Professional Frosters: Moms Love (Sprinkles) Cupcakes

In the past week, Helen has had a change in career plans. She has now decided she will be a nurse, rather than an engineer. I'm not exactly sure what brought about the change in career hopes, but I'm hoping to steer her toward midwifery. Then, I could live out my retirement days vicariously through her. Awesome.

But earlier this week, Connor and Helen got to try their hand at a different career entirely: frosters at Sprinkles Bakery. This could be a pretty fantastic career for me, should they choose to do it, because it's no secret, I love cupcakes. Connor and Helen? It appears they love frosting.

And they have just one tip for the fabulous folks at Sprinkles, who so generously allowed them to frost cupcakes and then sent us home with a box to enjoy - MORE DECORATIONS!

This is the Sprinkles decorated "mom" box. It's available next week, in celebration of Mother's Day. And I can attest...moms do love cupcakes! At least this one does.

This is the Connor and Helen decorated family box. And just to be clear, Connor actually said "I only took one of each decoration so that there would be some left for the other children. In other words - this was him being conservative!

Elaine

Thank you, Sprinkles, my kids had a great time piling frosting on your cupcakes and checking out your party room. I'm thinking of hosting Helen's bday there - with a "If You Give a Cat a Cupcake" theme. Thanks also for the delicious cupcakes. My favorite is still the peanut butter chip and Connor's favorite is still the cinnamon cupcake, but the vanilla, chocolate, red velvet, and lemon in our take-home box tasted fantastic. The store manager could not have been nicer to Helen. In Helen's mind, they are BFF for sure!

Cupcake Wars: Curbside Cupcakes - a Good Reason to Get Out of the Office on a Nice Day

Sadly, I have no photos of "Pinky 1" or "Pinky 2". I also have no photos of Connor or Helen giving them the thumbs up or down. Why? Because a cupcake from Curbside Cupcakes has never made it home. The cupcake truck comes near my downtown office regularly, and if it's a nice day and one of my favorites is on the menu, I sometimes grab me one (favorites = lemon, the black cupcake, and key lime).

At this point, I have eaten enough cupcakes from this truck that my frequent shopper card is full, and my next one is free.

I know some people have the theory that you start with the basics (chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet) and if those are good, you move to the more exotic flavors. That theory won't serve you well with this outfit. I found their basic flavors to be fairly mundane, but I like their more exotic flavors - especially the black cupcake (dark chocolate cake, dark chocolate icing) quite a bit.

They just started serving in Virginia, and often their here on Friday. A big goal of mine is to track the van down when Connor and Helen get out of school at noon. Helen will fall in love instantly (pink truck!) and Connor will think it's a hoot to have a roving cupcake van.

I love the idea of this place. However, I recently became very depressed about this whole cupcake project. I thought it would be possible to eventually hit every cupcake store in the DC metro area. As it turns out, I'm on the verge of admitting it's just not possible. Most recently, I discovered there were actually THREE DIFFERENT cupcake trucks roaming around DC. Seriously?!? My task now seems impossible. I'm not even sure I'll hit all the trucks! I've never even seen a Sweetbites or Sidewalk Sweetsations truck, and I'm almost afraid to google if there are even more.

Help me! I need to get over this obsession with all the DC Cupcakes and find a new hobby (or maybe I just need to pick an end date, and whatever hasn't been tasted by then just won't get tasted). Any ideas (besides the sock knitting)?

Curbside Cupcakes - high middle of the pack, particularly if you go beyond the basics.

Elaine

Cupcake Wars: Fluffy Thoughts Cakes

Why is a cupcake my favorite dessert to share with my kids.

1. We can all get different flavors. If I get a box of cookies, or I bake a dessert, we're all eating the same thing, and that means we head to the lowest common denominator, which is not always that tasty for me. Plus, since Helen prefers things with chocolate, and Connor prefers things with vanilla - someone ends up disappointed.

2. I realize that I almost never bake cupcakes, making having them a real treat for me. I have baked probably hundreds of dozens of cookies in my life. I spent a year making cheesecakes of all sorts (that was a New Year's resolution one year, inspired by a cheesecake edition of Martha Stewart magazine), and the year leading up to my wedding, I must have baked 50 cakes. You see, when I learned how expensive cakes were, I decided to attend Arlington County Community classes and learn to bake one myself. I've since baked a few wedding cakes for friends, including this one. I do not regret that decision. I also have made more truffles than I care to count, but have given up that hobby since it's a 3 night process that requires little hands to keep out. It's a shame, since I finally have a kitchen large enough to perform the task relatively efficiently, unlike when I was actually making truffles regularly.

3. There's a clear end point. With larger desserts, or smaller desserts, it's never clear what a "serving" ought to be. First slice of cake was slim? Have another. Your handful of M&M's was too big? Eat 'em anyway. A cupcake comes perfectly proportioned - unless it's a jumbo sized cupcake, and then it's really too big.

4. Endless possibilities. I love that every story we've visited has the standards - vanilla, chocolate, red velvet - but also something fun. I'm particularly partial to citrus flavored cupcakes and dark chocolate.

Simply put, I love them.

A couple of Fridays ago, I visited Fluffy Thoughts Cakes. I liked this store for several reasons. For starters, they have mini cupcakes. When feeding kids, this is a huge plus. Also, they have some fun flavors, which I knew from checking out their flavor map, though I had no idea what would actually be available the day I went because at the time, their website was incomprehensible. It's gotten better in the past couple of weeks, but it's still confusing. What I did not anticipate is that they have cheesecake cupcakes. Perfect cheesecake cupcakes. They also have cupcake pops. In case you're not familiar, this is a marshmallow sized piece of cake, frosted, and then dipped in chocolate. The kids loved them. I was hoping they wouldn't so that I would get to try them.

The regular cupcakes had a bit too much of a powdered sugar taste to me in the frosting, but the cheesecakes were nothing short of heavenly. I'll go back for these, and the kids will be happy to devour any cake pop that comes near them.

High middle of the pack for this shop - unless you stick with the cheesecake, and then it's top of the pack all the way.

Elaine

Cupcake Wars: Next stop - New DC Cupcake Shop: Sprinkles!

Sprinkles Cupcakes is coming to town. In fact, they're already here. They've been driving around town handing out hundreds of cupcakes from their traveling cupcake van, and tonight, they hosted a champagne and cupcake event that was fantastic not only because they've combined two of my favorite things - but because I got to meet local blogger Jodifur.

I also got to meet the owner, Candace Nelson, who is an actual celebrity from the actual show Cupcake Wars. True story, I had no idea there was a television show named Cupcake Wars until after I had titled several blog posts with that title. Yes, I live under a rock. Anyway, Candace and I have a lot in common, I'm sure. Like, we both like champagne and cupcakes. See...

And just so Candace and The Food Network know, if there is ever the need for a stand-in on Cupcake Wars, I am available. Really...it's no trouble at all.

The cupcakes are gorgeous and there's a great selection available daily.

But of course, looks don't impress the crowd here at Connor and Helen. Nope. They've got to taste good.

Connor may have found his absolute dream cupcake - Cinnamon Sugar. It's topped with cinnamon and sugar, instead of frosting, and Connor is right - it is delicious. And that's saying something - given that the frosting of a cupcake is usually the big draw in this house. I love that it's on the schedule daily, so that whenever we next wander in, we'll be able to get it. It gets a solid two thumbs up.

It's true, Connor gives two thumbs up nearly every time he rates a cupcake. He's easy to impress (although I will hazard a guess now, that if I give him a choice of cupcake stores, he'll choose Sprinkles just so he can get that cinnamon cupcake again). Helen, however, is my more discerning cupcake taster. It took several weeks, until we found Cakelove, that she actually gave the two thumbs up rating.

She had no trouble dishing that rating out to Sprinkles as well. She had the milk chocolate cupcake.

I'm not going to answer the debate of which cupcake shop on M Street is best (Georgetown Cupcake or Sprinkles) but it's easy to add Sprinkles Cupcakes to the top of the pack!

Disclosure - I was given a half dozen cupcakes, a very fancy bottle of vanilla, some delicious very high quality chocolate, and the Sprinkles recipe for chocolate frosting. I was not asked to write about the party this evening. Thank you! The cupcakes were delicious!! I will be making the frosting very soon!

Cupcake Wars: Next stop, Crumbs in Arlington

OK - this cupcake thing is really getting out of hand. There are now TWO stores located in Clarendon  (Bakeshop and Crumbs) with a third on its way - Red Velvet. All of these are within two miles of my home. Add to that a shop we're trying tomorrow, Fluffy Thoughts Cakes, the several Cakelove franchises near me, a few in Old Town, and the mobile cupcake van that I have yet to write about and wow - that's a lot of cake.

But for you, dear children, I am willing to keep on checking them out - in search of the perfect cupcake.

For Valentine's Day, we went to the new Crumbs cupcake store located in Clarendon. My friend Vickie had actually turned me onto this place when I last visited her in New York. I would've written about the delicious sampler pack we devoured back in November (when lord knows I was looking for daily material) but I guess Vickie and I ate them (probably mostly me) before I could snap a photo.

In any case, I recognized them instantly when I saw the website, and confirmed my memory with Vickie.

These cupcakes are beautiful. They have a dollup of filling the middle, which I personally like, and the cocoa powder on the aptly named "jolt cupcake" was yummy. We hit the store on a day when they had clearly been slammed, so selection was getting slim. But still, they had plenty, and even though they had run out of the pink cupcakes (for shame) they happily suggested adding pink hearts to the chocolate cupcake which was good enough for Helen. And despite the fact that Connor was the official cupcake carrier of our group, and held onto the bag as tightly as he could in what was some pretty fierce wind, the cupcakes took a bit of a tumble before reaching our table.

I have no idea how Helen did this in the few moments I turned away from her.

She loved the cupcakes, but what a mess!

Connor gave these an eyes closed two thumbs up. You figure it out.

I rate these in the high middle of the pack. The sampler pack of mini cupcakes is definitely the way to go. The big ones are a little much - even for me - and there are so many good flavors here, it's fun to get to eat several.

Elaine

Taking Advantage of a 3-Day Weekend - And More Cupcakes!

As I sit reflecting on the events of the few days, it's not hard to realize why I'm exhausted.

Helen and I kicked off our weekend on Friday at Bittersweet Bakery in Alexandria, VA to check out some more cupcakes in the area. I had an expired coupon good for a dozen cupcakes, which I hadn't used on time because when I went to the store the last time (on the day the coupon expired) they were literally locking their doors 30 minutes early and had NO CUPCAKES. I tapped on the glass and the guy locking up told me they had nothing for me, but said if I came back anytime before January 15, they'd honor the coupon.

So...on January 14 (apparently procrastinating is my theme with this bakery), I presented my coupon only to have them tell me it was expired. Yes, I realized that. So they told me they'd give me six - which wasn't actually a deal since I had paid half-price for a dozen to get the coupon. So I told them, no, I want a dozen. And then I explained my story, and eventually the line was long enough that they gave me my cupcakes. Helen was excited to go to the bakery because we've been going to the coffee shop on Friday mornings during the time between when we drop Connor off at his class and when Helen's class begins. She adores the coffee shop, but was very excited to do "that thumbs up thumbs down thing again". (The method by which we rate cupcakes in this house. And let me assure you, though it's been since August that we played this game, there have been many, many cupcakes consumed since then.)

Saturday, I took the kids swimming while Ed primed and put much of a first coat of paint in our bedroom. No photos from this event, because I was the only adult and I'm not so irresponsible as to leave my kids to fend for themselves in a crowded pool when one of them cannot actually swim yet (though she thinks she can - which actually increases the danger factor a bit).

Sunday, we went ice skating. Nobody was excited about this except Connor. But, Ed had told him we'd go, so we went. And you know what? We had a blast. The ice skating rink at Pentagon Row was a ball. Connor and Helen cruised around with buckets in front of them, along with some assists from parents. My friend Laurie had recommended this place earlier. She was totally right. They had teeny-tiny skates for rent and the skates had double blades, making them A LOT easier for kids to control. I wouldn't have minded a pair for myself, actually, but instead I just borrowed a helmet and crossed my fingers.

I helped Helen, knowing my back would pay. She prefers to go fast!

By the end, Connor could actually skate just loosely holding one of my hands.

Even Helen could get around a bit on her own, though she kept getting stuck in the slightest of bumps on the ice.

Monday was our big ski day. We headed out to Ski Liberty to use up part of a gift certificate that Ed's parents gave us for Christmas. On the way, my back started hurting. I figured this was payback for Sunday, and didn't think much of it. I had no idea that in a couple of hours, I would be completely useless to Ed as he herded Connor and Helen both down the mountain - even using the chair lift or "swing" as Helen called it! I spent my time being completely incapacitated by some bizarre, yet relatively quick, illness. I'm blaming Dunkin' Donuts and some sort of cross contamination, but I have no proof of this. It was an ugly way to end the weekend, but now I appear nearly completely recovered, about 10 hours after the initial attack.

Off to bed to get ready for the work week. I'll be sleeping in a now beautiful bedroom, thanks to Ed and his sweet paint job. I was mostly moral support in the effort, painting a few edges where needed. I consider it warm-up for the bathroom redo!

Elaine

Cupcake Wars: Next Stop "Frosting - A Cupcakery"

We found another winner a couple of weeks ago. I had a coupon that essentially allowed me to bring home a dozen cupcakes for the price of six at Frosting, A Cupcakery in Chevy Chase, Maryland. We were the only customers in the store at the time, which really allowed us a lot of time for drooling. This store is lovely. And the person working there explained that it was the brainchild of a recently married couple. This is a fantastic idea on this couple's part. First, it's a great shop. Second, whenever they have a crappy day, they can blame it on the store, rather than each other. This is very similar to what Ed and I did. In mid-May, 2001, we got married. We purchased a house two weeks later. A house that tried to kill us. More than once. Which we were thankfully able to unload onto someone else, eventually. Anyway, all the minor problems with that house were really blessings because whenever something went wrong, we blamed the house, rather than the marriage. I can only assume that's the reason two newly married people would start a business.

Anyway, this cupcake store smells and looks heavenly. It is straight out of a Martha Stewart catalog. Trust me. I have many years of back issues of this magazine.

Connor went for the traditional vanilla with vanilla icing, and Helen chose something chocolate, decorated with something pink! Of course! I chose ten others that were each awesome in their own way. I was hosting a dinner that night at my house, so I shared my loot, and no complaints were heard. I definitely recommend this store and hope it outlives the cupcake fad.

Helen is definitely softening on this whole rating thing. She gives the store one thumb up and one thumb down.

Connor went with his standard two thumbs up.

I rank this place up with the big boys of Cakelove and Georgetown Cupcake. Check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Week whose counting anymore?: Cakelove (Arlington, VA)

Week 1: Georgetown Cupcake (Washington, DC)
Frosting, A Cupcakery (Chevy Chase, MD)

Week 3.2: Daddy Cakes (Topeka, KS)
Week 2: Bakeshop in Clarendon (Arlington, VA)
Week 3: Smallcakes (Overland Park, KS)
Week 4: Woodmor Pastry Shop (Silver Spring, MD)
Week 5: Sugarbakers









 

Finally Hitting the Mark: Cakelove

I stated from the beginning, I'm a Cakelove gal. I used to stop at the U Street store on my way to my Thursday pottery class. I loved it - every time. I also like the story behind the bakery. Basically, a lawyer decided to quit his job because he knew he wasn't doing what he loved. What he loved to do was bake, so he opened a bakery. I also love this bakery's cookbook, which I borrowed from the library before Connor's last birthday party, and neither I, nor my guests, were disappointed. It was the best vanilla filling I have ever made. Even better than Sylvia Weinstock's!

So it was with great excitement that I took Helen and Connor to Cakelove last Friday - and actually, this Friday as well. Last Friday, we had a swim date with our friend David, so I figured that was as good an excuse as any to buy cupcakes. Plus, I had a coupon where I could receive $40 of cupcakes for $20. In Cakelove world, that amounts to a baker's dozen.

We started out selecting six - one for each person in my crew, plus one for Marya and David. If Baby Ari, who is not a baby at all anymore was around, we'd have one for him too. Then, I figured what the heck, might as well go hog wild, and use the coupon. We went all out. We purchased vanilla-vanilla, molten chocolate, lime on chocolate, lemon something or other, cookies-and-cream, strawberry on chocolate, and probably more, though I'm not recalling what at this point. As the cupcakes were loaded, Connor literally cheered. (Ignore that Yankees hat, a very unfortunate incident involving Ed driving the car off with the children's usual hats on the roof of the car happened a few days before this photo was taken. Luckily, I found one of the hats on my way to yoga earlier this week and Ed found the other when we went biking, figuring the two hats must be somewhat near each other.)

We visited the Shirlington location, which has a really cool fountain outside. Helen nearly fell into the fountain - but managed to balance herself while I prepared to photograph the plunge, which didn't ever happen.

The sun was beating down on our cupcakes, so by the time we went to consume them they were a bit melty. That's what real butter does, my friends, and that's why these cupcakes are so good.

And now, hold the phone, drop whatever you have in your hands and sit down. Helen, my lovely darling who has steadfastly given EVERY OTHER CUPCAKE SHE HAS EATEN TWO THUMBS DOWN, gave her molten lava cupcake TWO THUMBS UP!

And even though she typically leaves at least half her cupcake behind for another day, she gobbled down every, last, crumb. Well, except for the ones that were smothered all over her face, which I think I wiped off with a napkin, but maybe they're just in the bottom of Marya's pool now.

Connor and David followed suit with their ratings, and I love how David seems to know something that no one else does. He had a molten chocolate cupcake as well. Clearly, there's something special about these cupcakes.

Finally, a perfect score. I'm moving Cakelove to the top of the rankings immediately! Breaking through the stone wall of Helen's downward pointed thumbs is not to be taken lightly.

Week whose counting anymore?: Cakelove (Arlington, VA)
Week 1: Georgetown Cupcake (Washington, DC)
Week 3.2: Daddy Cakes (Topeka, KS)
Week 2: Bakeshop in Clarendon (Arlington, VA)
Week 3: Smallcakes (Overland Park, KS)
Week 4: Woodmor Pastry Shop (Silver Spring, MD)
Week 5: Sugarbakers

Not rated: friends' bday parties and cupcakes gifted from Anna

The Cupcake Roundup

We've been pretty consistent about eating cupcakes on Fridays around here. And sometimes on Saturdays. And a few even snuck in our house on Sundays. Some of these were from friends, birthday parties, and some pink ones even came from a dinner guest!

Just to recap, we started with the big guns - Georgetown Cupcake, because those were given to me at an SVMoms event, although I've also purchased a good many of them on my own. After several weeks, they retain top prize, in my book. I've also written about DaddyCakes, which are from my hometown of Topeka, Kansas and since Grandma purchased a dozen, we did a good bit of tasting these yummy morsels. We've been to the Bakeshop...twice, actually. And I keep trying to be impressed by them, but frankly, the chocolate store next door is such a knockout, that I suspect most days when I'm in Clarnedon, I'll stop in there, instead. Variety...I need variety in my cupcake choices. And both times I've visited Bakeshop I've been less than impressed on this note, although the owner/baker did offer to whip up something special each time, which was certainly nice. At my sister's suggestion, we visited Smallcakes in Overland Park, Kansas, and that was worth the trip just to see how utterly messy my sister could get.

What I didn't yet tell you about is that we also went to Woodmoor Pastry Shop, after a playdate with my friend Ellen, a.k.a., blogger extraordinaire, Thirft Store Mama. We met another local blogger (who has made me grateful I did lots of kegels after giving birth because if I hadn't, I would pee my pants an awful lot while reading her posts they're so funny) at the shop Jean, a.k.a. Stimey.

The thing about Woodmoor is that they're a bakery, and not a cupcake store, so the selection was slim. And, when I asked if they could throw some sprinkles on something to appease one of the little people, the answer was a flat "no".

We ended up with two cupcakes and two cookies - and the ratings came in at Connor's usual two thumbs up and Helen with the less standard surly look added to her thumb down. And yes, that is her stuffed cat's shirt on her head. While we were at the bakery, someone actually asked me where I had gotten that unusual hat, and they were being serious.

Then we went to my friend's bday party and had cupcakes a-plenty, but no rating was done. And our friend Anna brought over strawberry cupcakes which Helen loved because they were pink, and Connor loved because they could be self-frosted. Anna's mom was nice enough to leave four behind (at Connor's not so subtle requesting), and we've consumed every one of them!

Next, we traveled to Chincoteague, Virginia, and checked out Sugarbakers. The main problem with Sugarbakers is that they are only open in the morning, so if you happen to take your children there post-nap, they will be disappointed. Real disappointed.

The cupcakes were big, and that was nice. And they were loaded with icing, which Helen and Connor certainly appreciate. But they weren't that special. And actually, Connor chose a doughnut. When asked to rate the cupcakes, Helen held firm: two thumbs down (what does it take to impress this girl?) but surprisingly, Connor joined her. It makes sense, I suppose, since he didn't actually eat a cupcake.

 So that catches us up to last week.

Rank order so far is:

Week 1: Georgetown Cupcake (Washington, DC)

Week 3.2: Daddy Cakes (Topeka, KS)
Week 2: Bakeshop in Clarendon (Arlington, VA)
Week 3: Smallcakes (Overland Park, KS)
Week 4: Woodmor Pastry Shop (Silver Spring, MD)
Week 5: Sugarbakers
Not rated: friend's bday party and cupcakes gifted from Anna

Weight gain so far? Not an ounce on my part. But I've been biking into work daily, and it's been 100+ freakin' degrees on my way home in the afternoon. For the record, this is akin to what I imagine biking through an oven would be like. Not. Fun.

Elaine

Cupcake Battle Week 3.2: Daddy Cakes in Topeka, KS

OK, so at first I was thinking we'd go to a cupcake store every other week, and then I thought maybe we'd go every week. But do you know what? When you're visiting your grandma and aunt, you get to go twice in one week!

After leaving my sister's house, we headed for my parent's house in Topeka. My mom knew about a cupcake shop that had recently moved to a bigger location - Daddy Cakes. Plus, a friend of mine suggested I go there when she read about these outings.



In case you hadn't heard, Topeka was recently ranked as one of the 10 best cities for the next decade in the country. And lest you think the list is completely bogus, it included standard gems like Seattle, Burlington, DC, and Boulder. I grew up in Topeka, and unless massive changes have taken place, Topeka does not belong on this list. As one of my friends recently said, Topeka is a great town to raise your kids in, and then watch your kids flee from.

But that doesn't mean I don't have a soft spot for this place I called home for so many years. And I really do hope this cupcake shop survives for a good long while (and the store was crowded the day I was there) because Topeka seems to be one of those towns where great things come and go, but never settle in. For example, there used to be a great Mexican restaurant near the University there that closed a few years after it opened. Topeka once built a huge performing arts center, only for it to sit basically unused. And I cannot even recall the number of minor league hockey teams that have tried to set up shop there, only to go through a season and be shifted on to some other small town who wants to make a go of having a team. Ed and I might be the only people still wearing our "Topeka Tarantulas" t-shirts. You have to admit, that's an awesome hockey team name.

Anyway, this store has great selection. And, because my mom was buying, we got to purchase a dozen cupcakes rather than the standard one or fewer per person. I was almost tempted to purchase the cupcake flavor that they created when they were on TLC's cupcake wars show, but the secret ingredient was seaweed, and I'm not cool enough to order a seaweed cupcake. Connor initially chose the vanilla ones with vanilla frosting, but when he sat down to inspect the box, he went for---wait for it---cookies and cream! This cookies and cream cupcake was WAY better than the one at the last store. Helen went for---wait for it---the pink one! Which was strawberry flavored cake and icing.



Even though the store was teeming with people, the little people weren't about to wait for Grandma to return from her errand. So I dropped the box right in the middle of the crowded store and they dug in.



Connor went with his standard two thumbs up rating:



And Helen decided to go with two thumbs down, though in this particular shot it looks like she might be easing up a bit and giving the cupcake a one thumb down, one thumb sideways.



I'm going with 3.5 stars - but they were better than Bakeshop. Selection was terrific. I love that they have three cupcake sizes (Daddy Cake, Baby Cake, and Petite Cake). But, the sugar in my icing wasn't fully dissolved - giving them a low score in my book on consistency of icing. I'm guessing they mistakenly took the sugar off the stove before it had a chance to fully turn into a liquid, though maybe this was intentional.

Thanks, Grandma!

Week 1: Georgetown Cupcake (Washington, DC)
Week 3.2: Daddy Cakes (Topeka, KS)
Week 2: Bakeshop in Clarendon (Arlington, VA)
Week 3: Smallcakes (Overland Park, KS)

Elaine

Cupcake Battle Week 3: Smallcakes in Overland Park, KS

This week's cupcake tasting took us all the way to Overland Park, Kansas. I'd heard from my sister that Smallcakes put crack in their cupcakes, and I thought my team out to check it out. So, we flew across the country to do just that. Oh, and we also visited my family for the week.



The selection was fabulous, which means they had one that was pink and a bunch of other random flavors. The pink one came with either chocolate or vanilla cake, eliciting several "hoorays" from my youngest taster. And, because my oldest taster never wants to feel left out of anything that my youngest taster is loving, he chose pink frosting over a vanilla cupcake. It doesn't seem like Connor is keeping true to his goal of trying lots of flavors, but maybe he's going to breakout with something crazy at the next shop.



My sister and neices accompanied me on the trip. You can see my younger neice here, checking out the goods. She's been here before, and wasn't about to be tricked into something so boring as a vanilla, vanilla cupcake. She wanted something deluxe!



I chose "drumstick", my older neice chose "cookies and cream", I think that's what my younger neice chose, but I can't remember because I was so busy snapping photos of my sister who chose the world's messiest cupcake. It had some sort of gooey chocolate filling in it. All my life I have loved chocolate. I never thought of my sister as a chocolate lover--except for milk chocolate covered caramels. Then a few years ago she busted out with an incredibly decadent chocolate dessert at dinner and I was totally shocked and she informed me she did love chocolate. Only she likes the milk chocolate kind and I like the dark chocolate kind. That's how we roll on a lot of things. Similar, but not quite the same. My sister, by the way, can eat whatever she wants because about a week before this photo was taken, she biked across half the state of Kansas - about 200 miles.



My cupcake was sublime. There weren't very many nuts on top and I'm pretty sure the frosting has some lard in it. Which might be other people's thing, but it is not my thing. However, although I have never tested crack on my own, I do read stories about such people, and I didn't find myself running across the parking lot like a wild banshee, nor did my heart start racing, and I had no strange urge to commit any crimes. So, I'm going with my gut that there isn't actually crack in the cupcakes.

Although I was not terribly impressed by the shop, all five other people involved in the contest devoured their cupcakes, and the ratings were a nearly across the board two thumbs up. Helen is turning out to be a pretty harsh critic with another two thumbs down. That's the same rating she gave Clarendon's Bakeshop. A bit of a contrarian do we think? I'll give them 3.5 stars.



It occurred to me during this visit that this cupcake battle might have two side effects, one intended and one not inttended. The intended side effect is that Connor and Helen are having a ball, even though Helen claims by her rating to not enjoy these cupcakes at all. The unintended side effect is that I might need to buy a new wardrobe at the end of this summer. I'll count this photo below as my "before" photo, even though I'm three weeks into this already.



Wrap up (in rank order - and week order at this point, but that will surely change):

Week One: Georgetown Cupcake (Washington, DC)
Week Two: Bakeshop in Clarendon (Arlington, VA)
Week Three: Smallcakes in Overland Park, KS

Elaine

Cupcake Battle: Week 2; Bakeshop in Clarendon

Last Friday was a little bit sad. It was the last time Connor would attend his beloved Oak Tree Kindergarten for the year, and next year when he starts up again, the "Tall Oaks" in the class will have moved onto 1st grade. Parents were invited to attend a picnic, and Mr. K - the world's most awesome Kindergarten teacher ever - gifted the students with a marigold seed that he had sprouted a few weeks earlier. Each of the children excitedly accepted their gift. The class gifted Mr. K with a wringer and a butter churn for the classroom. Mrs. G. - the world's most awesome Kindergarten assistant teacher - received a gift card for some craft supplies. She has plans to open at Etsy shop this summer, which I am very excited about.

After having pretty big lunches at the picnic, I decided we'd start our weekly cupcake challenge on the way home. Helen and Connor are ecstatic that they have basically been promised a cupcake every Friday for the entire summer. Naturally, we picked the place closest to us, the Bakeshop.



Here's the thing about the Bakeshop. We've been in here before. We went for Family Date Night #3. At that time, the owner told us that the slim selection was a function of him not figuring out the street traffic just yet. He told us he had just sold his last vanilla-vanilla cupcake, which at the time, was my family's flavor of choice. OK - It was Connor's flavor of choice, and since Helen adores all things Connor, she would follow suit and choose the same cupcake he chose when faced with a decision. Which meant that disappointment in one child resulted in magnified disappointment in the second child.

When we went in the shop on Friday - at opening time! - we were greeted with the same slim selection. This was disappointing. Thankfully, in the spirit of playing along with the Cupcake Battle, Connor had already announced he was going to taste different flavors of cupcakes, and he was going to taste them two weeks in a row to see if he really liked or disliked something, or if he had made up his mind too quickly. Seriously. The dude wants to be fair in his judging.



We ended up getting two specially frosted chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and chocolate sprinkles on them. I don't know what this flavor is officially called other than "this is seriously the only thing you have at your counter?" and then the owner saying "I can frost up something different if you want".





Both Connor and Helen gobbled their cupcakes down. I had intended this trip to be a take-out adventure, but clearly that was a terrible idea because who gives a kid a cupcake and then asks them to hold onto it for the next ten minutes. So, Connor and Helen cracked into the goods on the spot. Only, I saw the parking lady coming by, and I hadn't budgeted enough time for the meter, so I looked up at the salesperson and the owner and said "I'll be right back. They'll be fine." and I left Connor and Helen teetering somewhat precariously on tall barstools. Tall barstools that Helen only tried to tip over twice. And the second time, I really think she was seeing if her first experience almost falling off could be replicated or it happened for no good reason, because that's how Helen rolls. She replicated the near fall perfectly. I ran out of the shop, crossed the street, dropped in my quarter, and lunged back into the shop before the counter guy knew what hit him. The owner sat outside the whole time chatting it up with someone who looked like she wanted to be his Lady Friend.

When asked to rate the cupcakes, Helen gave them two thumbs down and Connor gave them two thumbs up. I give them 3.5 stars. The buttercream they use is almost identical to the one I make, which makes it less impressive than something that tastes different. Though it is a damn good buttercream. Selection was pretty boring, although this will probably change when they have their official "grand opening". We'll give them another try then. They get bonus points for not calling social services when I bolted from the shop to feed the meter.



Elaine