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Posts Tagged ‘cupcakes’

  1. It’s all coming back…

    July 21, 2015 by Olivia Kathleen Richards

    Now that I am thinking deeply about my other cupcake experiences, I remember my trips to Cambridge, Massachusetts to the Harvard University Invitational for my high school speech and debate team. My primary coaches, Sarah and Joe, whom I previously mentioned about my Kansas City experience, went on the hunt for me while I was competing in rounds. They found the cupcakery that I was looking for on a short walk from our hotel. It was a lot closer than we thought.

    After long days competing in extemporaneous speaking, a cupcake was a great finish to my day. My first experience with SWEET on Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA was in ninth grade on President’s Day weekend of annual competition. It was between rounds of international economics and foreign policy. I was desperately in need of a “pick-me-up.” So, my best friend, Emmalie, and I walked to SWEET in the middle of the day on Friday of President’s Day weekend, four years ago, and it smelled wonderful. There was a large selection of cupcakes and I was pleased by the cute decorations and furniture. My friend has a severe dairy allergy, so she unfortunately just watched me eat their Red Velvet cupcake.

    Surprisingly, the actual cake was moist, yet darker in color than normal which is slightly unappealing. The icing was good, even though it was slightly thick. Overall, the cupcake was good but not amazing to be sold for over three dollars per cupcake. For the price you pay, you would expect more intricate decorations, sprinkles, garnishes or themed toppers on the cupcakes. They serve their cupcakes on a plate with a fork and, personally, I love that approach to eating cupcakes. I enjoy eating and savoring the sweetness in nice, small bites. With this approach to eating cupcakes, you can avoid getting that little bit of usual icing on your nose when biting into a cupcake, loaded with icing.

    With all of that being said, Sweet looks to be a safe and dependable resource when catering any special events. They sell both large and small size cupcakes. It can also be a great birthday treat to buy a full size cupcake for someone. All in all though, there isn’t too much to admire here.

    The appearance of the store is adorable, though. The store front is completely glass and offers a nice view of the hustle and bustle Brattle Street in Cambridge. In February 2015, my speech and debate team was trapped in Boston due to an extreme blizzard over President’s day weekend. It was a great place to get out of the bitter cold for some warmth and a bite of sweetness. Its a nice place for a quick break if you’re walking around Harvard Square.  Over my many trips to Harvard Square, I have tried quite a few of their cupcakes and red velvet is definitely their best. So, if you decide to make the trek up to Boston, I have two pieces of advice if you go to sweet.

    1) Buy the Red Velvet Cupcake.

    2) Don’t go when there is a blizzard that will shut down the city and its transportation.


  2. Don’t judge a cupcake by its size…

    July 11, 2015 by Olivia Kathleen Richards

    photo       photo1

    A few summers ago, a friend of mine and I decided to take a day trip into New York City. It got off to a bumpy start and we ended up leaving a few hours later because we accidentally missed the 6:30 A.M. bus. Unfortunately, we had to wait until 10 A.M. to take the next bus. Since this experience preceded my days with a driver’s license, my friend didn’t have a car, we had to walk around the downtown of my city to pass the time. We were too embarrassed to call for a ride to come back and pick us up. So, needless to say, our days plans were pushed back but, lucky for us, we didn’t have any plans!

    Alanna and I arrived into the Big Apple around noon on a hot, July day and we were ecstatic to finally be there. We left Port Authority and walked to Times Square. Since the both of us are lovers of Broadway, we decided to stop at TKTS, a discount ticket booth, to buy inexpensive student tickets for a show. Once we bought tickets for that evening’s production of Chicago, we needed things to do.

    We eventually found ourselves venturing around the shopping district of Manhattan. Alanna and I stumbled upon Baked by Melissa. This cupcakery has four locations in New York City and I visited the Fashion District one. This façade looked adorable. Since there was a small line. I had to go inside to try.

    Baked by Melissa is unique in that the shop only sells mini cupcakes. They have a wide variety of flavors but there is no different in size. I would compare each cupcake to the size of a half dollar. From the experiences that I have had in my house, it looked as though you could eat one cupcake in a single bite. Each bite of goodness sat in a case full of tiny holes, only large enough to fit one cupcake. For the customer, it was incredibly aesthetically pleasing and increased my expectations for the cupcakes. Soon enough, I found my “bite-size” assumption to be true. While the cupcakes were tasty, they were a little too small for me! I felt as though there was something missing. Maybe it was that there didn’t seem to be enough icing on some of the cupcakes. But, their small size compensated for being tasty and not getting dry, quickly.

    I vividly remember enjoying the Chocolate Chip cupcake which was yellow cake with white cake and chocolate chips on top. Besides the strong cream cheese flavor, my usual of Red Velvet was still good as well.

    For someone who tries not to eat more than one regular sized cupcake for each of my visits, I liked having the opportunity to buy a whole dozen for my friend, Alanna, and I to share. After eating six cupcakes, I felt a lot less guilty due to their size. Also, they were relatively inexpensive at the time. I believe we bought a dozen for only $10.

    As you can tell, Baked by Melissa was a great place to accidentally visit.


  3. Let’s start at home…

    June 25, 2015 by Olivia Kathleen Richards

    IMG_5859IMG_5854Georgetown Cupcake

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    The best way to begin my passion blog is to explain the root of this passion that I have acquired to find the greatest cupcake in America. It all began in the summer of 2010 as I sat with my mother in our living room, watching television. At that time, a new reality television show was released on TLC called “D.C. Cupcakes,” which shares the recipe to the sweet success of Sophie and Katherine Kallinis, sisters who risked their life savings and careers in fashion and finance to pursue their lifelong passion and dream of opening a bakery. With familial support and grandmother’s recipes, Sophie and Katherine opened Georgetown Cupcake in 2008 and became a success over night. The show highlights their booming cupcake empire from the decorating of thousands of cupcakes per day, to dealing with high class clients on special projects, to making cupcake tower masterpieces for weddings, fundraisers and festivals.

    As my Mom and I watched the pilot episode, I was enthralled by everything! I could literally take a bite of their cupcakes without leaving my couch. Georgetown Cupcake has an incredible selection of cupcake flavors and icing combinations. But, this cupcakery is most well known for their classic Red Velvet cupcake and signature swirl of icing.

    The half hour episode had me hooked. Once I took it all in, I set a goal for myself in a conversation with my mother. I decided that I couldn’t become obsessed with Georgetown Cupcake without tasting one of their Red Velvet or Salted Caramel cupcakes. So, I quickly told my Mom that by the end of 2010, I would get to Georgetown to make that happen.

    Luckily, my brother’s ice hockey tournament at the end of August took the family to Washington, D.C….giving me the opportunity to visit the home of D.C. Cupcakes! So, my mother, sister and I planned to visit Georgetown Cupcake between my brothers first and second ice hockey games of the tournament since there was a two and a half hour gap between them. Of course, we hit a ton of traffic on our way and arrived to see a line for cupcakes that stretched around the block. In order to make it on time for his second game, we had to turn around before we even got in line. I became very upset and talked my Mom into stopping at Georgetown Cupcake before we left to drive back to Pennsylvania.

    Once we finally arrived, we bought a dozen! I tried Salted Caramel and Red Velvet and fell in love. They had incredibly moist cake that was nowhere near dry and excellent icing that wasn’t too sweet, in their signature swirl.

    On that day, I decided to test a cupcake in every new city that I visit until I find a cupcake better than that of Georgetown Cupcake.

    Katherine, Sophie and their staff currently bake over 5,000 cupcakes each day and ship those batches of deliciousness all over the country. Their cupcakes have won numerous awards and contests and was voted “Best Bakery” in Washington, D.C. In my book, as a Cupcake Junkie, they should be voted “Best Cupcakery” in the United States. Since 2010, I have been to every Georgetown Cupcake location besides Atlanta (some more than once) in Georgetown, Boston (on its opening day), Bethesda, New York City and Los Angeles.


  4. Passionate Possibilities

    June 21, 2015 by Olivia Kathleen Richards

    I am extremely excited for the beginning of my blogging experience. When I think about my blogging possibilities, two ideas seem to come to mind. I am truly passionate about interesting things that include cupcakes and politics. Over the past five years of my travels, I have visited a new “cupcakery” whenever I visit a new place in my hunt for the best cupcake in the country. This journey has taken me from California to New York to Kansas. I have had my fair share of cupcakes and tasted both the bad and the good. I am interested in starting a blog to document and share my experiences at these bakeries. In another aspect, I have a passion for politics and foreign policy of the United States and other foreign nations. I am interested in the actions that the United States federal government takes in hot spots of the world such as the Middle East. Advocating for the rights of women and other underrepresented groups is a passion of mine. Blogging about either of them would be an enjoyable experience for me.


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