CakeSpy Note: Cake Gumshoe Stephanie is a bona fide Cool Dudette, and when she visited DC, she shared her favorite bakery finds and even had a chat with one of my personal cake-maker crushes, Warren Brown. Want to read about her adventures? Go for it:
While in DC, we stayed in contact with the main office of CakeSpy and were alerted that the Red Velvet Cupcakery was recommended. It was late on a warm night when we stopped by and most of the business was oriented towards frozen yogurt, but I snagged a "Birthday Cake" cupcake with a little sprinkle of sugar confetti. It was not a party in my hand, but a tasty cake.
Strolling along the C&O Canal in Georgetown, we spied Baked and Wired.
Completely drawn in by the excellence of their display, but unwilling to carry cupcakes the rest of the rainy day, a couple of delicious cookies were squirreled away for later (self portrait in the window, above!)
Last day in DC, we strolled by CakeLove on our way to the infamous Ben's Chili Bowl. Friendly faces in the bakery drew us in as much as the likelihood of sweet treats. While taking a quick photo of the cupcake case, we were greeted by a melodic "Welcome to cakelove." Turned to see a smiling face that matched the photo on the cover of the book on the counter. It was the man himself, Warren Brown. We talked at length about Italian Buttercream made without Crisco, the ratio of frosting to cake, and Cakespy and her store and blog (which has featured Mr. Brown's recipes!). The strawberry frosted chocolate cupcake was easily the best of my DC sweets. Warren, if you catch this - thanks for the chat! Next time, we'll make a beeline to Love Cafe if we want to eat breakfast on U Street. It was a pleasure to meet you.
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