The Cupcake Weekly #6

February 27- March 4th: The Sweet Lobby Giveaway

Hey Cupcake Lovers! The Sweet Lobby-winners of 'Cupcake Wars' and recent addition to Barrack's Row, are giving one of my readers a gift certificate for one dozen free cupcakes!! 
Rules to enter:
Subscribe to my blog in the upper right-hand corner and leave a comment on one of my reviews. One lucky member will be chosen at random (and I mean random) and awarded a gift certificate for one dozen cupcakes. The winners will be announced on Monday 5, 2012!


March 4: H Street Bakes is Back!

If you haven't experienced H Street Bakes then you're missing out. H Street Bakes is a like an awesome back sale that features baked goods by local craftsman. Our friends at Crunkcakes will be in attendance as usual and they hope to see you there. 

Time: 12PM-3PM

Location: The Big Board (421 H St NE)

March 17: Cupcakes & Cocktails

 Cupcakes & Cocktails is an afternoon of shopping, mini make-overs, spa services, speakers, music, natural hair show, natural hair styling demos, entertainment, door prizes, raffles and complimentary Cupcakes & Cocktails! A portion of the proceeds benefits local charities.Tickets are $10 and can be purchased here.

Location: Upscale Ballroom 3900 Bexley Rd. Suitland, MD

Time: 3PM-8PM

August 19-26: The Cupcake Lovers' Cruise

Pull out your passports Cupcake Lovers, there's a 'Cupcake Lovers' Cruise'. The Celebrity Cruises ship leaves port in New Jersey and will be sailing to Bermuda for seven days of fun in the sun. Cupcake workshops and guest speakers will be on hand. Cabins are still available and start at $999-$1702.

For more info, visit here

Do you have a cupcake news or an event? E-mail me at DCCupcakeCritic@gmail.com to be included in the weekly round-up.

H Street Bakes is Back!

Where: The Big Board (421 H Street NE)

Time: 12:00 -3:30 PM

If you haven't been to H Street Bakes, it is an opportunity to indulge your cupcake & dessert fantasies. Area vendors get together and hock their goodies for reasonable rates.

Crunkcakes, The Cupcake Critic’s ‘Best of 2011’ winner, will also be in the building!!

If you haven't tried these liquor soaked gems, you've really missed adulthood. Hopefully our friends at @MSquared will be there too (Hi Mallory! Hi Melissa!) Get some treats, have some booze and we strongly suggest- some food!

For more info, click here

Baked by MSquared

Name: MSquared

Location: Varies

Price: $3.50

Flavors: Pound Cake

Score: 4

I attended H Street Bakes and while there I was pleased to discover Baked by MSquared. Nestled in the back corner of the venue was a primly decorated booth filled with treats. Manning the booth was Melissa Jackson, one-half of the MSquared team, while her partner Mallory was off that day. (Get it? Mallory + Melissa =MSquared!)

Smiling brightly, Melissa’s gracious personality bubbled over into her wares as the table featured several baked delights including: pound cake cupcakes, chocolate ganache covered pound cupcakes, cookies and peach cobbler in a jar-AWESOME! How inventive is a pound cake cupcake? And for $3.50 no less! I couldn’t resist and purchased one of the plain pound cake cupcakes (the critic isn’t too big on chocolate) and one peach cobbler in a jar.

Having hit up two other vendors in the same day, it took me a day or two to actually eat the pound cake cupcake. Known for its density and overall difficulty to master, I eagerly dug in and was blissfully surprised at how moist and tasty the pound cake cupcake was. The presentation was exquisite as the cupcake liner was a thick gold leaf wrapping that treated the eyes while the cupcake treated the palate.


Regarding accessibility, sadly, MSquared doesn’t have a store front or even regular rotation in a commercial venue to find their treats. Further their specialty isn’t cupcakes but their desserts are a treat that must be experienced. Feel free to contact them on twitter @BakedbyMsquared to learn more about their pastry and delivery options.

*Originally published on October 28, 2011

Crunkcakes

 

(Picture property of the Washington City Paper)

Review: Crunkcakes

Location: Varies; Delivery in Washington, DC

Price: $4

Flavors: The Dirty Pillow & Buttery Nipple

Score: 5

I first heard about Crunkcakes through the Washington City Paper and later got a tip from the cupcake-loving community that I could score some of their treats at The Pug Bar for H Street Bakes. While there I met the duo behind the cupcakes, Raychel & Faith, and their many flavors: The Buttery Nipple, Dirty Pillow, Bacon Maple Whiskey and Nutty Irishmen. I walked away with The Dirty Pillow and The Buttery Nipple.

First, Crunkcakes is awesome!! For several reasons but the most obvious are that they merge two out of my three loves: liquor and cupcakes.  Don’t worry about the third one but it rhymes with Schwinn and walks on two legs.The idea of marrying liquor and cupcakes isn’t a new one but doing it where one doesn’t overpower the other, while maintaining the consistency, is damn near genius. Luckily, Crunkcakes has done both.

I started off with the Buttery Nipple (how do you not like something called a buttery nipple?) The moist cake was a surprising companion to the frosting which was the actual star. The rich frosting was bursting with my favorite liqueurs: Buttershots and Bailey’s Irish cream. I was literally licking the bag with my fingers looking for more of the sweet cupcake coating.

I purposefully saved ‘The Dirty Pillow’ for last. Anything that is served with its own utensil should be taken seriously. Further this cupcake is made using the famous tres leche cake technique which makes the cake juicy but not soggy. Needless to say, I was excited.

Twirling the cupcake around, I examined the soft luscious layers of creamy goodness which were orgasmic! Once I was in, I couldn’t stop. I had to keep going in for more and more until only the creamy liquid center remained. I scraped the walls of the waxy coated cup to finish off a job well done.

Due to the alcohol content, which was powerful yet subtle, I was a bit buzzed and needed to sleep it off. Clearly Crunkcakes lives up to their name and reputation. Further, cheaper than a shot, these $4 beauties will never spend an evening home alone. You will be tearing the paper off the moment you get into the house-if you can wait that long.

*Originally published on September 18, 2011