From boutique candy stores to cozy donut pop-ups to charming pastry shops, the metro area has something to satisfy every kind of sweet tooth!
Nothing Bundt Cakes
“A party without cake is just a meeting.” – Julia Child
After working twenty years in the corporate world, Verelyn Gibbs Watson fell in “love at first bite” with Nothing Bundt Cakes, leading her to open the brand’s first location in the DC metro area in 2016. The bakery caught on and Gibbs Watson now runs Nothing Bundt Cakes at four locations: Gaithersburg, Bethesda, Germantown and Rockville.
Known for their moistness and signature cream cheese frosting, each of her cakes come in the easy-to-recognize bundt shape. The cakes’ ten core flavors include red velvet, chocolate chocolate chip and white chocolate raspberry, plus seasonable flavors such a lemon raspberry or pumpkin spice.
Customers can choose from different size cakes – 8-inches or 10 inches, tiered options, and even individualized-sized cakes – bundtlets - and bite-sized – bundtinis.
Gibbs Watson believes strongly in supporting the community that includes career partnerships for individuals of differing abilities and opportunities for returning citizens, and giving back through donations and special events to schools and non-profits.
Being active in the community also involves board service. She is currently
Chair of The Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce and a board member of The Upcounty Hub.
Services at Nothing Bundt Cakes include delivery, pickup, as well as corporate catering and custom gifting.
For information go to https://www.nothingbundtcakes.com.
Chouquette Chocolate
“Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies.” – John Q. Tullius
Sarah Dwyer, owner of Chouquette Chocolate in Gaithersburg, is a perfect example of someone who followed her dream to live a bigger life. After working in finance for many years she moved to France IN 2009 and studied at the Le Cordon Bleu Pastry School in Paris. Inspired by European techniques and modern designs she was able to open Chouquette Chocolate in 2010.
Bradley Food and Beverage Store in Bethesda was the first to carry the chocolates, helping her get established in the area. Fifteen years later she a successful business where 2,000 retail stores carry her products, including shops in the U.S. Senate and the White House Historical Preservation Museum.
Dwyer’s love of chocolate started when she was young and would squish a bunch of Whitman chocolates together trying to find the caramel. Today the most popular
chocolate she sells is the salted caramels. Dwyer’s chocolates are handcrafted with real ingredients. There are 16 other mouth-watering flavors are available, including a nod to Maryland – Old Bay!
Many of Chouquette's flavors are inspired by Dwyer’s love of travel – the lavender fields of France resulted in a delicious lemon-lavender caramel that brings her back to her visit to that spot.
Dwyer can design custom chocolates for weddings, anniversaries, high school and college graduations, even for memorial services. Her chocolates make sweet housewarming gifts, and themes range from the DC monuments to the Maryland flag and the cherry blossom festival.
Dwyer shares her love of chocolates by holding chocolate-making classes as well as open houses, including a chocolate party on November 14th in her Gaithersburg store where people can make some treats and pick up chocolates to bring home.
The ingredients are Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance Certified Chocolate, gluten-free, soy-free, GMO free, with no corn syrup. They also employ individuals with differing abilities from Cornerstone and Sunflower Bakery. This policy, according to Dwyer, “is not a charity, it’s smart business”
Chouquette Chocolate is located at 7901-K Cessna Ave., Gaithersburg, MD 20879 | (301) 651-4442 | https://chouquette.us.
Donisima
“You can’t buy happiness but you can buy donuts – and that’s kind of the
same thing.” - Anonymous
Step inside Donisima at The Square, located at 1850 K Street in downtown DC, and
you’ll quickly realize that this is not your typical donut shop – it’s a modern pastry shop that takes the classic American donut and adds Latin flavors, culture, and history.
Founded during the pandemic by chef Miguel Guerra Jr., and his father, Miguel Guerra Sr., Donisima traces its roots to Medellin, Columbia, where the two first began crafting doughnuts using a slow-fermented brioche dough and boldly flavored fillings from native ingredients.
Favorite donut flavors include guava and cheese (the most popular), chocolate and
hazelnut, and tropical flavors of mango and passion fruit. One unique donut comes from a popular Columbian desert called Arequipe, consisting of a sweet, caramelized milk- based filling. Seasonal flavors include an all-corn donut in the summer and, at the end of August, a piña colada donut.
Custom donuts can be ordered in advance for such celebrations as Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, graduations, and even weddings. For a special wedding treat Guerra will design donuts that match the wedding cake from photos that customers send him in advance. Football fans can order batches of donuts designed with their favorite team’s logos.
Customers need to go to Donisima’s web site – https://www.donisima.com – to
order their choices and to arrange for pick-up or delivery.