Contrary to what you may have thought growing up, cupcakes were not invented by the mothers and housewives of the 1950s, nor did they spring from the head of your own mother to bring to every school event, function, or birthday party (instead of that big party cake you wanted). According to the Oxford Food Companion (via the Salt Lake City Desert News, 10/9/07), the first written evidence of something called cupcakes is from the 19th century, 1828, when measuring ingredients went from weighing them out, to measuring the volume, or using "cups". However, back then ovens were not the efficient machines they are now, making baking times longer. So a second theory is that since people ate smaller portions, and ovens were not as efficient with larger portions, cakes were baked in smaller containers, such as "tins" or sometimes even cups. Thus, you have the cupcake.
While many people just think of cupcakes as treats from their childhood, the cupcake has been enjoying a renaissance of sorts for the last few years (who hasn’t seen the line up outside Magnolia Bakery in Sex and the City?). With its apparent re-genesis out of New York, the cupcake craze has slowly crept across the United States so that there are few states, if any, without these specialized cupcake bakeries (one place in Elizabeth, Colorado calls their place the Cup Cakery!). Many traditional bakeries have also expanded to include cupcakes on their menu in an attempt to take advantage of this recent trend in sweets. Not only are there cupcake bakeries sprouting up everywhere, cupcake shirts also abound! Consider the popularity of Johnny Cupcakes (link), a shop that does NOT sell cupcakes, but DOES sell t-shirts with cupcakes on them. Recently, at the Johnny Cupcakes on Melrose in Los Angeles there was a line to get in – to buy t-shirts! It doesn’t stop there, however, as there are also blogs dedicated to finding the best cupcakes, as well as finding the best cupcake recipes. There’s even one of those quizzes that helps you find out just what kind of cupcake you are (Take the Quiz).
Great! Now It’s Blogging Cupcakes!
The blogosphere is rife with information, opinions, and suggestions about cupcakes. There are blogs and websites devoted to the history, making, and discussion of cupcakes. There’s the website based on the book, Crazy About Cupcakes (Crazy About Cupcakes). All About Cupcakes (All About Cupcakes) is another website that has the history and sources for looking into cupcakes, while Cupcakes Take The Cake, on Blogger (link), not only researches cupcake bakeries and other good places to find cupcakes, but also finds and shares cupcake recipes. There is also the defunct blog, Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit (Cupcake Blog), left up so that anyone may still search the archives for any information on cupcakes there. There is even a blog called "How to Eat a Cupcake" (link) where people write in each week, choosing which cupcakes the blogger should make. And let’s not forget The Cupcake Project (link), the goal of which seems to be to "seek new worlds" and "boldly go" where no other cupcake bakers have gone before!
But What Kind of Cupcakes Are Out There?
If you have time, means, and motivation, there are more cupcake recipes out there than you can shake a stick at (for more about shaking sticks, go here). For example, besides the lime tart cupcake recipe on Cupcake Bakeshop (Cupcake Blog) and the Mint Julep Cupcakes on Coconut & Lime (link), there are also kosher for Passover chocolate cupcakes (flourless, but they do use sour cream so it’s suggested to not serve them with a meat meal: link), as well as vegan chocolate cupcakes (which may also be kosher: link). You can even find cupcakes that have been grilled – in an orange! (link).
Cupcakes Aren’t Just for Dessert Anymore!
Not all cupcakes need to be sweet desserts. Think of cupcakes as more than the bran muffins you have for breakfast. They can be a meal! You can make Corned Beef and Cabbage cupcakes (here), tomato cupcakes (here), and baked bean cupcakes (link). Consider also such complex flavors as the Maple Bacon Cupcake (link), or even the Dark Chocolate and Bacon Cupcake (yum!).
The possibilities abound. Not a bad idea really, since cupcakes are just the right size to hold in one’s hand at a potluck or picnic. It’s a controlled portion, and just think about the easy lunches you could make: one savory cupcake, one sweet cupcake, an apple or an orange, and you're done.
A Nationwide Epidemic – Who Knew?
Confession time: Until a couple of months ago, when I noticed the newly opened Crumbs Bakeshop down the street, I was absolutely clueless that there even was a nationwide cupcake epidemic. I was oblivious. Cupcakes were the craze in New York. I figured the shops I knew about in places like Santa Monica and Seattle were just cashing in on the Sex and the City mystique. But in Los Angeles? Where everyone and their agent watches their weight?
Yes! In fact, in an effort to help me grasp the popularity of this cupcake phenomenon, a couple of friends helped me track down, and sample, three of the cupcake bakeries in the Los Angeles area (though we were to find out there were many, many more than we had the time, or stomach, for). We tried two chains, Crumbs (Crumbs), and Sprinkles (Sprinkles), as well as one local cupcake bakery, Lark (Lark). We decided that vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting would be the control taste group. From Crumbs we picked up a Vanilla, a Red Velvet, and a Coconut. From Sprinkles we got a Vanilla, a Red Velvet, and a Black and White. From Lark we picked up a Vanilla, a Chocolate Mousse, a Berry Shortcake, and a Lemon.
Crumbs Bakeshop has a typical bakery set up with glassed-in shelves. Besides cupcakes, they have croissants, danishes, milk, coffee, and soda. They have regular size cupcakes, as well as mini-cupcakes, but most of them are big, and dense, with a creamy frosting. According to someone I spoke to at the store, cupcakes are made fresh daily in downtown Los Angeles and then sent to the Larchmont and Beverly Hills stores (there are also six stores in New York).
Sprinkles Cupcakes Bakery had a boutique feel, with slick, brushed steel lines and oak shelves. There was a line up out the door when we got to the store in Beverly Hills, but it moved fairly quickly. In addition to cupcakes, Sprinkles has drinks, but also t-shirts, cupcake mix, and other cupcake-type accessories. They also make their cupcakes daily, but they have a kitchen in the back where they make them. I overheard someone behind the counter say that there are no preservatives, so the cupcakes are best eaten the day they are purchased, as they tend to dry out by the next day (which we found out when we couldn’t finish our cupcake smorgasbord and sampled some of them the next day). These cupcakes were lighter and a little smaller than the Crumbs cupcakes, and the frosting was a lot like a meringue.
Lark was the final stop after many tries at finding others open on a Sunday afternoon. Lark, located in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles, has only been open a year. They have a kitchen in back where they not only make cupcakes and cakes, but also other goodies, like cream puffs. Their cupcakes were the smallest – closest to the same size you would get if you made cupcakes at home. The cake part was very light, reminiscent of angel food cake, but was balanced out by heavy, rich frosting. Of all three, Lark was the most reasonably priced, being about $1.95 each (Crumbs and Sprinkles averaged $3 or more each).
Of course, there are many more cupcake bakeries in the Los Angeles area, from Santa Monica to Studio City, to Pasadena. I would like to try out more of them. To read about someone who has toured many of the cupcake bakeries around Los Angeles, check out this article on Chowhound (here). I have now had to admit that the cupcake craze is alive and well on the left coast. It may have taken a while to cross the Continental Divide on its trek from New York and across the United States, but it’s definitely here.
Photo Credit--Jim Kehl @ 101 Graphics
