Monday, November 10, 2008

perfection disguised as a cupcake

Like I said before, I spent the week in DC to celebrate the end of the election and take a break from stress. My good friend Amber was gracious enough to let me crash at her place in the city. Being there just makes me miss it more and more. We wanted to take advantage of the beautiful Saturday we were given and we decided to walk to Georgetown. Not only did we just want to walk around and explore, but the ultimate goal was to sample the cupcakes at the winning bakery, Georgetown Cupcake.

If you haven't been following, the Washington Post has completed an 8 week competition of cupcakeries in the DC Metro area, The Cupcake Wars. They (editors, authors and staff members...how lucky!) visited 16 bakeries and tasted 159 different cupcakes. They selected bakeries that sell cupcakes out of a storefront, visited them anonymously, bought one of every cupcake available that day, and tasted them within 2 hours of purchasing them. Week by week they would rate the bakery and the cupcakes tasted that day. They were able to give each bakery a score based on various criteria and then find the best cupcake overall.

Georgetown cupcake won an impressive victory with an overall bakery rating of 8.43 out of 10 and their Chocolate Ganache cupcake scoring a overwhelming 9.58! So, being so obsessed with cupcakes, I couldn't pass it up!

We knew it was a risk stopping by the Georgetown Cupcakes on a beautiful Saturday in the city, but we couldn't pass them buy. The line was down the street but seemed to be moving quickly. We waited in line for 30 minutes! I know, you may think us crazy. But trust me, the deliciousness wrapped in a sweet pink box was well worth the wait. In fact, I would wait longer if I had to. After finally reaching the stoop of the precious cupcakery you couldn't helped but be impressed with the tininess of the shop. As sweet and dainty as cupcake's are the tiny storefront was just as quaint. Every inch of the shop was packed with people, either waiting for miniature cakes or selecting their assortment. I couldn't just get one! A box of half a dozen was what I deserved :) They bake different flavors each day, but we were lucky enough to purchase, a couple chocolate ganache, a vanilla, a chocolate coconut, a lemon berry and a seasonal pumpkin spice. To celebrate this momentous occassion Amber and I decided to take our little cakes of heaven down to the waterfront to sit and enjoy. As you can tell from our photographs, they met all expectations and more!
Please, if you EVER get a chance, go to Georgetown cupcakes. While they Chocolate Ganache was unbelievable, I reccomend a sampling. The Lemon Berry was perfect! I can't see any reason why the shop doesn't deserve a resounding 1o out of 10! They owners are sisters, Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis. They both left their previous lines of work to open this bakery expanding on their knowledge of baking they learned from their grandmother. They are my inspiration as I have no culinary experience but would love to work and own a sweet cupcakery much like theirs. I hope you too get to enjoy their little cakes.

3 comments:

AmbeRenee said...

Yes indeed the 30 minute wait was definitely worth it! Those itty bitty piece's of heaven were oh-so-delicious! :)

Unknown said...

ummm what was so good about them? if iam going to live vicariously i need a description! xoxo c

Emily Milhoan said...

the cake was perfectly moist and soft, to start. There was a great icing to cake ratio. Plus, their icing is delicious! It doesn't matter the flavor its fluffy and not too sweet. Amazin!