Cupcake Fever!

The food trend that's been sweeping the nation - though it's been in DC culture for a while now - is our passion for cupcakes. Who can resist these delicious morsels? But, the real question is who makes the best cupcakes in DC?

First...what elements make up the best cupcake? The icing of course...absolutely a moist and fluffy cake....and finally there is the presentation, the size and packaging of the cupcakes.

There are several top cupcakeries in the Washington, DC area.  Places of note include:

Georgetown Cupcake (in Georgetown and Bethesda) which has attracted a lot of attention due to it's new cable television show and mass produces thousands of (rather small)cupcakes each week.

Hello Cupcake (in Dupont Circle) has flavors with cutesy names such as You Tart! (lemon cake with lemon cream cheese frosting) and Prima Donna (chocolate cake with strawberry buttercream).

Red Velvet Cupcakery (in Penn Quarter) is a very nice addition to this bustling neighborhood and stays open serving cupcakes until 11 pm.

Just Cakes (in Bethesda) is a bakery offering a wide variety of deliciousness. The cupcakes served here are made with the same ingredients as their famous cakes - with the most indulgently delicious buttercream icings known to man (and woman).

After sampling a wide variety of cupcakes around town, I have to say that the best, and my favorite cupcakes come from......Baked & Wired in Georgetown. While this bakery doesn't focus solely on cupcakes, the cupcakes they produce are larger and more moist.  Whether you're trying any of my Baked & Wired favorites - red velvet, strawberry or their "chocolate cupcake of doom", the icing is always consistently delicious. And, I just love the pretty folded wax paper presentation (rather than serving them in traditional  cupcake paper). Each cupcake is $3.50...but they are out of this world delicious and totally worth it.

My final question to pose is this...with all this cupcake fever going on in and around DC...where are the cupcake places in Arlington, Va? Seems like an interesting omission for this industry.