$1.00 Cupcake Sale- The Whole Foods Miracle

If you were to ask me where I might expect to find $1.00 cupcakes, I would not have said Whole Foods. I might expect to see locally sourced wheatgrass or noni fruit cupcakes, but I would not have expected to find the most affordable cupcakes in the DC Metro area. Yet, when I arrived at the Whole Foods in Foggy Bottom on Friday, I saw a throng of people waiting in line for $1.00 cupcakes. This unbelievable price might have been a one day deal but at full price their cupcakes are still (comparative speaking) low priced. They are regularly priced at $1.99 per cupcake, but they are huge. These cupcakes are made for splitting, and if I say so you know they must be big.


Here is a list of things that should not be surprising: 1) People were being pretty intense about getting their cupcakes. 2) The line reached Georgetown Cupcakes proportions in length. 3) I bought six cupcakes. But don't worry... I didn't eat them all. I took them to a party and shared with friends. Somehow I still still managed to sample three of the flavors. Let me tell you all about them:

1) Pistachio: This is the first pistachio cupcake I have ever laid eyes or teeth on. I'm always skeptical about pistachio flavored desserts because pistachios are savory and salty and I generally expect my desserts to be sweet. But like with pistachio flavored ice cream, no need for skepticism here. The combination of buttery yellow cake (think Paula Deen amount of buttery) with toasty pistachio flavored frosting was perfect. The only thing I could ask for would be more frosting (duh), but overall they were delightful.

2) Hazelnut: When I bought a hazelnut cupcake, I was hoping it would be like eating Nutella in cupcake form. This was a tasty cupcake, but I actually would have preferred to eat a spoonful of Nutella instead.

3) Vanilla Caramel: I have had a penchant for the flavors vanilla and caramel ever since I spend a summer working for Edward Marc Chocolatier, who makes a killer vanilla salt caramel. When I saw that Whole Foods had a vanilla caramel cupcake, I knew it must be mine. This cupcake evoked pocket caramels like Werther's more than it did anything else, not that it's a bad thing. This was my favorite cupcake of the bunch. White cake, buttery white frosting with a dollop of caramel, and caramel filling. You heard me right: caramel filling. The only thing that would have made this better? Sea salt. You best believe.Among the flavors that I did not try were Vanilla Raspberry, Chocolate Raspberry, and Chocolate Fudge. There's always next time!