Cupcaked Bakery: Clifton, VA

Cupcaked Bakery
Regular: $3.50
Mini: $1.50
Gluten Free: $4.50

One of the newest cupcakeries in Northern Virginia is seeking to make a splash much like the upcoming Autumn colors! Cupcaked Bakery is located in the charming old town of Clifton, VA, but did the cupcakes live up to the old town charm? Well, we will say that Cupcaked is an adorable little shop with a beautiful decor of bright purple and a tasteful cupcake themed decor. The staff was friendly and welcomed us to their new establishment with eager enthusiasm and warm hospitality. But the BIG question of the day... were the cupcakes any good?

Chocolate Mocha Cupcake

The Red Velvet cupcake is a staple of any good cupcakery, and this Cupcaked version was a simple representation of the classic. Although, the cream cheese frosting was smooth and creamy, the red velvet cake itself was... dare we say it... too chocolatey. Now before you hard core chocolate lovers out there start leaving us comments about how nothing is "too chocolatey", and reminding us that we have established many times before that red velvet must have coco as a staple ingredient... well, we (and especially ChocolateGauche) agree with you, BUT we have to be honest and say that red velvet is not a chocolate cake... it is a complex and beautiful balance of coco and brown sugary tastes that can be a magical flavor balance... it is not a vanilla cake dyed red and it is not a chocolate cake... it is a red velvet... a catagory all its own ;)

Pear & Brie Cupcake

Speaking of chocolate cakes, the Chocolate Mocha was a good chocolatey and moist cake that was topped with a creamed coffee buttercream, drizzled with caramel, and topped with a chocolate covered coffee bean. The buttercream was a bit too sweet, so with the edition of the caramel drizzle it was a too much... but the cake was good.

Cupcaked had a lot of interesting fruit inspired cupcake flavors that definitely stood apart from other cupcakeries. The Pear & Brie is a great example of a classic fruit and cheese pairing turned cupcake. The vanilla cake was filled with caramelized pears, which really drove the theme home and helped add texture and flavor to the cake. However, the brie buttercream didn't have enough brie flavor tones, and again the buttercream was too sweet. Although, the addition of brown sugar pecans on top was charming and continued to play with the old town homestyle theme.

Lemon Coconut Cupcake

The best cupcake we had during this visit was the Lemon Coconut cupcake. Once again Cupcaked is showing off its unique fruit inspired pairings, and it definitely worked well here with a different take on the old classic coconut cupcake. The addition of lemon really contrasted well with the nutty coconut in the cake, and the marshmallow icing topped with toasted coconut was once again unique and delicious. Great cupcake!

Gluten Free: Available (limited flavors daily)
Sugar Free: Not Available
Vegan: Not Available

Cupcake Atmosphere: 5 out of 5 (this was a charming space that had a welcoming atmosphere, and there was plenty of indoor seating too)
Flavor Selection: 4 out of 5 (there were definitely some unique fruit inspired cupcakes, but the other non-fruity flavors were not as interesting)
Customer Service: 5 out of 5 (the staff were really friendly and inviting... they even served us complimentary water )

Overall Quality: 3.5 out of 5 (the cupcakes have potential BUT some of the frostings were too sweet)