Friday Five: Best Cupcake Places

It's the third day of Christmas, or as it's know around our house, birthday season! Mine was yesterday, James's is tomorrow. And as you know, birthdays mean cake. So I thought this Friday Five should focus on our five favorite cupcake places around #HRVA. In no particular order, here we go!

1. Ethereal Cupcakes and Coffee Shoppe (Hampton): We stumbled across Ethereal Cupcakes during a marathon shopping session at Peninsula Town Center a year or so ago and it's been a go-to ever since. Visiting EC is a true culinary experience, complete with staff to guide you through all of their many cupcake choices (standard, gluten free, vegan, even spiked!) Their vegan orange coconut cupcake is one to try, even if you're an omnivore (their website lets you know the daily offerings before you go). Their lattes are also delicious.

2. Carolina Cupcakery (Norfolk/Chesapeake/Outer Banks): Carolina Cupcakery also offers a selection of vegan and gluten-free cupcakes (though it's best to call before you go if you're looking for one, since they don't offer a selection every day). They also feature other assorted baked goods besides cupcakes -- their (vegan) mini doughnuts are worth stopping in for just by themselves.

3. Naa's Bakery (Norfolk): Naa's is an old-fashioned bakery -- you won't find any diet-specialized offerings here. But you will find colorful, delicious cupcakes that are gorgeously iced and decorated (their Easter offerings this year were particularly adorable). A great place if you're looking to buy a lot as their prices are super-reasonable. The icing on the cake, so to speak? Their staff is as sweet and charming as their wares.

4. Twisted Sister Cupcakes and Sugar Shack Cafe (Virginia Beach/various locations): Twisted Sisters's Sugar Shack Cafe in VB is the perfect place to pop in for a sugar fix but they also can be found all over the Hampton Roads area in their food truck (the day's routes are posted on their site and they're very good about updating their location on Twitter). Their peanut butter blossom cupcake is our fave, the perfect marriage of salt and chocolate, yum. (The picture at the top of this post is their peanut butter and jelly option, also delish).

5. Jaime's Bakeshop (Virginia Beach): You've got to special-order your cupcakes from Jaime's but I promise it's worth it. They've been a staple at all of our family parties, including my graduations from college and law school and our wedding, to boot! Their amaretto cake is rich and moist but the icing (thick, sugary) is the real star. Jaime's is the place if you have a serious sweet tooth.

Where are your favorite places to find cupcakes in Hampton Roads? Please share in the comments, we're always looking for new places to try.

Happy weekend!