Apparently, The Washington Post continues to covet ModernDomestic’s readership, because they are running yet another multi-part series right up our alley: The Cupcake Wars.
That’s right, the Post is going out to a bunch of DC-area cupcake establishments and taste-testing everyone’s offerings. Some may disagree, but I actually think that this is a legitimate news piece (at least, in the Arts and Entertainment section). After all, DC has had so many cupcake establishments open in the past year, possibly becoming a rival to the cupcake-saturated NYC. Someone has to taste-test them and tell us what the best of the lot is.
The Post testers are rating all the cupcakes on a scale of 1-10, and reporting on details such as cupcake size, cost, and the bakeries’ best cupcake overall. So far, they’ve tested cupcakes from Sticky Fingers, a vegan bakery up in yuppifying Columbia Heights, and the ever-controversial Cake Love, which has seven locations in the DC-area.
Now, once upon a time I would have said that a vegan cupcake is an oxymoron—after all, “cupcake” is a symbol of all that is girly and delicious, and “vegan” is a symbol for . . . um, vegetables (not so girly, sometimes delicious-but in a peskily wholesome way). But then I had CupcakeMonsterLee’s vegan cupcakes, and my mind was completely changed. They were really wonderful and you would have never known you were eating a vegan cupcake.
But Sticky Fingers must not be using her recipes, because they scored a dismal 2.1 on the 10 point scale. The Post marked them down for dry cake, “unremarkable flavor,” and oily frosting. The Post liked Sticky Finger’s chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting the best. I do wonder how the Post review would have changed if they had taste-tested other vegan cupcakes, as a comparison.
However, CakeLove didn’t do much better, scoring 2.8 out of 10. The Post testers found CakeLove’s cupcakes dry, and thought the frosting was flavorless. The testers did think that CakeLove’s chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting was a decent offering. I guess the controversy over the quality of CakeLove’s baked goods continues.
I found this series is inspiring—but not because I think I’ll agree with all the Post reviews (when you get right down to it, taste is a personal thing after all). But it got me thinking that it’s high time to check out DC’s cupcake offerings for myself. After all, reviewing Hello Cupcake was just scratching the surface of a town that’s practically buried in cupcakes.
First on my list is the great CakeLove. After all, how can I not go—all the online griping about their cake just begs for a review. And while I liked the cupcakes I had of theirs awhile ago, I think a repeat visit is in order.
Who’s with me?
ModernDomestic 
wonktheplank said
I will feast on the cupcakes.
The Washington Post: Already Strapped for Content In Six-Week Cupcake Quest? « Moderndomestic’s Weblog said
[…] I cannot compare the ratings for this weeks’ pastries to last week’s because The Post failed to provide the average rating per cupcake. This may be because the […]
Nonna said
I am ready to join you on your noble quest.