Remember CakeLove? That cupcake store that’s not Georgetown Cupcake? It all seems sort of distant now, doesn’t it?
Like the cupcakes, or not, give Warren Brown credit for being a visionary, spotting and capitalizing on a trend long before the market became saturated (and if the infuriating lines at Georgetown Cupcake – even the Bethesda Georgetown Cupcake – are any indicator, the market is still ripe for picking even though at this point it boils down to a marketing battle).
We’ve all had our ups and downs at CakeLove – the buttercream seems to be a love it or leave it proposition; as it turns out, I’m split right down the middle. I like the thick, unctuous, icebox-cool buttercream frosting for what it is, and I also respect its integrity for using ingredients I don’t feel bad about eating.
I hadn’t been to a CakeLove in probably a year, but the last time I went was also in Tysons Corner Center, and I had a very good cupcake – as good as any I’ve had there. This time, for variety and in the spirit of exploration, I ordered a Vanilla Icing on Chocolate Cake Gluten Free Cupcake ($4.00). When the pleasant cashier rang up the amount, I was surprised because I didn’t see any prices other than the $3.25 listed (the gluten-free version has a 75-cent upcharge). No problem on my end, but it might be a good idea to put a little sign right by the cupcakes.
Unfortunately, as good as my last cupcake was here, this one was extremely dry – doubly unfortunate since I waited until I was in the car to eat it. One bite, and crumbs went everywhere, all over me, all over the seat, down the cracks, and then the roof caved in on the cupcake and I got buttercream all over my steering wheel and stick shift. Cupcaking while driving is never a good idea, but on this particular instance, the results were catastrophic. (Don’t I sound like a Yelper, trashing a place because I got crumbs in my car?)
CakeLove’s Green Label products are vegan, low sugar, or gluten free – I’m not certain from their website if you can get a combination of the three, but I suspect one phone call would be all it takes to find out. Their product is honorable, with ingredients proudly listed for all the public to see.