Crazy For Cupcakes

Miranda & Carrie enjoying a cupcake outside Magnolia Bakery during an episode of Sex and the City

There’s a funny online debate right now about the fate of cupcakes – have they come so far as to warrant the existence of “Cupcakeries” or is the excitement over the increasingly broad range of cupcake options a passing trend? Our answer: cupcakes are here to stay baby!

We don’t mean to suggest that cupcakes were ever in danger, there will always be a place for them on a designated bakery shelf. However, the new obsession with portion control and the more frequent appearances of cupcakes in pop culture make cupcakes the new “it” splurge, plus they’re convenient to boot! So to meet this increasing demand “Cupcakeries” or bakeries devoted entirely to cupcakes have sprung up all over the nation.

Here’s a few of our favorites:

 

Sprinkles Cupcakes – Gourmet cupcake pioneer Candace Nelson & her husband opened their first store in Beverley Hills, CA in 2005 and now six years later there are 7 other locations on both the West & East Coasts. I guess it helps when you have stars like Oprah Winfrey handing out your cupcakes during her talk show or Jimmy Kimmel who stood in line for 45 minutes to order 80 of them!

Crumbs Bake Shop – Crumbs opened its first store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan less than ten years ago and is now the largest cupcake chain in the country with over 40 stores. The company even made its decision to go public through a $66 million merger with an investment company earlier this year.

Georgetown Cupcake – They may be considered the new kids on the block but that doesn’t mean they’re not as popular. The ladies at Georgetown Cupcakes, Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne, quit their corporate jobs to follow their dream of owning their own business. Along the way they caught the attention of the cable network, TLC and now they have their own show called DC Cupcakes.

 

Check out this line for Georgetown Cupcake!

Donuts & tarts look like they may be making a move on the spotlight of our beloved cupcake, according to Nation’s Restaurant News trying to get a piece of that portion controlled dessert “pie.” But I don’t see anyone lining up around the block of the new “Tart-ery” do you? No disrespect to tarts and lovers of tarts, but there’s something magical about those little cup-sized cakes with frosting.

Related articles

• Cupcake Wars: DC Style! (auambassadors.wordpress.com)
• Georgetown Cupcake (fitnessandfeta.wordpress.com)
• Guilty Pleasures: DC Cupcakes (spoonbyte.com)