By Amy Devito, Staff Writer
Cupcakes used to be known as the nostalgic delectable indulgence for children’s birthday celebrations or other occasional events. Now they are building a sweet reputation, making frosting waves in the baking world as a gourmet and playful part of everyday cuisine.
Amelia Simmons launched a cupcake prototype when she penned a recipe calling for “a cake to be baked in small cups” in her 1796 cookbook “American Cookery.” The earliest record of the term “cupcake” was featured in 1828 in Eliza Leslie’s cookbook “Seventy-five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats.”
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America explains the importance of these decadent desserts: These new, smaller cups were convenient because hearth ovens took a long time to bake larger cakes. In the early 1890s, Hostess introduced the snack cupcake but it didn’t become the Hostess CupCake until 1919.
The cupcake craze started in New York in 1996 when the Magnolia Bakery opened in Greenwich Village and started baking old-fashioned cupcakes with thick buttercream frosting. A few years later, in an episode of “Sex and the City,” Carrie and Miranda were snacking on these tiny treats, and the craving for cupcakes skyrocketed.
On April 13, 2005, Sprinkles Cupcakes, the world’ first cupcake-exclusive bakery, opened in Beverly Hills. Owners Charles Nelson and his wife Candace Nelson jump-started the cupcake revolution on the West Coast. Candace Nelson is now a judge on the new Food Network show “Cupcake Wars,” which has fueled the cupcake craze and diners’ search for artisanal cupcakes. Sprinkles Cupcakes was featured on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and its customers include a long list of celebrities.
“Cupcakes should be a daily indulgence,” Nelson said. “They are comfort foods during difficult times. It’s the idea of returning to youth for a lot of people.”
Cupcakes Squared in San Diego lives up to its name as likely one of the only bakeries featuring square-shaped cupcakes. Its cupcakes offer a new slant on the retro treat but the taste is just as irresistible.
“It’s an affordable luxury that offers individualistic choices,” Robin Ross Wisotsky, the owner of Cupcake Squared, said. “Instead of buying one cake for eight people you can buy eight different cupcakes for everyone’s preference.”
Cups in La Jolla was featured on the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars” as the only organic bakery to use natural ingredients for its fillings. Cups is noted as the only “3-star green” bakery in San Diego.
“From a historical perspective, it’s interesting that cupcakes are making a breakthrough now during the recession,” Michelle Ciccarelli, the owner of Cups, said. “People started having cravings for the red velvet cupcake flavor during the Great Depression and now it’s coming back stronger than ever.”
Adults looking to indulge their childhood sweet tooth no longer need to suffer the disappointment of the industrial, plastic-wrapped version. Cupcake establishments have taken root in San Diego; and given the public’s insatiable cupcake appetite, more are sure to come.
