Kayaking and Cupcakes...

...make the perfect combination! On Saturday, Mary, Khadija, Asthaa and I had an adventurous afternoon in Georgetown. We walked down to the Potomac and had a great time kayaking. We split up and two of us went in each kayak; I went with Asthaa and we had so much fun! Plus, it was very moderately priced ($17 total for an hour). There were lots of other kayakers and boaters on the river and we had a wonderful time.

Mary and Khadija

All of us!

Boy oh boy was it a workout! My upper body was very sore after, but it was so worth it. Besides, that's nothing a sweet treat can't cure!

After kayaking we went to my all-time favorite DC bakery: Baked and Wired. Nestled on a  side-street south of the infamous shopping street, M. Street, Baked and Wired is my go-to cupcakery when I miss Baker Boys (look out for a future post about Baker Boys, the bakery I work at when I'm home in IL!) Baked and Wired reminds me of Baker Boys because of their comparable sized cupcakes, their unique frosting styles, and their fantastic flavors.

Now, Baked and Wired isn't your traditional bakery. I like to think of it as a bakery with a playful attitude and a fantastic menu.  In my eyes, it stands out among its competition in DC (namely Georgetown Cupcake, Sprinkles, and Crumbs).  Everything from the retro cupcake stands, to the wrapped parchment cups, to the pink bike and decor outside make it a unique sweet spot in DC, and I recommend it to anyone visiting the area.

Acknowledging its competition, Georgetown Cupcake

Mary, Khadija, Asthaa and I each got a cupcake for ourselves, and then I bought two more for my Big and Grand-Big in my sorority. Here's what we thought:

Chai: delicious flavors. Super moist cake, and an extremely flavorful frosting. It definitely tasted like a cup of chai!

Peach: very faint (almost too faint, in my opinion) hint of peach. The cake wasn't super moist, but it wasn't super dry either. The chunks of peach were a major plus.
Unporked Elvis: fantastic flavors; it's hard to go wrong with banana and peanut-butter (no bacon in this rendition of an Elvis sandwich). Nice banana-bread based cake, fantastic frosting, and together--a perfect combination.

 

 

From L to R: Chai, Unicorns & Rainbows (appears to be funfetti-esque), Lemon-Blueberry, Peach, Unporked Elvis, and Mocha.
 
When I got home later that day to give my Big, Marina, her Lemon-Blueberry cupcake, I saw her holding a small white box from Baked and Wired--it turns out she bought me a cupcake to surprise me, too! It was red velvet, and was delicious. The cake once again wasn't too moist, but wasn't too dry either. The frosting was unlike Baker Boys frosting; it only had a very faint cream-cheese flavor. Although Baker Boys still makes the best red velvet cupcakes, this attempt wasn't for naught! 

Marina got a strawberry cupcake for herself and oh my goodness was it delicious. Hands-down the best cupcake I've had from Baked and Wired. The cake was moist and had a strawberry flavor, and the frosting was the perfect match. It's a perfect summer cupcake!