I don’t get down to the Penn Quarter of DC very often, so when I found myself there the other day, I had to stop by Red Velvet Cupcakery. After having seen their menu online: Red Velvet , I was really intrigued by the peanut butter cup, which featured a salted peanut butter frosting.
Admittedly, the peanut butter cup was not quite what I had expected. The frosting was thick, and closer to actual peanut butter than I prefer. I’m just more of a whipped frosting person myself. The chocolate cake was moist and had a rich chocolate flavor, with surprising bits of chocolate scattered throughout. The peanut on top was superfluous, but I appreciate their decorative purpose.
The three other flavors I sampled were their Vanilla Bean, Devil’s Food, and Southern Belle. The Devil’s Food was the best chocolate cupcake that I have sampled here in DC–the cake was dark, and the chocolate frosting on top was rich, creamy, and slightly bitter, making it the perfect topping to the cake. The frosting on the Vanilla Bean was a Madagascar Bourbon vanilla buttercream that was slightly sugary for my taste, but my friend John raved about it. He said that it was the perfect taste for his sweet tooth.
Normally, cream cheese frosting sits too heavy in my stomach for me to really enjoy the experience, however the whipped cream cheese frosting on the red velvet cake of their Southern Belle was not only lighter than most cream cheese frostings, it was in perfect proportion. It was smooth and rich in flavor, yet light on the stomach. Perfection.
While Red Velvet is a bit far for normal visits, I will have to go at least once more to sample some of their other flavors, and to have at least one more red velvet.
Tags: cupcake, peanut butter, Penn Quarter, red velvet
