1 girl, 3 cupcake spots

if you follow me on twitter, i'm always sending an update about cupcakes. i'm a confection addict, i have to admit. more accurately, i'm probably always updating about dessert in general. announcing my craving for a funnel cake and mentioning Founding Farmer's DELICIOUS red velvet cake immediately comes to mind. lately, i've been discovering little cupcake shops to add to my mental rolodex when i happen to be in varying parts of the city.

georgetown cupcake- if it's free, it's for me. i frequent them for the free cupcake of the day and sometimes im greedy and pay for one other. they are cheapest at $2.75 a cupcake but they also are the smallest. i like their icing best and the cake part is nice and light, which i prefer.

this is the first specialty cupcake shop i've ever visited (i think over a year now). with the new show on TLC, the line has been more ridiculous than ever so i'm seeking out alternatives. their daily promotion of a free "secret" cupcake doesn't help either. get there before 10 am (when they open) for your best shot. they announce the free item on fb and twitter during the 9 oclock hour.

my rating: A

baked and wired- they dont just sell cupcakes. they offer other confections and some granola mix they call "hippie crack". also located in georgetown, it gets points for being closer to campus AND conveniently located closer to the bus stop (and mac and sephora) than georgetown cupcake. these cupcakes are probably twice the size of g'town cupcakes. here's where points are lost: the icing is super sugary which i do not like and the cake is more of a muffin consistency so it's dense. you also pay for convenience as it's not a super well known spot because they charge something like $3.85 for their cupcakes. I can't remember the price and they do not list the price on their website. i'm willing to give them a second chance because i tried strawberry (which had pieces of strawberry in the cake, yum!). i'll reserve final judgement until i try something chocolate. if you mess that up, you should just go out of business.

my rating: B-

hello cupcake- the third venue is located just below Dupont Circle. foursquare puts me on to plenty of new spots to try although i'm certain i've passed this place before but just never went in out of loyalty for georgetown cupcake in it's pre-tv show days. they charge 3.00 exactly for their cupcakes and they are about the same size as georgetown cupcakes. the icing was light and fluffy and tasty and the cake is light as well. i got a princess cupcake which was also strawberry and is served daily.

my rating: A

each spot has a variable menu with some items served daily. visit their websites for menu offerings.