Cupcakes No. 6: CakeLove

The cupcake gods hate me.

I had ridiculously high hopes for CakeLove, most of them stemming from the fact that it is within walking distance of our neighborhood and I enjoyed the thought of gourmet cupcakes whenever the craving struck, but alas, it is not to be. Why? Because they’re terrible, that’s why.

Okay, terrible is way too harsh. It is really hard to make a terrible cupcake, especially when it’s someone’s successful livelihood. (They’ve been around for 10 years, so who am I to judge?) I’ve finished every CakeLove cupcake I’ve ever started, but at $3.35 a pop – unless you get the weekly special, which are usually priced at $2.75 – the grocery store bakery next door starts to look reeeally appetizing.

The chain has six locations in the DC Metro, but I’ve only been to the one near our condo. The employees are always very cheerful – noticeably and wonderfully so – and the interior is clean and bright and modern looking. But outside of the baker’s racks and a plain, ol’ foodservice display case, there is really nothing in the décor to differentiate it from a deli or a coffee shop other than a slew of construction-esque signs that warn you to eat your cake at room temperature. The signs themselves are entertaining, but they seem a little random without a larger scheme to tie in to.

They’re also a bit ironic because CakeLove serves their cupcakes straight out of the refrigerated case. And while I understand the concern for food safety and the trumping power of health inspectors, anyone who thinks I am going to wait 15 minutes for my cupcake to come to ‘room temperature’ has obviously never seen me eat cupcakes before. (Or anything, for that matter. ;) Many of the cupcakeries I’ve visited don’t refrigerate their cupcakes, so I wonder if that is something left up to the reigning health department. Sour Buttercream – what a way to go!

However, in the interest of a fair review, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and tried them both ways, room temp and cold. On my first trip about a month ago, I bought a Raspberry Vanilla cupcake for me and a 44 (As in, the president. I do love the DC humor. ;) for my friend Hannah. The cupcakes sat in the warm car for several hours before we ate them and, while you’d think they’d be all soft and melty, mine tasted like a dry muffin buried in a blob of strangely unmeltable buttercream. Strike one.

Tiramisu (left) and Coffee (right). Afterwards, we went home and drank coffee. Cause that's how we roll...!

Trip number two occurred a few nights ago, when I lured the huz away from his homework with promises of a sugar fix. (Secretly, I’d walked past CakeLove earlier in the day and saw them advertising a Tiramisu cupcake, which I knew I had to try.) Drew ordered a coffee cupcake and we set upon them immediately, fresh and cold from the case, but unfortunately, with the same results as before: a heavy, dry cake with dense, toupee-like frosting. The center of the Tiramisu cupcake had the benefit of being injected with espresso, which softened it up a bit and gave it a lot more flavor, but not enough to save the day. Strike two.

Do I dare give them a third try? Probably. Someday. Perhaps then the Lords of the Cupcakes won’t be quite so cruel. :(

Cupcakery Design - Two out of Five Cupcakes

The Cake - One out of Five Cupcakes

The Frosting - Two out of Five Cupcakes