Hello Gluten Free!

If you live in DC, have a sweet tooth, and are plagued by a gluten sensitivity, chances are you have already stopped by Hello Cupcake! to satisfy your sugar craving.

Every day, Hello Cupcake! has a different gluten free flavor, and usually several frosting choices (my favorite is their strawberry frosting--to die for!). I find myself to be quite the contessouire of Hello cupcakes as I have tried the following flavors: lemon tart, chocolate (with strawberry, peanut butter, AND mint frosting), vanilla, banana, pumpkin, carrot, coconut, and tirimsu. All were absolutely incredible--even the banana, which I am usually quite wary of. My favorite, though, is probably the lemon tart. They don't include the flavor-of-the-day on their website, but will give you the scoop if you call!

Their cupcakes ares supermoist and fluffy--just like mom used to make! You can absolutely not tell in any way shape or form that these are gluten free. In fact, the owner of HC said she prefers the GF carrot cupcake to the "normal" one! I have zero complaints about these cupcakes. The frosting is absolutely incredible. Strawberry frosting is my favorite, made with real strawberries, and the cream cheese frosting is a close second. There is also chocolate ganache, chocolate, peanut butter, mint, and vanilla frosting, and the lemon tart cupcake has lemon frosting (unfortunately, the tequila frosting from the May cupcake of the month didn't make it over to the GF section!)

I think what makes Hello Cupake special is how much care they put into making sure their GF clientele is happy (and full!). If you're ordering for a group, and have a mix of GF and non-GF, they will always ask if you would like a separate box AND will change their gloves. The GF cupcakes have their own special cupcake wrappers (polka dots!) to be sure they never get confused with their non-GF counter parts, even if they are put into the same box (upon your request). This also puts my fear-of-being-poisoned at ease, since I can easily tell if they're the real deal or not.

I took a cupcake decorating class at Hello in February, and had the chance to chat with the owner and pastry chefs--who kindly provided me not only with a dozen gluten free cupcakes to decorate, but a dozen of cupcakes in a variety of flavors! How accommodating! I of course took this opportunity to tell them both how much I appreciated how much attention they paid to us glutards :-)

Hello Cupcake is located on Connecticut Ave in Dupont, and just opened their second shop on Barracks Row! Check Check Check them out