My cupcake and I had a conversation that went something like this. What should I wear today? cupcake asks me. Clean undergarments at a minimum, I reply. What day is it? Who knows … it’s the day after yesterday. Let’s check the food calendar. That way, we’ll have to look at a device that will… Continue reading My conversational cupcake

As they adapt to the life-or-death circumstances of the pandemic, some bakeries are using cakes as media for social commentary. Whether it’s toilet paper hoarding or health reminders, these cakes are making statements. They are also providing psychological comfort because “Nothing makes you feel better when things are crazy than cupcakes!” https://twitter.com/bakemag/status/1241114864820596737 https://www.instagram.com/p/B9-YwxpHzbG/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B9xn3uVA_ob/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B-AJEvDBuEW/… Continue reading Viral cakes

Cupcakes make powerful statements on International Women’s Day — and every other day, too. https://twitter.com/Hostess_Snacks/status/1236682356259463169/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B9MqTimg589/ I conducted a first-hand investigation of the Sprinkles offering. Overwhelmed by the choices of serious political figures, I deferred to Wonder Woman to take care of business.

While researching Lunar New Year foods, I learned about Chinese lucky numbers. Once again, I have no idea about the credibility of the China Highlights website, but this is what it says: ‘8’ is the most favored number in modern China due to its association with wealth and luck. The Chinese love this number both in… Continue reading Lucky 8 birth years

Having declared this the year of Optimal Vision and Cupcakes of Gold, I like what I’m seeing right now. Coincidentially, two of the three cupcakeries I closely study are running gold cupcake specials. Magnolia made a golden cupcake for the Oscars. https://twitter.com/magnoliabakery/status/1225908293023027207 The Sprinkles specials menu includes a white chocolate caramel cupcake decorated with gold.… Continue reading Cupcakes of gold

When cupcakes for Lunar New Year appeared in my Instagram feed, I grew curious about traditional New Year desserts. While researching, I came to appreciate that this Year of the Rat has much in common with my Cupcakes of Gold master plan for 2020. Before diving deeply into theory, let’s take a moment to look… Continue reading Golden fortune for Lunar New Year

My Thanksgiving bounty included two seasonal flavors, caramel apple streusel and pumpkin spice. To research the signature flavors, I also ordered the Wicked Good (a peanut butter chocolate combination that’s the favorite of co-founder Dani Vilagie) and Mr. Wonderful’s Cookie Butter (cinnamon cake with caramel and cookie butter frosting). Wicked Good Cupcakes sells cupcakes in glass… Continue reading Jarring

Sights are clear and brilliantly focused on the richest goals for 2020. The arc of my historical inquiry will bend towards golden accomplishment. Gold cupcakes are the symbol of 2020. It’s not a reference to material wealth so much as iconographic shorthand for richness of resources and opportunity. Through years of digging and prospecting, I… Continue reading Year of Optimal Vision and Cupcakes of Gold

When a microwaved mug cake is gourmet and named My Cup of Cake, it’s speaking my language. It’s satisfying to use the food calendar as a creative writing prompt. I challenge myself to invoke a cupcake to represent the given day. Today is National Microwave Oven Day. When considering how to connect it to cake,… Continue reading Nuclear option

Celebrities have been shopping at the cupcakeries and telling everyone. Here’s K-pop singer TaeYeon showing her Sprinkles affection to her 16 million followers. https://www.instagram.com/p/B5H0h9hh4rU/ According to multiple celebrity magazines, model Kaia Gerber was seen with a Magnolia Bakery cake last month, shortly before her boyfriend’s birthday. Us Weekly, People, Refinery29, and E! reported the story.… Continue reading Pro-cupcake pop princesses

The first D.C.-area Smallcakes Cupcakery opened in Northern Virginia in July 2018. Smallcakes is a Kansas-based company with more than 200 domestic and international stores. The Northern Virginia store recently moved to a different city and held a grand opening party. Company founder Jeff Martin came to support the celebration. https://www.instagram.com/p/B42DXpuBxro/ Going to a place… Continue reading Small and grand cakes

National Boston Cream Pie Day was an excuse to hit the books and the oven. I read some food history books to understand the legacy and compare recipes. Sufficiently educated, I settled on my approach and went to work. Out came a good cake and cupcake. I instinctively pay attention to Bostonian things because I… Continue reading Boston on my mind

It was instructive to observe the seventh-annual NYC Cupcake Run this weekend, a 5k fun run with three cupcake stops. Not knowing what to expect, I went on a sweet adventure outside my routine. If this is my introduction, I feel most welcome. Participants did the course their own way. Some were in it to… Continue reading Will run for cupcakes

The D.C. State Fair was founded in 2010. This is its logo. The power of symbolism demands inquiry. While researching the Georgetown Cupcake 10th anniversary last year, I asked the State Fair about the logo. The volunteer organization didn’t know how to reach anyone connected to the logo development. So it stands as a mystery… Continue reading Symbolically speaking

I’ve made a half-baked (!) effort to locate Goodman gluten-free cupcakes ever since I first sampled them in December of 2017. I remember being impressed enough to write this about them. As time passes, I second guess myself and wonder if my judgment was swayed by the fact that I serendipitously had an interesting conversation… Continue reading Reunion

Three years ago almost to the day, I traveled to New York City for the sole purpose of eating cupcakes. It was the beginning of my dedicated research missions. I was incrementally shifting into author mode and allowing myself to invest in my book. I had a lot of self-doubt and definitely questioned what I… Continue reading On purpose

When the D.C. Milk Bar flagship store threw itself a first birthday party, I hit the books before the sweets. I was struck by the different characterizations of cupcakes in two 2018 cookbooks, All About Cake by Milk Bar chef/founder Christina Tosi and Rose’s Baking Basics by Rose Levy Beranbaum. Milk Bar doesn’t serve cupcakes.… Continue reading In perspective