Hello Cupcake

I was on my way to dinner when I saw this shop… too cute not to stop in! I had not heard anything of this shop or how their cupcakes rated to must, but I decided to give them a try based on appearances (of the shop and cupcakes). I went with one carrot cake cupcake for $ 3.50 (these cupcake prices are getting a little ridiculous).
The cupcake was definitely delicious! Very moist, not overly sweet, with creamy yummy frosting. Think I have found my new cupcake spot (when I feel like splurging)!

Well well well, it looks like The Sweet Lobby has some serious competition on 8^th street for the title of best cupcake on Barracks Row. I honestly didn’t have high hopes for this little joint, it looked pretty uninspiring as we traipsed by on our way to a rejection at Rose’s, and then trundled by again on our way to La Lavagne instead! Granted, it was later in the day, which usually means fewer choices, and drier cupcakes, so my expectations were appropriately set…
As Lloyd so eloquently put it in Dumb & Dumber, man, I was way off!
The guy working the counter was relaxed but funny, which I like, although a little skinny if you ask me for a purveyor of fat pills, but he was still young, so maybe that explains it… stupid metabolism…
They had a few cupcakes that were out, but only a couple, and none that I wanted. After going back and forth, I settled on Dulche de Leche, and the mandatory Red Velvet. The clerk though sensing my depression that I wasn’t going to get the Snickerdoodle, threw it in gratis! I love when that happens! One of the few benefits of rolling in late when they know they’ll be throwing some away soon anyway!
Now, to the cakes… really really really good! The Snickerdoodle had a little snickerdoodle cookie on top, with fluffy, silky cinnamon flecked icing, and a perfectly moist cake. And, one of my favorite treats, a slightly chewy, crusty cake top under the icing, just perfectly done!
The Dulche de Leche was the same, with a great smooth icing, chewy top, and a nice little drizzle of caramel on top, dangerously close to being over the cake/​icing ratio, but the icing isn’t too heavy, so they straddled the right side of the line!
And the Red Velvet? A solid representation of the class, nothing non traditional, but also no flaws.
I’ll be back here on the regular, and I’ll have to seriously debate which cupcake shop I’ll become a regular at on Barracks Row…

Expectations are everything and I have to admit my expectations before coming here were very low. Nothing personal, cupcake, but my cupcake experiences of late had been rather subpar. In fact, walk into any bakery and I’d rather anything — a scone, a cookie, a brownie, even a cappuccino — over a cupcake.
Not here. And full disclosure, I personally ate a VEGAN cupcake (okay, so I ate two. In one night.)
I will be the first person to tell you that as a [newly, and temporarily] dairy-​free lady that Sticky Fingers bakery is absolutely divine and every time I visit I practically buy the store out. But the cupcakes? Lackluster. I fully expected that a place specializing in vegan would do vegan best but it simply is not so.
Thankfully, Hello Cupcake to the rescue. This place takes the cake! (sorry, pun intended.) They offer a vegan selection daily, although you have to call the store or visit to see what the flavor is since they don’t update the website daily (who can blame them?) You can, it seems, see the seasonal selections (and hours) by checking their Facebook page. When I went yesterday they had vanilla vegan cupcakes topped either with vanilla or chocolate icing. Since the lady on the clock told me they were «pretty good» I splurged and bought both. When it came time for dessert at home, I couldn’t stop at one — an hour later I had to eat number two. Divine. The icing is melt in your mouth and does not at all leave your tongue feeling like it’s coated with shortening, like so many vegan cupcakes do. The cake itself is the perfect density, not dry at all, and the top is crispy and chewy — I almost thought I was biting into a cookie. And I definitely would have no clue it was vegan if it hadn’t been labeled as such.
Now, it’s not just the vegan cupcakes that are tasty. I bought five other flavors: triple coconut, tiramisu, 24 carrot, heart of darkness and gingerbread. We quartered them all. First of all, my husband, who is not a «dessert» person, wound up licking hit fingers and touting the virtues of each flavor and the accompanying icing in order to convince my F-​I-​L, who hates icing, to try them. My F-​I-​L then, after trying each, subsequently claimed that he «hadn’t had his piece» each time and going back for seconds. Therefore, I can only imagine that the icing on the «regular» cupcakes was as delicious as the icing on my vegan cupcake. Needless to say, they were all a hit, but the favorites of the night were the tiramisu and 24 carrot, followed by the coconut. The chocolate was deemed a little too rich, but admittedly, none of these folks are true chocolate lovers.
I think each cupcake is $ 3.25, with special flavors at $ 3.50. And perhaps a small discount when you buy a dozen. So at 7 cupcakes I spent ~$ 22 for four people in lieu of a birthday cake and felt extremely satisfied. After splitsies, we even had a little bit left over.
Short story: yummy. Highly recommend.

I’m gettin tired of these cupcake places. 10 years ago, cupcakes were either made at your house in a muffin pan OR sold at the grocery store by the dozen. Now you gotta stop at every cupcake store that pops up and drop 15 bucks for a few bites of cake because your wife thinks they’re cute.
But I gotta give it to Hello Cupcake. We had a girl scout ‘Samoa’ cookie flavored cupcake (caramel and coconut on chocolate), and a light and sweet lemon cupcake. I liked them both.

Spacious, Yummy & Its open Sundays!
Tips: don’t go right when they open; they won’t be ready with all the cupcakes, especially if they have a pre-​order. Also, if you want mini cupcakes, you’ve got to order in advance and order at least two dozen.
HC has a bakers dozen card; buy 12 cupcakes get the 13^th free!
I gotta say, I prefer Sweet Lobby down the street — simply cause i prefer SL’s décor and they’ve got macrons. However, Hello Cupcake does provide gluten free cupcakes whereas Sweet Lobby dosent. And yes, the gluten free cupcakes are quite appetizing. I’d say you cant go wrong with either spot. Try them both. Its the perfect excuse to indulge in cupcakes (=

I think Hello Cupcake is the most underrated cupcakes joints in DC.
The flavors are great, the cake to frosting ratio is near perfect and the price is comparable to other similar bakeries.
Best Flavor: Tiramisu
— the espresso cake is moist but not too moist and full-​bodied in flavor, the marscapone frosting is amazing and the chocolate-​covered espresso bean garnish is just the right amount of chocolate, bitterness and crunch to top it off
Parking is a nightmare in Dupont Circle, but this place is a real gem if you can walk from the metro station because there are no crazy lines like the ones at Georgetown Cupcake and you can get the same quality for about the same price

4.5 stars for this quaint little outpost, nestled on a tree-​lined brick street in SE DC!
This is probably one of the best cupcakes I’ve ever had in this area so far. I had the Dulce de Leche, and it was a deliciously delightful caramel-​y treat. Like all the cupcakes I’ve had here so far, my most recent purchase was moist and flavorful. Service was friendly and attentive and, per usual, the shop was nice, bright, and clean. I definitely recommend that you stop in whenever you find yourself in the area.

The girls at the 8^th st. location are awesome! My wife and I ordered a came for my daughter’s 6^th birthday party from a local grocery store bakery. When I arrived — the cake was disastrous. With 2 hours before the party, I was able to stop in, purchase 3 dozen cupcakes (+ cupcake tree stand) and made it just in time. They even have a 10% military discount!

Tried the gianduja and tiramisu cupcake and was pretty impressed with their selection. Vegan/​gluten free? Pretty nice. Sadly, the gianduja cupcake tasted like a pretty standard chocolate cupcake. The tiramisu was a nice improvement– moist, mascarpone frosting, and awesomely tiramisu. The cupcakes themselves were cute and well priced.

Why Hello, Cupcake! I was in DC visiting friends and one is a cupcake addict and in exchange to indulging me in a tour of the Capital we opted for a cupcake treat. My best friend, being thoughtful, had narrowed it down to 2 cupcake shops that also advertised gluten free cupcakes as well. Since neither of us had been to either bakery, it was like choosing a date online instead of with two attractive men, but two deliciously sounding bakeries.
Like most online dating adventures Hello Cupcake was simply ok. While the physical attractiveness and friendly staff atmosphere was enough to bring me in, my experience with their gluten free cupcakes lacked enough substance to earn them a second date.
I’m sorry Hello Cupcake, but you were essentially a tease; bringing me in with the display case of deliciously looking (and sounding) cupcakes while only offering me a vanilla, yellow cake cupcake overcompensated with icing. This experience proved to be a little bit vanilla for my tastes.

First visit to Hello Cupcake, was headed into the city for dinner with some girlfriends. Decided to have a treat first!
Had their special Samoa cupcake. Delicious! Edges of cupcake were a litle crispy and the coconut was toasted. My friend enjoyed her carrot cupcake even more.
Price was reasonable for an upscale cupcake. Staff was very friendly.
Looking forward to returning and trying something different!

A solid cupcakery. Their cakes were good, not great. Good flavor, fair prices, no lines the few times I stopped in. There was nothing exceptional about this shop, but nothing particularly bad either.

I really enjoyed this little bake shop, tucked into Barrack’s Row. My friends and I happen to be cupcake connoisseurs, and we found this place to be top notch. They have the normal flavors, and even some gluten free and vegan. My favorite was by far the Bailey’s cupcake. Delish!
I really loved the cute little boxes these sweet treats came in. I definitely be back for dessert after brunch and a stroll through Eastern Market.

I’m not sure why this place doesn’t have better reviews. In fairness i’d give it 4.5 stars, but they don’t give you that option. The first time I came here was in April and it was my first official DC cupcake experience, although i’ve lived here for more than 5 years. I was just not into standing in line like a noob or dealing with the hellish experience of trying to find parking in Georgetown. A family member and a coworker both pointed me to Hello Cupcake.
PROS:
— No line. You don’t have to deal with the tourists and the madness of G-​Town. You go in, you pick your cupcake, pay and you leave. Simple.
— Large selection and plenty of seasonal options. In April they had a cherry blossom cupcake. It had an actual cherry in the middle. YUM.
–Good size cupcakes with a lot of flavor
–Its in Capitol Hill… such a cute area. Go to Teds Bulletin for Brunch, and if you haven’t had your fair share of sweets there… pop on over to Hello Cupcake to induce your sugar related coma.
CONS:
They are slightly drier than Georgetown cupcakes, admittedly. However, its only slight and they are still absolutely melt in your mouth delicious.

A-​MAZING Gluten Free Cupcakes!!!
Got these from my work on the last day of my internship this summer and they were fantastic! On top of being delicious, I’m pretty sensitive to gluten and did not have a reaction. :)

I like Hello Cupcake better than its competitors. The frosting is what makes Hello Cupcakes special. I’ve been there several times.
I recommend if you know you’ll be back to ask for their Frequent Cupcake Card. It is free.
I was curious about the vegan cupcakes Hello Cupcake offered. I can’t say I’d recommend them. Unless you have to, stick to the cupcakes with the butter.

Came here for vegan selection (since vegan friend was in town). Very nice to-​go packaging per cupcake (great if you want to transport). Taste: don’t usually like chocolate cake, but it was just okay. Moist and lite, but nothing special. Frosting the highlight: really rich taste of raspberries that was also creamy without being overbearingly sweet (like Sprinkles).
Visit to satisfy cravings or curiosity. Just okay.

Hello Cupcake is the second best cupcake place on 8^th, out of two cupcake places. To be fair, they could never hope to measure up to Sweet Lobby. But Hello does have some positives. It has sweeter icing and more and different flavors in comparison to Sweet Lobby.
But Hello suffers from problems with moistness. The cupcakes are really dry and they just taste mass baked. I don’t know if the baker is to blame, or the recipe, or what. But for the amount of money these things cost I expect more.

Wow! Go walking on Barracks Row and you just might find a couple of new stores.
Was surprised to see this small but bright store in the area. I knew of the Dupont Circle location but not this one. Not sure if I’m happy with that now that I know there’s one close to home.
Tasted their strawberry and lemon cupcakes. They were of the right size and looked simply tempting.
Whoo! That first bite was simply a world of over-​sweetness. I could feel that all my teeth had its own pair of puckered lips sending tingles all over my face. After the initial bite, the rest was delicious.
I’d definitely return to try out the others. …that is, if none of my teeth fall out.

I can’t believe there’s not a page for the new Hello Cupcake on Barracks Row yet! The store is big and bright with two full cases of cupcakes to choose from. I’ve only had the strawberry and the lemon, but both were excellent. Easily better than Georgetown Cupcake. The cake is fluffy and moist and the frosting is thick but not too piled on and sweet. This is my new go-​to cupcake place!