LISA CUMBIE
Living Editor
Decadent desserts wrapped perfectly in individual portions are sweeping the nation’s sweet tooth. They’re making appearances on “Good Morning America,” “The Tyra Banks Show” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, while brushing the pages of The New York Times and InStyle Magazine. It may come as a surprise that the suddenly trendy snack is the traditional favorite we all indulged in as kids — cupcakes.
Some would say it all began in a small bakery nestled on New York City’s Bleecker Street. In 1996, co-owners Allysa Torey and Jennifer Appel started a small corner bakery called Magnolia, as a place for people to drop in and enjoy a homemade creation. But what started as an excess of cake batter and childhood nostalgia turned into a strong following of paper-peelers.
One evening, as they were closing up the shop, the bakers decided to make use of the extra ingredients that were already combined and ran to nearest corner store for some cupcake wrappers. They got a little carried away with them and wound up giving them to the last few customers of the day.
The next day, the customers came back wanting more and Magnolia revised their menu selection to include cupcakes.
It might seem like a stretch to claim that Torey and Appel invented the cupcake, but Appel takes full responsibility for the frenzy.
According to her employees, she believes she created the craze.
But despite the bakery’s success, clashing business styles between the co-owners drove Appel to make what both parties agree to be a bitter split from the company in 1999 and start her own bakery – Buttercup.
Appel may have left too soon though. No more than a year after the split, Magnolia’s cupcakes made their debut on HBO hit sitcom “Sex and the City.”
Though Appel was no longer part of Magnolia, she was able to cash in on the trend she started, as people went cupcake crazy.
Manhattan tourists can even take a “Sex and the City” tour with On Site Tours, during which they are given a cupcake as part of the tour. Strangely enough though, they don’t provide cupcakes from Magnolia, where the quartet indulged.
Revenge is sweet for Appel, since they are purchased from Buttercup, Magnolia’s biggest rival, according to On Site Tours.
The craze grew in New York and quickly made its way to the West Coast. And in Los Angeles, the craze has been channeled through Sprinkles Cupcakes.
After graduating from Tante Marie’s Cooking School, pastry chef Candace Nelson started her own business specializing in custom desserts. But Nelson wanted her desserts to be a daily pleasure, as opposed to being reserved for special occasions.
So a new cupcake was born using only the best ingredients to entice such customers as Katie Holmes, Barbara Streisand and Tyra Banks, according to Nicole Schwartz, manager of the Beverly Hills shop.
Sprinkles Cupcakes has become so popular that people are willing to wait in line upwards of 45 minutes during peak hours to get their treats.
Though sales numbers for the cupcake-only establishment are strictly confidential, the trend is strong enough to initiate the opening of two new stores earlier this year in Dallas and Newport Beach, Calif., as well as one additional store in Phoenix, Ariz. this fall.
Those in the cupcake business are sure this craze will not die.
“We don’t see cupcakes as a trend since they are a small indulgence people can enjoy everyday,” said Schwartz.
Sophomore Kori Ow tries to enjoy cupcakes as often as she can, but not normally every day. Cupcakes are one of her favorite desserts.
“They’re yummy. I love them,” she said.
She has grown to love Sprinkles, but says her favorite cupcake store is Le Cupcake in Santa Monica. Her brother-in-law introduced her to the sweet shop on a shopping trip to the Third Street Promenade and she has been going there ever since.
She even gets them specially wrapped at the shop and gives them as gifts.
But today, cupcakes are not only limited to people. Sprinkles Cupcakes offers miniature doggy cupcakes made with a special ingredient mixture for your favorite pooch. You can also dress your pup in a doggy t-shirt printed with an ‘I [heart] Sprinkles’ design.
There’s no reason to be jealous of your furry friend. You should have no problem finding cupcake apparel for yourself. If the Sprinkles t-shirts don’t interest you, you can choose from almost 2,000 cupcake designs at cafepress.com.
But don’t limit yourself to clothing, there’s a good selection of jewelry out there too, including a 14-karat gold and diamond cupcake pendant necklace available on amazon.com.
Display your love for the petite treasures loud and proud. After all, what’s not to love about a dessert that’s large enough to be satisfying, yet small enough to be guilt-free?
08-27-2007