Baked and Sprinkled: Hello Cupcake Part II

ERIN GREENAWALD / THE EAGLE

Hello Cupcake was actually the first cupcake shop I ever went to in D.C., way back when I was here visiting AU, deciding whether I wanted to come here. I don’t remember much about that first visit except that I got one of the vegan cupcakes (out of curiosity) and surprisingly liked it.

ERIN GREENAWALD / THE EAGLE

Now that my D.C. cupcake repertoire had greatly expanded, it was time to go back. So on a sunny Sunday afternoon, I walked back through the frosted glass doors into the pink and white wonderland.

It wasn’t as nice as I had remembered it. The walls were still charming, with pink and white flowers painted all over them. There were lovely, plastic, pink-and-white chandeliers on the ceiling. But the cupcake display side of the store was kind of disappointing. The cupcakes all looked the same. While I guess quality control is the goal at some stores, it was unexciting here. There were also boxes stacked up high on the counter behind the display. It was kind of distracting. Can’t you find somewhere else to put your boxes?

ERIN GREENAWALD / THE EAGLE

I got the Dulce de Leche because of a yelp review that suggested it was the best cupcake the reviewer had ever had. I would have to disagree. The cake was very dense, almost like pound cake and the frosting much too sweet for my taste. It also had a strange texture —almost too airy but wet at the same time. My roommate got the vegan pumpkin spice cupcake, which was more like a muffin. It wasn’t bad, but nothing to rave about.

Ultimately, it wasn’t horrible but I would spend my money elsewhere. I guess now that I have tried other cupcakes I know that there are bigger and better things out there.