Cupcakes epitomize the food trends of personalization and portion control. In my last Topline Trends newsletter I wrote about how pull-apart “cupcake cakes” are trending up. These clusters of cupcakes, positioned in beguiling shapes, offer the visual impact of a whole cake but the serving ease of, well, cupcakes.
I’m a huge fan of cupcakes not just for kid’s parties where they are a brilliant choice that allows guests to be served quickly and easily, but also for more swish affairs. At my own 40th birthday I had a cupcake tree laden with gorgeous fluffy white cupcakes generously swathed in pink buttercream frosting. Likewise, cupcakes have become a popular feature at stylish weddings.
Recently the ProChef Smart Brief (an online aggregate newsletter for the foodservice industry conducted a poll where they asked chefs, “Would you consider adding cupcakes to a gourmet menu?” I was on the ‘yes’ side of the argument, as were over 70 per cent of respondents.
To the other 20+ per cent all I have to say is check out an Eini Cupcake— and yes, gentle readers, they taste as good as they look! — and think about revising your (wrong) answer.
Would you serve cupcakes at a formal party? Why or why not?
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Hi Dana,
These cupcakes are GORGEOUS! I love cupcakes, too — they’re just the perfect sweet treat though often, they’re so beautifully and intricately decorated, you don’t even want to eat them. You just want to look at them. I would definitely serve cupcakes at a formal party. I was at a wedding recently and instead of having a wedding cake, the couple had stacks of cupcakes — it was perfect. Everyone loved it.
I blogged about cupcakes recently if you want to check it out:
Natalie,
I absolutely urge you to try the cupcakes Eini makes.The looks are great but the taste is even better – she apprenticed with the Cake DIva in NYC and then added her own creative twist to her line by using bubble tea flavors in her frosting. DE-LISH!
Mmm! I just saw that this recipe from Jill O’Connor’s book is available right now at Liete’s Culinaria:
http://www.leitesculinaria.com/recipes/cookbook/choco_caramel_cupcakes.html
As you’ll recall, I recommended Jill’s book during December’s Book Week.
My mouth is watering …. thanks for the great recommendations and all the great tips in your blog! I love it!
Hi Dana,
We served cupcakes at our own ‘stylish wedding’ 🙂 Not only were they much more tasty and attractive looking than a tired old traditional cake… we also avoided the $1.25 per slice ‘cutting fee’ that they wanted to charge us!
Smart tip, Karen!
Thank you Dana for all your support.
I just read through the comments and noticed something quite funny. I actually trained with Elisa Strauss from Confetti Cakes (www.confetticakes.com) in NYC. She’s absolutely an amazing person and deserves all the credit for everything I’ve learned.
I can just imagine the Cake Dive reading this and wondering… who is Eini again??
Sorry about the mistake Eini. Thanks for providing the correct info.
BTW, cake lovers might want to check out Elissa Strauss’ book on cakes: http://confetticakes.com/book.html
I still love cupcakes, even though they were popularized to death last year. The only ones I haven’t tried yet are Eini’s…and I’m very anxious to check them out.
Here’s an interesting UK cupcake maker that London readers may want to check out.
http://www.lolas-kitchen.co.uk/online_store_signature.html
Hey Suresh (and other cupcake lovers) Eini has some lovely new cupcakes just for Valentine’s Day:
http://www.eini.ca/cupcakes/cupcake.php?cat=2&id=SS001
would it be wrong to send them to myself?
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These cupcakes look lovely, really like the flower designs. Thanks Suzanne x
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