Fraiche Cupcakery

Uhm, now that I actually went inside this place I’m in serious trouble… I did not jump on the cupcake bandwagon at first, but oddly had a craving for a cupcake recently and decided to treat my daughter to the Georgetown Cupcake craze. Once, we tried their cupcakes that wasn’t good enough. Now, we had to Compare them! LOL
So, since we live in the hood of Fraiche Cupcakery we decided to stop in one day while walking by. Mistake number one, couldn’t stop ordering. We had to try almost all of them. Yes, they are definitely pricey, but I don’t think that much difference from Gtown Cupcakes. However, I LOVE the mini sizes so that you can sample and it’s just enough bite for me.
What I LOVE about this place; super friendly service, white sterile environment (which I personally love) with a touch of Tiffany blue so it makes me feel like spending more money. Not sure how, but I think someone knew that when they created the mood. Can’t agree with a previous reviewer about no «baking» smells, because the first time we walked in I smelled pure Heaven but not every time. The cupcakes are moist but not overly sweet, the frosting always has a touch of the highlighted flavor as it melts in your mouth, without the yucky sweet choking aftertaste. I notice a difference in tasting when they are room temperature vs out of the fridge. I like both, but sometimes I prefer when they’ve been in the fridge because it hardens the frosting so it melts slower. Ha — I sound nuts!
The flavor concepts are extremely creative and so far I love the unexpected combinations. This is where I think they have Gtown Cupcakes BEAT! My utter favorites right now are the strawberry/​mint (PLEASE bring this one back soon!?), salted caramel, red velvet, lemon/​lavender, cherry/​chocolate chip… My daughter liked the creamsicle. I’m waiting for a few I haven’t been able to try to come back around on rotation like the basil/​blueberry, key lime, beet/​goatcheese, chocolate/​stout (hmm?)…
All of them are good, but I can agree with another reviewer that some of the basic batter must be the same, because the salted caramel tasted similar to an almond one I tried — which was my least fav. Too many nuts so the taste of the cupcake vanished while you’re still chewing on the nuts making the nutstoo overpowering. But, the similar tasting batter was not a problem for me as it is just as good each time. With the fruit ones they use real fruit and the strawberry is perfect!
The only thing I see as a CON is that I still have to go to Trader Joe’s for their chocolate ganache with peanut butter cupcakes. Nothing can replace that awesome goodness!

Visited on a weekday afternoon and we tasted 3 different kinds, not impressed. They tasted very similar to each other and a little stale. They were out of my favorite– red velvet– and kids milk… its not even the weekend.

I would give this no stars I’ve seen how they have keeper there batter and icings for there cupcakes it’s very close to the floor!!! and not labeled!!!

Yucky Poo. Crunchy cupcake. I bought red v and chocolate. They taste really sweet. Not a fan.

The atmosphere is trendy, yet the shop didn’t smell like cupcakes or baking, but more sterile. I love sweets and cupcakes and was a bit dissapointed by the size and texture of the cupcake I tried here (German Chocolate). While the packaging was nice, the cupcake was a bit dry.
For $ 3, my loyalty still lies with Sprinkles cupcakes for size, quality, taste and atmosphere.

I’m a cupcake addict and a coworker just brought our team a box of these cupcakes and this place is amazing. We’re all sold.

Yummy! Nice staff. It was a rainy day when we went and the cupcakes were amazing. My girlfriend chose the mocha and I chose the cherry blossom. But then we decided to get another. :) and we shared the cinnamon. Delicious. A bit on the sweet side but still really good. The cake part was extra moist and delectable. The frosting yummy, just a tad too sweet. Would definitely go again!

The place is clean, the guy behind the counter was knowledgable and friendly. I tried the mocha cupcake for my first visit. Subtle coffee buttercreme on top a nice sized mocha cupcake. Yummy but would try another flavor next time. Wish they had a seat outdoors on nice weather days.

I’m a cupcake connoisseur, so having this place so close to my office is pretty exciting. And dangerous. I picked up a cupcake for my boyfriend and a cupcake for me, and I loved mine so much that I just HAD to take a bite out of his.
I got a salted caramel for me and a vanilla «for him». I was surprised how flavorful the vanilla was. I was also very pleasantly surprised that the cupcakes tasted super fresh at 5PM! There weren’t too many cupcakes left to choose from, as I’m sure many have picked up on the awesomness that is this cute shop.
I’ll definitely be back to try a savory cupcake — and the menu changes weekly with a few constant staples available every week! I’m sure this place will continue to surprise and excite just about anyone looking for a sweet treat or savory delight!

Pretty good cupcakes, I’m not picky they gave me 1 free last time I was here the goatcheese one or something. There was one with a coffee bean ontop which was cute. The standard red velvet and the vanilla cupcakes were good. It’s a bit pricey but at least there isn’t a long line. I liked the red velvet a lot, i think I had a pumpkin one a few months ago too that was delicious.

I was nicely surprised how well balanced it was. I was expecting it to just be a sugar-​filled dough ball, but it wasn’t! I wanted this pancake cupcake, but it was sold out. I will have to go back and see what new flavors they make! .D

I’m a cupcake aficionado, and this is one of my favorite local cupcake shops. Love the slightly crunchy tops on their cupcakes, the dense crumb that doesn’t get squished or fall apart, the fluffy and not overly sweet frosting, and the interesting & perfectly-​executed flavor combinations.
Everyone has their own tastes & preferences when it comes to these things, but for me Fraiche’s cupcakes are always perfection!

Since the line at Georgetown Cupcake is always ridiculously lengthy, there has to be some other substitute in the area with a cupcake just as good.
Fraiche doesn’t have those limes, but it’s only an OK cupcake, at best.
Sparse looking location. You’ve seen better cupcakeries, I’m sure. Still I’m here for the cupcake and at 3 bucks, it’s certainly at the right price point.
Had the Elvis. Decent PB frosting but could’ve used more peanutty flavor. Far more banana flavor than peanut butter. Cake consistency was alright but not as moist as I would have liked it.
Fraiche is a good cupcake but you can probably do better. And I don’t necessarily mean Georgetown.

Red velvet is the bomb!

The buttercream frosting here is to die for. Just enough, not overly obnoxious. I love their lemon almond cupcake the most. Cake is moist and puts a smile on your face every time you take a bite.
I haven’t tried their savory cupcakes but most of their usual sweets are good. The vanilla and chocolate more plain flavors are boring and not all that spectacular, but mocha and red velvet are good.
The most unique aspect of this cupcakery is their creative flavors… blueberry basil, chocolate toffee…
Only bad aspect is they have no paper bags to carry out cupcakes in, resulting in a lot of shifting around in box.
As a newbie to the North Bethesda area, I can’t wait for their holiday flavors!

I’d give 3.5 stars if I could but that’s not an option. I’ve been getting cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake for a while now but Fraiche Cupcakery is more convenient for me to get to and I was particularly interested in trying the savory cupcakes, which Georgetown Cupcake doesn’t have. Unfortunately, savory cupcakes are only available at Fraiche Cupcakery on weekends and there is only one savory flavor available each weekend.
More actual cake than GC cupcakes. GC cupcakes are smaller but have so much frosting on them that they tip over easily and sometimes they get home looking all messed up even if I’ve been very careful during transport. I like having more actual cake so that if I scrape off a bunch of frosting, I’ll still have enough cupcake left to satisfy me.
As far as the savory cupcakes go, I’ve had two kinds so far:
Baked Potato cupcake was fantastic. The cake was moist and savory like a savory quick bread made with mashed potatoes (tastes like it’s got onion powder or purée in it, as well) The «frosting» is a thickened sour cream topping with a little shredded cheddar and a few bits of finely chopped chives on top. I LOVED this cupcake and I’m going back for these the next time they’re available.
Red Beet and Goat Cheese savory cupcake: I did like the tangy goat cheese «frosting» (not sweet) but I’m not a fan of the «cake» part and I’m not getting these again. Unlike the baked potato «cake», the red beet «cake» is much too sweet and no, the cake wasn’t sweet from the red beets because there was no sign that there were red beets in any form in my cupcake. The cake was light brown, like the color of whole grain bread (it does have chopped herbs in it) and it didn’t have any pink tint at all to it, forget bits of beet. I have no idea where the red beet comes in because it wasn’t obvious based on color or flavor. I don’t know if this was typical for one of their red beet cupcakes or if I got a cupcake from a dud batch but I was pretty disappointed with the cake part. I loved the savory goat cheese «frosting», though, and would love to have that as a spread for crackers or a baguette!
Sweet cupcakes: Just an general observation because for the most part, I love some flavors and don’t care for others (which would be true for me at any cupcake shop)
I like the ones with cream-​cheese based frostings the most. For the most part, the buttercream frostings are too sweet for my tastes and I end up scraping a lot of it off. The «too much frosting» issue is a general problem for me with cupcakes these days, though, so Fraiche Cupcakery isn’t alone there. I know plenty of people who wouldn’t like their cupcakes any other way so I understand that my dislike of the excessive frosting is a personal preference.

I came home from a weekend trip yesterday to find a cupcake from Fraiche Cupcakery that my roommate had left me. It was my birthday this past Saturday, and my roommate knows me too well. I’ve been to Fraiche several times in the past, but usually to buy cupcakes for friends or colleagues (aka: not being eaten by me).
I took one bite of my hot cocoa cupcake and thought to myself: this tastes nothing like hot cocoa! I’ve never had hot cocoa THIS good!
A marshmallow whipped topping sits atop a delicate moist chocolaty cake with a touch of bitterness. A sprinkle of fresh cocoa dusts the top of the marshmallow. You take one bite in and it melts in your mouth. Directly after that, a million synapses light up in your brain that are all shouting Mmmmmmmm.
I split the cupcake in half so I could eat some now and save some for later. Later ended up being 20 seconds after I ate the first half.

A standard cupcake joint with the usual array of mocha and red velvet cupcakes, along with a few surprises thrown in like New York Pizza and Hail to the Redskins, neither of which actually make any sense!
Cupcakes are $ 3 apiece with sugary frosting and decent cake. It’s not going to make anyone’s #1 list but it’s a solid offering if you need a sugar boost.

I’ve been here twice since my initial review and I’m happy to report that their cupcakes have been much better. :-)
I’ve tried the vanilla & red velvet recently & both were fantastic. So far, the red velvet is my favorite — the cream cheese frosting rocks. I agree w/​fellow reviewer Jake; I liked the slightly crunchy top… a pleasant surprise.
My initial complaint was with the cupcakes being dry… well, that hasn’t been the case the last 2 times I’ve stopped in so maybe I had a bad batch the 1^st time around. Also, I have to say that customer service has consistency been awesome; the staff is super sweet. So, I’ll be back to try some other flavors. The hot chocolate cupcake looks really yummy.
A few other notes:
* free Wi-​Fi
* they serve smoothies, coffee & tea
* they offer the classic favorites (chcolate, vanilla, red velvet, etc.) as well as their own signature flavors

In the battle of sweet versus savory, sweet wins (I guess).
The idea of sweet and savory cupcakes in one shop got me feeling a little tingly inside. Reading the menu online had my mouth starting to water. I knew I had to visit this cupcakery ASAP.
Being Super Bowl weekend, I thought that it was only fitting to try their team inspired cupcakes. I decided on the NY style pizza and Boston Cream Pie. Up first, the NY pizza.
Ummmm it seriously tasted like I was eating raw pizza dough. At least the dough flavor resembled pizza? IDK. I do know that I wasn’t impressed at all with this savory cupcake. The ricotta frosting topped with sprinkled of shredded mozzarella were okay. Hints of tomato and oregano were present in the «cake», but after two bites, I was over it. The Boston cream pie was much better than the NY pizza, but overall, just okay.
The vanilla cake tasted more like sweet cornbread. Pretty tasty, but I didn’t order a piece of cornbread. The custard was delicious… nice and creamy, not too sweet. I wish they put a little bit more of it inside the cake. The chocolate buttercream was super sweet, and it was my least favorite part of the cupcake. Eaten separately, pretty delicious (minus the frosting). But eaten together, the ingredients weren’t working for me. It definitely didn’t feel like I was eating a Boston cream pie.
I also took a bite of the jalapeño chedder savory cupcake. Okay, but still tasted pretty doughy. I was expecting a little kick to it, since it had pieces of jalapeño baked into the cake. But it wasn’t there. The sour cream frosting topped with cheddar cheese was good, and this is probably what saved this cupcake from being eh.
Fraiche Cupcakery had a modern and simple design. It had several tables for patrons to munch on their cupcakes or sip on their drinks. Friendly and patient staff. I liked the fact that they had mini ($ 1.75) and regular ($ 3) sized cupcakes.
Loved the concept of Fraiche Cupcakery, but overall, it was just okay for me. Although I wasn’t too impressed with the cupcakes I had, at least I can say one thing with certainty, they were moist. WIll I be back? Probably to try some of their other sweet flavors, but I’ll definitely skip the savory next time around.