41 replies to this topic

[Principia]

My queries aren't making the cut on Tom and Todd's respective chats, so I'll pose my question here:

Where in the District can one find a good cupcake? 

And by good, you can presume that I don't mean the chilled, dry, overly-pasty-buttercream iced vareity sold up on U Street.  I'm looking for bakeries, restaurants, or any other kind of retailer, provided they are in the District or are accessible by Metro. 

NYC has Magnolia, Baked, Billy's, Buttercup, Crumbs, Sugar Sweet Sunshine, and so many more.  Surely we must have a hidden gem somewhere.

Reference:
New York Magazine on the NYC Cupcake Wars
Cupcakes Take The Cake

My vote goes to Baked & Wired on Thomas Jefferson Street - although you ought to call ahead if you want to be certain they have them in on any given day. You can also custom order them.

[cjsadler]

My vote goes to Baked & Wired on Thomas Jefferson Street - although you ought to call ahead if you want to be certain they have them in on any given day. You can also custom order them.

My vote too. B&W is a place that gets no mention on here for some reason... maybe because of the somewhat hidden location (?).

[mame11]

My vote too.  B&W is a place that gets no mention on here for some reason... maybe because of the somewhat hidden location (?).

I have walked by it and wondered about the place... Now I know it is not a paint your own pottery place with wi-fi access! A true bakery?

[shogun]

My vote too.  B&W is a place that gets no mention on here for some reason... maybe because of the somewhat hidden location (?).

Which would be where?

[B.A.R.]

If memory serves me correctly, I had some proposals photocopied and bound at this place a couple of years ago. I must have walked by it a couple of times while looking for it. While waiting for the project, I got a coffee and a muffin. The muffin was good, but I remember being struck by how odd the whole place was.

Half coffee shop, half coffee shop. Name that doesn't mean a thing. Shitty signage. Hidden location (even though it is RIGHT ON THE STREET). Surprised it is still in business.

Oh yeah. If memory serves me correctly it is the first door on the right once you cross the canal heading south on Thomas Jefferson Street.

edited to add presumed/imagined location

Edited by B.A.R., 26 October 2005 - 08:43 AM.

[Meaghan]

My impression of baked & wired has always been that it only does catering and sells to restaurants. So, it's a shop?
In a city full of PR whores, where's one for that place? Maybe there's side operation there. Baked and Wired.

Edited by Meaghan, 26 October 2005 - 12:52 PM.

[Principia]

Which would be where? 

It's at 1052 Thomas Jefferson Street, and shares its space with Zap! Graphics.

If you're walking downhill from M Street, it's on the right side of the street with the mule corral, just a few steps down from it.

If you're walking uphill from the waterfront, go up the left side of the street past AIR and U.S. News and World Report, and there you go. If you come to the canal, you've gone too far.

You can also stop by Snap (crepes, belgian frites, bubble tea, etc.) if you're so inclined... same side of the street, other side of the canal.

[Principia]

My impression of baked & wired has always been that it only does catering and sells to restaurants.  So, it's a shop?
In a city full of PR whores, where's one for that place? Maybe there's side operation there.  Baked and Wired.

The walk-in business is from all of the workers in the nearby offices (just down at the bottom of the hill, for instance). I Baked & Wired.

[Jlock]

My vote goes to Baked & Wired on Thomas Jefferson Street - although you ought to call ahead if you want to be certain they have them in on any given day. You can also custom order them.

I am going to have to check this out - it's literally a block behind where I work.

One can hit "Snap" for a quick crepe (the ratatouille is my favorite) and then head for B&W from there! Thanks for the tip!

[Principia]

I picked up menus today at B&W, so here's the skinny on the baked goods:

Since people seem more interested in the Baked than the Wired, here's their current list of goody types:

Pies
Apple Crumb, Banana Cream, Fresh Blueberry, Very Berry, Cherry, Strawberry Rhubarb, Chocolate Cream, Coconut Cream, Lemon Meringue, Fresh Peach Cream, Pecan, Fresh Strawberry, Vanilla Cream

Breakfast Cakes
Banana Bread, Zucchini Bread, Pumpkin Ginger Bread, Mocha Coffee Cake, Cardamom Coffee Cake, Cinnamon Coffee Cake, Pear Walnut Cake, Apple Cake, Coconut Chocolate Chip, Banana Mocha Cake, Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Muffins
Blueberry Lemon, Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pecan, Apple Cinnamon Walnut, Raspberry Almond, Cranberry Orange Walnut, Chocolate Chip, Lemon Poppy Seed, Apple Cranberry, Blueberry Cranberry

Bars & Brownies
Brownies, Cream Cheese Brownies, Jolt Brownies (espresso), Raspberry Apricot Bars, Square Buckeyes, Soccer Mom Bars, Lemon Bars, Pecan Bars, Bee Stings, Caramel Macadamia Bars

Cookies
Chocolate Chip, Espresso Chocolate & white chocolate chips, Ginger Sugar, Monster Cookies, Molasses, Oatmeal Raisin, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Bomb, Butterscotch Oatmeal, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Butter Big Ass, Kahlua Mocha Dunking, Almond Anise Biscotti, Snickerdoodle

Cakes & Cupcakes
Carrot Cake, Carrot Cake Cupcake, Cheesecake, Texas Sheet Cake, Coconut Layer, Yellow or Chocolate Layer Cake, Yellow or Chocolate Cupcake, Chocolate Raspberry Layer, Orange Poppyseed, Lemon Pound Cake, Karen's Chocolate Cake, Coconut Cupcake, Strawberry Cupcake, Black Bottom Mini-Cupcakes

Other Stuff
Cinnamon Rolls, Macaroons, Whoopie Pie, Lemon Curd Tart with fresh fruit

If you want to find out what they've got in on a given day, the store's number is 202.333.2500.
To place any special orders, Teresa Velazquez can be reached in the kitchen at 202.333.5506.

In addition to the excellent hot chocolate, tea and coffee drinks on the go, they also sell coffee and tea in bulk. Coffees run between $12 and $15 a pound; teas run from $2.25 to $11.25 per 2 oz. I've got the lists here with me, if folks want info on varieties. They also carry some coffee and tea paraphenalia, such as tea canisters and travel mugs.

Edited by Principia, 14 November 2005 - 09:50 AM.

[porcupine]

Baked and Wired Report

Cupcakes far superior to that place on U St. I tried the chocolate, which was light, moist, and served at room temperature. The icing was a bit disappointing, though; it tasted like a simple butter/powdered sugar concoction. When I read 'buttercream', I get my hopes up for an Italian or French buttercream. Oh well. Note that thise cupcake was about one third the price of Cakelove's, but also about one third the size. Nonetheless, a far superior product. I did not try the much larger red velvet cupcake also on display.

Also sampled: the li'l bertha cookie sandwich - two tasty oatmeal cookies held together by the same buttercream. And the bee sting - shortbread topped with honey and almonds.

That bee sting is the best confection I've eaten in a long, long, long time. I'll be back.

Edited by porcupine, 15 November 2005 - 07:41 PM.

[Mark Slater]

Any idea why they were closed and the door padlocked last Saturday afternoon ?

[Principia]

Any idea why they were closed and the door padlocked last Saturday afternoon ?

Not to be a smarty-pants, but they were closed because they're not open weekends.

I wish they were open on weekends, since there have been numerous weekends when I've been in the neighborhood either due to work or with friends and wanted to be able to stop by. They did conduct a brief experiment with being open for half a day on Saturdays during the late spring this year - I assume to explore whether the tourist traffic to the mule-boat justified being open. It must not have been worth it, though, 'cos they stopped after the first couple of attempts. sigh

Edited by Principia, 16 November 2005 - 03:28 PM.

[Principia]

Baked and Wired Report ... icing was a bit disappointing, though; it tasted like a simple butter/powdered sugar concoction. ... Also sampled: the li'l bertha cookie sandwich - two tasty oatmeal cookies held together by the same buttercream.

I'm not as fond of her chocolate buttercream as I am of her cream cheese or coconut buttercreams.

The l'il bertha is pretty new... and it's definitely a big step up from either Little Debbies or whoopie pie. She's also done a version of the bertha with molasses spice cookies. Nummy!

Edited by Principia, 16 November 2005 - 03:34 PM.

[youngfood]

Last week they had strawberry cupcakes on special. I believe they were called Red Velvet. Mmm. I haven't tried any of their other stuff, but this was delightful. The most intense red strawberry flavor with a rich creamy white frosting. My NYC friend said it was better than Magnolia's - though she says Magnolia is #2 or 3 in NYC in her book...

[hmmboy]

DC cupcakes on the other end never fail to depress me. I haven't tried Georgetown yet and I will try this place when it opens. But really, I just need someone in NY to send me a Magnolia or Billy's Bakery fix once in a while.

Everyone has their own opinion of what makes a good cupcake. But IMHO the cupcakes at Baked and Wired on Thomas Jefferson St. in G'town blow Magnolia's away and are, again IMHO, far and away the city's best.

[goodeats]

Enjoyed an iced soy mocha and carrot cake cupcakes for my 4th of July treat. They also use Counter Culture beans, so the coffee had a nice flavor, not too bad of an aftertaste. Their carrot cake cupcake was really tasty and moist -- really satisfied my carrot cake craving. Wished I had bought 2.

[bonaire]

Go here. Get the pumpkin/gingery cupcake. I think it's a special offering. You won't regret it. Well, maybe you will if you eat two in a row, like I did.

[Hobbes]

My cupcake fix is always served very well at B&W.
I just love the Strawberry Cupcake and has to be one of the best in the city.
Think of banana bread made with strawberries instead. So the cake is very moist and dense with a wonderful sweet flavor of fresh baked strawberries. The frosting is light and creamy buttercream with fresh strawberries whipped in. Yes this is divine. Get it if you can, it won't disappoint.
I also enjoy the Chocolate Lava Cupcake.

.Hobbes

[goodeats]

Go here. Get the pumpkin/gingery cupcake.

I think this has been changed to pumpkin and ginger bread, where there are nice chunks of ginger with a smooth cream cheese icing on top of a thick slice for $3.25. Gebaby especially liked the frosting. Pies are available now on the weekend, and I believe they are open at 8am on Saturdays and 9am on Sundays. A nice cup of Americano started the morning right, after a nice chat about pies and sending children off to school with Ms. Teresa.

There is now a very delicious caramel coconut pecan brownie available. Also adding to the list upthread is a new cupcake flavor called "In search of blueberries" or something like that.

[merc340]

I agree, it's by far the best cupcake in DC, you won't have to wait in a long line like Georgetown Cupcake, and they have a bunch of places to sit inside. The employees are also really cool. The last time I visited it was late in the day, and they had baked too many doughnuts (DELICIOUS!) so they gave me 3 free doughnuts with my cupcake.

I recommend Texas Sheet Cake and Carrot Cake cupcakes. They're both very moist and the largest cupcakes in dc!

I also recently had a whoopie pie there which was tasty.

[goodeats]

The treats counter has certainly expanded, but the caramel smore was a nice piece of munchy-goodness to go with your coffee as a midday snack. They now offer individual brews of coffee, with a single-cup filter system similar to those offered at Peregrine.

[TinDC]

A friend of mine ordered a cake for her daughter's birthday from Baked and Wired last weekend and it was delicious. It looked like a massive, old-fashioned icebox cake. Three layers of vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream. The cake was dense and moist and the buttercream was so so good. I would highly recommend ordering a cake here for a special occasion. Unless you are looking for fancy decoration, I don't believe they will do it. But if you are just looked for an awesome cake, you will find it here.

[Lola007]

I'm a big fan of Baked & Wired. I've enjoyed their cupcakes, cakes, and pies (I had an amazing slice of cherry pie at the Taste of Georgetown event last summer). Added bonuses are the cool atmosphere, friendly staff, excellent coffee, and the proximity to the canal. On a nice day, I love to sit by the canal and read the newspaper w/ a cup of coffee from Baked & Wired.

[smithhemb]

What you should not order as a birthday cake is the giant cupcake. It looks really cute, but it's not as good as the cupcakes (feels denser and proportion of cake to frosting seems off). Glad to hear a thumbs' up on their layer cakes; I'll try one next birthday!

B&W isn't conveniently located for me, but at this point it's the only cupcake place I'll go out of my way for. It's a nice place to be (in or out), they take their coffee and tea seriously, the cupcake flavors are more varied than everywhere else, and there are good non-cupcake options. What's not to like?

[yfunk3]

I always try to stop in here and get a couple scoops of the Hippie Crack (or a whole bag!) because well...the name says it all!

Everything I've had here has been great: their iced teas, their quiches, their cookies. Surprisingly, I've never tried any of their cupcakes, but they sure do LOOK delicious. It is sort of hidden away...but with the Georgetown crowds, I sort of like it that way! I suppose it's selfish of me to want to keep this place all to myself (so to speak). Heh.

A little anecdote: Was given a brief "tour" of their kitchen once when I was there with a couple of friends, and they keep the plastic spoon that Luke Wilson ate with on their wall. Very amusing. The staff is always great there.

[goodeats]

I am really happy that they have diverged from Counter Culture and are now featuring Stumptown Coffee and Intelligentsia Coffee. At least now I know where to get a piece of Chicago, locally.

However, I think the stars today, under the extreme hot sun, were the iced teas. They had Passion Envy (Passionfruit + green tea); Peach fusion (Peaches + black tea); and Hibiscus Mint (tea unknown), of which Peach fusion really, really hit the spot. The bonus was that the brews were housemade and Strong, unlike most iced teas I get, including Honest Tea. Ahhhhh.

[yfunk3]

Love their iced teas. I think one of my most heartbreaking food-related moments was when I dropped my almost full LARGE iced Passion Envy tea outside right after buying it on a hot summer day last year. Not even the hippie crack could console me!

[Gus]

The iced coffee at B&W is also fantastic -- no unpleasant bitterness, nice caramel-y undertones -- a result of the cold-brewing process, or so I'm told. Worth the $3.25 they charge for a large one.

[bookluvingbabe]

Checked it out today. Good, moist cupcake, very good frosting. Not nearly enough frosting.

But they lost me at 1:15 when they have stopped serving decaf for the day. Shouldn't you serve decaf all day????

[DonRocks]

I went for a haircut in Georgetown this past Saturday and thought I would pick up some beans at Baked & Wired. I ended up finding chaos, as I saw a long line out the door for cupcakes, and then found the same view at Georgetown Cupcakes AND Sprinkles. Goodness gracious.

Thank goodness Baked and Wired had a line - it deserves one, and we should all be happy for them: they've stood in the shadows for far too long now. Look at this: click.

[mdt]

Thank goodness Baked and Wired had a line - it deserves one, and we should all be happy for them: they've stood in the shadows for far too long now. Look at this: click.

Just goes to show what a little TV show can do. Whoever got them on TLC deserves a ton of credit. That said, the cupcakes are pretty good.

[Twinsdaddy]

Checked it out today. Good, moist cupcake, very good frosting. Not nearly enough frosting.

But they lost me at 1:15 when they have stopped serving decaf for the day. Shouldn't you serve decaf all day????

I don't get that at all. Starbucks does the same thing. They'll make you a decaf if you must have it but it's a hassle.

[soapy]

I have a friend from out of town a few months ago who is a big fan of TLC programming and begged me to take her to Georgetown Cupcake but I put my foot down when I realized it was at least an hour long line. Sorry, it's just not going to happen. We went to baked and wired, stood in a 10 minute line and had great delicious cupcakes and felt satisfied.

[porcupine]

Georgetown is becoming a bakery epicenter, from Patisserie Poupon and Leopold's to the big fad cupcake place, the recently opened French chain Paul, and Pie Sisters anchoring it all on the west end. But none are as good as Baked and Wired, which serves the best baked sweets in DC. Pay attention to all the wonderful things other than cupcakes: cookies, pies and handpies, quickbreads and muffins, cakes... The worst thing I've ever eaten here was only pretty good. Everything else has been so good that I marvel at the (relative) lack of crowds. This weekend I tried an apple handpie (I so hope pie is the Next Big Thing); the crust was perfect.

The muse is not with me this morning; I don't have the writing skills to do B&W justice.

I'll qualify the praise by admitting that by "baked sweets" I'm thinking of American pie rather than pastry, and butter layer cakes rather than genoise.

Also, excellent coffee, and baristas who take the time to make it properly.

...skimming through the thread, I saw "closed on weekends". They used to be. Not any more!

[lizzie]

I just love all of the different nut bars. So perfect with their coffee.

[darkstar965]

Georgetown is becoming a bakery epicenter, from Patisserie Poupon and Leopold's to the big fad cupcake place, the recently opened French chain Paul, and Pie Sisters anchoring it all on the west end. But none are as good as Baked and Wired, which serves the best baked sweets in DC.
The muse is not with me this morning; I don't have the writing skills to do B&W justice.

Not sure about any muses but have to say I love the above post. Literally laughed out loud-in the best of ways. Think Porcupine has any bias here? Only one baked goods purveyor not even named...before it's slammed? No defense or argument here--just a thanks for a post both informing and entertaining based on a strong opinion. I'm a B&W fan too. Great stuff.

[porcupine]

FWIW I actually like Georgetown Cupcake, and think they're the second-best cupcake-centric shop in the area (Hello Cupcake in Dupont is better), and we go to the Bethesda branch pretty often (especially on Tuesdays, when they have my three favorite flavors all on the same night) because MrP hasn't gotten over cupcakes yet and I'm not sure he ever will. It's just that I don't understand the human psychological phenomenon behind the willingness or even desire to stand in line with a bunch of strangers for an hour, which is, come to think of it, close to my definition of hell. I would much prefer to spend that hour strolling from Gtown to Dupont to wait in line for 3 minutes at HC for a better product and then strolling back, by which time maybe I might have burned enough calories to compensate for half the icing. Maybe.

Also FWIW the best European pastries in the area are at Praline in Bethesda, with one or two exceptions.

[darkstar965]

FWIW I actually like Georgetown Cupcake, and think they're the second-best cupcake-centric shop in the area (Hello Cupcake in Dupont is better), and we go to the Bethesda branch pretty often (especially on Tuesdays, when they have my three favorite flavors all on the same night) because MrP hasn't gotten over cupcakes yet and I'm not sure he ever will. It's just that I don't understand the human psychological phenomenon behind the willingness or even desire to stand in line with a bunch of strangers for an hour, which is, come to think of it, close to my definition of hell. I would much prefer to spend that hour strolling from Gtown to Dupont to wait in line for 3 minutes at HC for a better product and then strolling back, by which time maybe I might have burned enough calories to compensate for half the icing. Maybe.

Also FWIW the best European pastries in the area are at Praline in Bethesda, with one or two exceptions.

Pretty much with you on all of that with one glaring exception.

Agree

- g-town is among the best (actually best IMO) cupcake-centered shop in the area
- the cupcake phenomenon with lines, etc is insane
- Praline. Absolutely. They've got it together.

Disagree

- hello is better? with the caveat that I gave up on it after trying it a few times in its first few months, I think the gap between hello and g'town is vast. at least as far as the somewhat annoyingly cute and ubiquitous cupcakeries can take us.

And, lest we get too far off topic incurring the wrath of a mod, Baked & Wired is fab.

[bookluvingbabe]

I like Baked & Wired and spend more time there now that the Barnes and Noble has closed. A little too hipster for me at times. I continue to like the cupcakes and love the pies when there is flavor I like. The coffee doesn't do much for me but I think I'm having a coffee crisis right now.

And I agree with Porcupine--Hello Cupcake has the best local cupcakes. Georgetown is a distant second. The rest are just wanna-be's as far as I'm concerned. Though I do have a soft spot for the Crumb's faux Hostess Cupcake. I consistently like the frosting at Hello better than at G-town.

[porcupine]

Pretty much with you on all of that with one glaring exception.
- hello is better?

It is to me. It helps that they have my favorite flavor daily instead of twice a week. And they have coconut more often, too.

It seems a tasting is in order. I feel a cupcake crawl coming on.

[bookluvingbabe]

Cupcake crawl! I can't organize a damn thing but I would definitely be in!