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DC: District of Cupcakes

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at American chapter.

We all know that Washington, DC is known for its scrumptious cupcake shops, but which cupcake shop serves the best of the best? I decided to review the top DC cupcake shops and see what people on American’s campus think.

The most well known cupcake shops in the district are of course the famous “DC Cupcake” or otherwise known as Georgetown Cupcake. There are two locations, right in the heart of Georgetown and also in Bethesda.  Recently, Sprinkles opened in Georgetown. There is also Hello Cupcake, which in the popular neighborhood of Dupont. Baked and Wired, which is mainly a bakery that sells cupcakes, is located in the Foggy Bottom/Georgetown area, and Red Velvet is in Chinatown.

As a resident of DC, it is a rite of passage to eat and enjoy the cupcakes. Many tourists, DC natives, and college students have a wide spectrum of opinions.

I asked some tourists, and some college kids that are into cupcakes and those who are not so into cupcakes.

“While everyone says Georgetown cupcake is the best; Georgetown is over rated, there is too much frosting for the small amount of cake there is. Baked and Wired is better because it has the right amount of cake and frosting. There’s a balance. The frosting isn’t too sweet and the cake is just rich enough,” said sophomore Anna Chamiec-Pauneto.

On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, sophomore Hillary Wasserman said, “I love Georgetown Cupcake’s frosting! It’s better than any other DC cupcake I’ve had!” So some like the cupcake itself, and some like the frosting. DC residents like to do a trial and error taste test.

A previous summer intern in DC and sophomore at Mulenburg College, Beth Rader agreed, “They have a cupcake to satisfy every mood or desire: double chocolate for the ultimate sweet tooth, carrot cake for an afternoon picnic, or a classic vanilla cake to reward yourself after a hard day’s work. There’s even different flavors everyday!”

Some, have quality memories that took place at the cupcake shop, like sophomore Meera Kallupura. “I guess I like Red Velvet in Chinatown because I have a lot of early DC memories attached to Chinatown and that cupcake place is apart of them” she said. 

Another lover of the famous prominent Georgetown cupcake, sophomore Wynn Tashman said, “I decided I finally had to try my first Georgetown cupcake, so I waited out in the rain and I took a big bite into a lava fudge cupcake, and then suddenly Valentines day didn’t matter anymore”. 

The DC cupcake fetish is one that is important to the district’s culture. Everyone has a different story with their cupcakes, which makes it close to them. Although cupcakes are a good romantic treat for Valentine’s day, some made this Valentine’s day just another day. 

Lesley Siu graduated from American University in May 2013 with a BA in Film and Media Arts and minors in Marketing and International Business. Originally from Hawaii, she loves photography, fashion, travel, social media and everything Parisian. She has interned at GLAMOUR magazine in New York and Washington Life Magazine in DC, but her proudest accomplishment is founding Her Campus American in 2011 while interning in Melbourne, Australia. You can usually find her reading a magazine, enjoying a hazelnut latte or posting a photo on Instagram... and sometimes, all at the same time. Follow her on Twitter: @lesleysiu and visit her blog.