Lexington, KY - They're everywhere, it seems. They're indulgent iced globs of gooey goodness, and even though they're small, they have mercilessly, almost systematically, infiltrated bakeries and mouthes across the nation. Yes, we have been invaded by cupcakes -- but no one seems to mind.
Cupcakes have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity these past few years for a number of different reasons.
"It's just good comfort food," said Steve Henderson, who opened Caramanda's Bake Shoppe in 2007 with his wife, Melissa (the store's moniker is a blend of their two daughters' names: Cara and Amanda). "What's not to like about a cupcake? It's something you can grab and eat on the go."
"I think people respond to them mainly for nostalgia," said Tricia Clemons, who opened BabyCakes Cupcakes in Patchen Village in 2009 with her husband, Keith. "When I was little, that's what we had. My mom and my grandma would make them. I think it just took somebody that was born during that era that said, 'Well, why don't we just push these forward and give them the spotlight for a little bit?'"
But modern cupcakes are not exactly like the ones your mama made. Those cupcakes were probably either plain white or chocolate cake from a boxed mix, iced inadequately with frosting from a can and perhaps topped with a smattering of colorful but apathetic sprinkles. Today's cupcakes are baked from scratch with the finest, freshest ingredients, perhaps even with some items your grandma wouldn't have dreamed of using. They come in a dizzying, enticing variety of flavors, from white chocolate raspberry with vanilla buttercream to hot fudge sundae to banana split to maple with bacon to peanut butter and jelly (hungry yet?), and they often sport amazing decorations using fondant, drizzles, sugar crystals or real fruit. They incorporate all kinds of themes, such as movie, book or cartoon characters. Cupcakes indeed have gone way beyond the old-fashioned basics, and bakers appreciate that change, which gives them the freedom to experiment and take cupcakes to a whole new level.
"That's what makes it so much fun for me," Clemons said. "You can do so many things with cupcakes, and we try to get as far out there as possible, without it getting too weird."
Clemons believes cupcakes can take you back to your childhood --
you probably recall taking a shoebox full of the treats to school to share with your class on your birthday. However, you wouldn't have taken a sampling of BabyCakes' cocktail cupcakes, some of which incorporate champagne, rum, tequila, bourbon and vodka. Cupcakes have certainly grown up. They're not just for kids anymore, said James Brown, who opened Brown's Bakery, now on Versailles Road, in 2006.
"They're little adult indulgences," he said. In this age of watching waistlines, a cupcake can be just what you need to fight off the temptation to abandon your diet. You can satisfy your craving for something decadent without feeling like a glutton or a dieting failure. "You can eat one and not feel too bad about it," Brown said.
Small and handy and available in individual portion sizes, cupcakes aren't as messy to serve and store as whole cakes can sometimes be. A multi-layer cake might languish in the refrigerator for days on end, but a cupcake will be consumed in just a few bites.
"It's a little treat without having to buy a whole cake," said Holly Epperly, manager of Gigi's Cupcakes on Richmond Road, which opened in 2010. (Unlike the other bakeries cited here, Gigi's Cupcakes is a franchise.)
These sweet treats are also cheap, averaging about $2.50 each at local bakeries. That's not a bad bargain when you need something to cheer you up after a rough day. You can't put a price on happiness.
"Even in a sort of recessing economy, $3 is not too much to spend on a little treat to make your day good," Epperly said.
Cupcakes are no longer found solely at kids' birthdays parties. They are now fixtures at all sorts of celebrations, making appearances at charity galas and other elegant gatherings -- they are even threatening to replace the traditional wedding cake.
BabyCakes makes desserts for about two weddings a week. "The cupcakes are put on this beautiful tower," Clemons said. "It still has the image of a seven-tier cake, but it's full of cupcakes and it's just beautiful."
Cupcakes are convenient, too. Say you're heading to a friend's house for dinner and you want to bring a nice treat everyone will enjoy. You can pop into a cupcake shop and select from a number of different offerings. Some shops offer vegetarian or vegan choices so guests following those diets don't feel left out. Cupcakes can be a perfect option if you want to have a birthday cake with different flavors.
Cupcakes also are seasonal. It's fun to see what different flavors bakeries will have for holidays such as Halloween, Christmas and, of course, Derby Week. Many local bakeries have weekly, or even daily, menus of different selections.
"We've just switched to our fall and winter menu, so we've got some new flavors that are really popular, like the pumpkin cream," Epperly said. Around Christmas time, Gigi's Cupcakes flavors will include gingerbread, chocolate-covered cherry and cinnamon roll.
Perhaps the biggest reason bakers are embracing cupcakes is simply because they're a lot of fun to make. The Clemonses sum up a universal feeling about cupcakes with a statement on their website: "We believe cupcakes should be a part of everyday happiness."
"We just have a lot of fun with cupcakes," Clemons said. "The recipes are dear to my heart and the cupcakes, the way they're made, I wouldn't change them any other way. The cupcakes speak for themselves."
Epperly hopes the cupcake phenomenon keeps going, and growing, and that more people will join in the sweet revolution.
"There's a lot of room for different types of cupcake businesses and different angles of going at it," she said. "I just hope it keeps going and it lasts a long time. I really do love cupcakes."