Best cupcakes photo
(Chocolate mint cupcake at Georgetown Cupcake; Photo by Dayna Smith)

Best cupcakes

Julia Beizer | The Washington Post  |  Updated 02/23/2012

These indulgent treats are now ubiquitous in our area, at a not-insignificant $3 or so apiece. You'll find mini-cakes that merit the dough at these heavenly-smelling shops.

 
 
 
 
 

Baked & Wired

Washington, DC

The strawberry cupcake here is a thing of beauty: a large moist vanilla cake studded with fruit and topped with a sugary pale pink icing. Chocolate Cupcake of Doom is another must-get for cacao lovers; it's dark and velvety on the tongue. This edgy-cool Georgetown cafe also sells cookies, bars, brownies and coffee, along with savory quiches and bagels.

 
 
 
 
 

Best Buns Bread Co.

Arlington, VA

There's nothing "cup" about the softball-size cakes at Best Buns. Chocolate and vanilla combos dominate the menu, but the shop also offers lemon, carrot and red velvet varieties. We're fond of the meltingly good cream-cheese icing. In the warmer months, patrons often eat their desserts at the half-dozen outdoor tables.

 
 
 
 
 

Cupcakes Actually

Fairfax, VA

There's no place to sit in this suburban storefront, which boasts an artfully tiled counter and eight to 10 varieties each day. Try the "Actually Dipped" line of cupcakes. The shop uses two frostings on these: a light buttercream atop the cake and a ganache coating on top of that. The $3.75 double-decker cakes are decadent, but the taste will make you forget the calories and the cash.

 
 
 
 
 

Georgetown Cupcake

+ Multiple Locations

Georgetown Cupcake came on the scene in early 2008 and quickly became the leader in the cupcake game. Sisters/founders Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne sell thousands of cupcakes a day. With its deep flavor, Chocolate Ganache won over the testers in the Food section's 2008 Cupcake Wars series. Toffee Crunch will appeal to mature palates, Red Velvet to just about anybody with taste buds.

 
 
 
 
 

Hello Cupcake

Washington, DC

Penny Karas's Dupont Circle shop does the basic combinations well, but we're drawn to the banana-flavored options. The Velvet Elvis cupcake combines the fruit with peanut butter (a nod to the King's favorite snack). Vanilla Gorilla tastes like top-notch banana bread dressed with a vanilla cream-cheese topper. The shop gets bonus points for its Metro accessibility.

 

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