Buns: Cherry sticky buns from the bakery at Potenza. The tart cherries paired with the sweet, buttery dough keep me coming back.
Cake: Caramelita at Les Halles DC (RIP). If anyone knows where the Les Halles pastry chef is now, I’d like to hunt her/him down just for this cake.
Runner-up: White chocolate mousse cake, Watergate Pastry, Foggy Bottom
Croissant: Pain au chocolat, Patisserie Poupon, Georgetown. Authentic and baked fresh. No weird aftertaste from the butter/oil from the pastry, as with lesser versions. Almond croissant from Tout de Sweet, Bethesda. A masterpiece from a gem of a patisserie.
Chocolate mousse: Patisserie Poupon, Georgetown. The real French deal. Comes in a crunchy chocolate shell.
Cookie: Double chocolate chip cookie, Praline Bakery, Bethesda, MD. Very rich but worth the calories. The salty oat cookies carried by Teaism (3 locations in DC) are also faves.
Cupcake: The red velvet from Sprinkles in Georgetown. Runner-up is anything from Baked & Wired. The Gianduja (hazelnut chocolate) from Hello Cupcake, Dupont Circle is also recommended. See our Cupcake Taste-off for more details.
Egg tart: Portuguese natas at Nando’s Peri Peri, Gallery Place/Dupont/etc. With a bruleed top, it’s not your typical egg tart.
Frozen yogurt: Green tea, Tangysweet, Dupont Circle/Gallery Place.
Ice cream: Coconut gelato, Boccato Gelato, Arlington, VA. With toasted coconut bits.
Macaroon (French): Praline Bakery, Bethesda, MD. Generously sized French macaroons, great selection of flavors. Tout de Sweet in Bethesda steals Praline’s tiara with their lemon-basil, coco(nut), and chocolate macaroons.
Mango sticky rice: Kanlaya, Gallery Place. Your fork cuts through the mango like buttah.
Milkshake: Toasted marshmallow, Good Stuff Eatery. The toasted marshmallow flavor permeates the whole shake. Order one more than you think you want. People will become reluctant to share.
Peach cobbler: Teaism (seasonal), Penn Quarter. A flaky, buttery shortbread sits on top of perfectly spiced peaches for just $3.
Pie: Chatman’s D’Vines, Convention Center. Pretty much any flavor there is a safe bet.
**Send nominations for your best of DC to pievcake@gmail.com**
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