DC CUPCAKES: Exclusive Interview, Recipes, Videos and Cupcake Maps

Mike Vicic - July 15, 2010

With additional reporting by: Maj Canton.

CLICK HERE TO READ A MORE RECENT Q&A SESSION WITH SOPHIE AND KATHERINE. PLUS, YOU'LL FIND A MORE COMPLETE COLLECTION OF THEIR CUPCAKE RECIPES.

Georgetown Cupcake has the secret recipe to cream the competition.

Sisters and business partners Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis quit their jobs, started Georgetown Cupcake in February 2008 with their grandmother's recipes, and nine months later they won The Washington Post's Cupcake Wars. Since then, they relocated and upsized, opened a second bakery, and dominated the Washingtonian.com's Cupcake Cup last March. Now, they have a reality series, DC CUPCAKES, premiering on TLC on Friday, July 16, 2010 at 10pm with back-to-back episodes.

How do these two women manage this fast-growing family business and still stay sane? We wanted to know too. In our exclusive interview with Sophie and Katherine, TV Tango whipped up 25 questions and these sisters dished out the ingredients for one sweet conversation.

But you get more than just an interview. You can also enjoy cupcake recipes, behind-the-scenes video, and a few hints about how to make one of Sophie and Katherine's favorite creations -- ice cream cupcakes. Plus, we put together maps of the greater DC area so that you can do your own cupcake crawl -- driving from cupcakery to bakery, sampling a few delicacies at each stop -- so you can decide for yourself whether Georgetown Cupcake truly deserves all of its accolades.

TV Tango's Exclusive Interview with Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis

Question: What four words would you use to describe the perfect cupcake?

Sophie & Katherine: Moist, flavorful, beautiful, and unique.

Question: What is the healthiest cupcake you make?

Sophie & Katherine: Our carrot cake. It has fresh carrots and apple in it.

Question: What is the strangest cupcake you've made? Anything with algae?

Katherine: We haven't done anything like algae. We do flower swirled. Sophie doesn't allow me to add bacon to cupcakes.

Sophie: She's been bugging me to add it to the menu, but I won't go for it.

Katherine: Having maple and bacon together is very good.

Question: Which of your cupcakes is your favorite?

Sophie: Chocolate hazelnut.

Katherine: Salted caramel and peanut butter fudge. I like them both equally.

Question: What's your best story about an irate customer?

Sophie & Katherine: We had a man come in once and he wanted a strawberry cupcake, but we didn't have it. We offered him a lemon-raspberry cupcake, but he started screaming at one of our employees. We had to call the police.

Question: What one kitchen utensil could you not live without?

Sophie: A spatula. So important for mixing and scraping.

Katherine: A sifter or a whisk. You can use a whisk as a sifter too.

Question: What was your biggest failure in the kitchen?

Katherine: Trusting our mother in the kitchen alone. She's a lot like Sophie and she tends to walk away during critical points. She came down for the weekend and stayed for six months. She cares about the bakery just as much as we do. She's thinks of it as a grandchild. She's not technically an employee, but she likes tell others what what to do.

Question: What is your biggest complaint about your sister when you're on the job?

Sophie: We always complain about who's working harder and who's not working hard enough.

Katherine: I feel like I'm the one working hard in the kitchen.

Question: Is this your first time on TV? Were you ever on a competition series?

Sophie & Katherine: We were on THE MARTHA STEWART SHOW, THE TODAY SHOW, and they local news. They did a little thing on NIGHTLINE about us, but we were never on a competition show.

We did win the Cupcake Wars competition [in The Washington Post]. It was pretty intense. They weighed the cupcakes and had panel taste testers.

Question: How did the series DC CUPCAKES happen?

Sophie & Katherine: One of the Executive Producers came into our shop during the first month we were open. He thought we were crazy. He came back a few days later and said it's like a circus in here. We ended up filming a sizzle reel, and TLC loved that there was a lot going on behind the scenes.

It is chaotic. You have your sister and mother yelling at you. People like to think it's just a little cupcake shop.

Question: Are you ready to become reality stars?

Sophie & Katherine: I don't think we're really reality stars. We have a ton of people who email us everyday who are looking for advice. They want to quit their jobs and start a new business. It's not always coming up roses all the time. It's a business at the end of the day. Everday is another struggle. There is never a day where everything goes perfectly.

We work in our bakery everyday. We put your heads down and get stuff down. It's not like we show up for filming. We started this because we love it.

Question: If the cupcake craze turns out to be a fad, what would you do next?

Sophie & Katherine: We really think it's a staple in America. We don't think it's a trend. We try to focus on one thing and do it really well.

Question: Who is your favorite TV chef?

Sophie: We like watching Art Smith. He's really funny. Very relateable. [Art Smith was Oprah's personal chef for 10 years and is featured regularly on THE TODAY SHOW and GOOD DAY LIVE. Plus, he's a regular tasting judge on IRON CHEF AMERICA. ]

Katherine: I love the Barefoot Contessa. She reminds me a bit of my mom. I love her cooking. Very simple. Fresh ingredients. Another one of our favorites is CAKE BOSS. He's a riot. A lot of families relate to that.

Question: Since you like Buddy Valastro of CAKE BOSS and since your show is on the same network as his, are you going to have a throwdown with him?

Sophie & Katherine: He had our cupcakes and liked them. He said they were CAKE BOSS approved. [There are no plans to have a bake-off.]

Question: What TV star would you like to bake for?

Sophie & Katherine: We do have celebrities stop in. Kelly Rutherford, Russell Crowe, Owen Wilson.

Question: Have you catered for any TV series?

Sophie & Katherine: THE TODAY SHOW. For his movie set, Russel Crowe ordered 18 dozen for cast and crew.

Question: What TV character would you like to bake for?

Sophie & Katherine: Don Draper from MAD MEN. We'd make a rum-infused vanilla cupcake.

Question: Are there any dream events you would like to bake for?

Sophie & Katherine: I think the State Dinner or the Inauguration would be awesome. We do a lot of big events now. We kind of push the envelope.

Question: If you were asked to make cupcakes for the Emmy Awards, what new flavor and decoration would you create?

Sophie & Katherine: We probably would do something with a red carpet theme -- red velvet with edible gold leaf frosting.

Question: If you could pick any TV show to design cupcakes for, which series would you choose?

Sophie & Katherine: TODDLERS AND TIARAS. We would do little crowns with edible crystals and diamonds.

Question: You use Twitter to give away free cupcakes. If you could run a Twitter contest in conjunction with a TV series, which series would you choose?

Sophie & Katherine: We can't pick our own, right. We love ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT.

Question: If you were on the series BIZARRE FOODS, what food would you NEVER eat?

Sophie & Katherine: I'm not much into sweet breads. Marrow too. That's one thing I would pass up.

Question: If you were on MAN VS. WILD, what food would you kill (or gather) to use in a cupcake?

Sophie & Katherine: I'd probably go for any kind of berries I could find.

Question: Monk's Restaurant from SEINFELD or Mel's Diner from ALICE? Where would you rather dine?

Sophie & Katherine: Neither. Mrs. Garrett's bakery from FACTS OF LIFE. They had bread and scones. It was called Edna's Edibles. It started out in the school and then moved to the house. She had all the girls working there.

Bonus Interviews

If you enjoyed this question-and-answer session with Sophie & Katherine, you should check out these other interviews: