks Cupcake King! 🙂

DC Cupcake Picnic: June 23rd, 2012

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Join us for our first ever Cupcake Picnic Series! This DC Picnic at Georgetown Waterfront Park is the first in our series. We thought it would be nice to have a fun, casual and relaxing summer gathering for cupcake lovers to gather. The only request we have is that everyone brings cupcakes and is ready to share with each other! You can bake them or buy them, that is totally your choice.

DATE: Saturday, June 23rd, 2pm

LOCATION: Georgetown Waterfront Park • Washington DC
We will meet inside the park directly across the Constitution Parking Garage off Wisconsin Ave NW. To see a map, click here.

PLEASE RSVP and let us know if you will be bringing anyone. We want to make sure we get a head count so that if we need to move we wait for everyone to arrive. Children are welcome to join the fun too! You can RSVP by leaving a comment below, emailing us at cupcakecrusaders@gmail.com, or click here.

We even have some fun events planned in conjunction with Joel from Josie’s Confections! One is a cupcake eating competition complete with a prize for the winner! We will only have enough cupcakes for up to 5 people to compete, so if you want to participate, please contact us. The first 5 people to let us know, will be our contestants!

If you have any questions, please send an email to cupcakecrusaders@gmail.com.

We hope to see you there!

Sunday visit to CakeLove at the National Harbor

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Growing up, I spent many Saturdays going to work with my dad in Oxon Hill, MD. This meant that Crusader Jenn and I either spent the morning with our Grandmother (who only lived a few minutes away) having tea parties, swimming, and playing rummy cub, or we would relax in our dad’s office reading the hours away. No matter which we did during those mornings, one thing was certain, we would spend the afternoons exploring Washington DC. I have countless memories from our frequent excursions to the museums, parks, and art galleries throughout the DC area.

Despite my vast history with the DC area, I don’t go there nearly enough anymore, which means I don’t visit with my grandparents as much as should either. But I’m working on that and after a recent Sunday afternoon visit with them, I decided to stop by the National Harbor where CakeLove has a location.

To my surprise I realized that I hadn’t been to the National Harbor since it underwent its major redevelopment. I couldn’t believe all the restaurants and shops that formed a little city along the waterfront. The weather was absolutely beautiful and I wished I had more time to wander up and down the docks, browse through shops, and maybe even sit with a coffee or ice cream cone. But I was on a mission. Cupcakes.


(Look at that blue sky and those pretty fluffy clouds! The day couldn’t have been nicer!)

After wandering around the harbor for a little bit, I headed into CakeLove’s shop and was greeted by a less than enthusiastic woman. They had a good variety of flavors though, so I took a few minutes to make my final selection of a Strawberry Cheesecake cupcake and a Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Caramel cupcake.


(Strawberry Cheesecake cupcake from CakeLove.)

When I first sampled the frosting on the Strawberry Cheesecake I was surprised to find that it actually tasted just like cheesecake. The strawberries added a nice sweetness, just as they do on a typical strawberry cheesecake dessert, but there was something off putting about the cake. It was very dense, dry, and spongy, but not in a light and fluffy way. While the top of the cupcake was full of flavor, the cake itself was seriously lacking.


(Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Caramel cupcake from CakeLove.)

The Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Caramel cupcake had this same problem. The chocolate ganache on top was decadent, the peanut butter frosting was light but had great peanut butter flavor, and the caramel added an overall richness, but the chocolate cake was bland, dense, and dry. In the end, I decided to just eat the tops off both cupcakes and discarded the cake portion.

CakeLove is celebrating 10 years of being in business, they have many locations, and the founder, Warren Brown, has hosted a show on the Food Network, written cook books and even been featured on shows like Oprah Winfrey. With all of this hype, I was really expecting more out of these cupcakes, and unfortunately they just didn’t do it for me. Maybe the consistency of the cake was due to the lack of quality control with having so many locations, or maybe it was because they refrigerate their cupcakes? (They say they do this because of health code regulations and so that the cake flavors have time to “marry overnight”, but refrigeration can cause cake to dry out quickly.)

That said, I still really enjoyed my time at the National Harbor. I look forward to returning and spending more time there, and maybe even giving CakeLove another shot. Everyone is allowed a second chance, right? 🙂

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

Summer Cupcake Picnic Series!

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Hey Cupcake Lovers! We are excited to announce that we are planning 3 cupcake picnics this summer. This is the first year we have done this, but thought it would be a good way to get to know some of you and share something we all love… CUPCAKES!

We want this to be a fun, casual and relaxing summer gathering so the only request we have is that everyone brings cupcakes and is ready to share! You can bake them or buy them, that is totally your choice.

We are still working out some details, but we thought it would be nice to send out a save the date so you mark your calendar and hopefully join us for one (or all) of the picnics. Here are the details we have so far:

Saturday, June 23rd, 2pm
Washington DC

Sunday, July 29th, 2pm
Westminster, MD

Saturday, August 25th, 2pm
Baltimore, MD

We’ll be setting up in a local park for each city above and might even have some fun events planned in conjunction with Josie’s Confections.

Stay tuned for more details and in the meantime, start brainstorming what you want to share! We hope to meet you all soon!

– The Cupcake Crusaders