(image by Shamanyx)

Cupcakes are hot. Pop culture has elevated cupcakes from kindergarten birthday party to wedding cake status in a few short years. Cupcakes are fun, tasty and easily decorated, with a superb frosting-to-cake ratio. Everyone can enjoy cupcakes; in addition to the regular butter/sugar/flour varieties, there are vegan, sugar-free and gluten-free versions, plus some permutations of the three. NPR provides a more academic analysis of why cupcakes have shot to popularity.

Still, I’m over cupcakes. It’s almost 2010. Cupcakes are sooo 2008/9.

The New York Times, enamored with all things Maine, pushed whoopie pies as the next big thing in dessert back in March. That prediction has yet to come to fruition. Why? Whoopie pies are ugly. Despite the naughty-sounding name, there is nothing sexy about even the prettiest whoopie pie. Whoopie pies have little potential for creative toppings or decoration. The best ones are wrapped in plastic wrap and sold in convenience stores; ask any Mainer who makes the best whoopie pie and the answer will be a) his grandmother or b) the gas station down the road.

I argue that macarons are the next big thing. Macarons (not to be confused with macaroons), are cookie-like French confections made by sandwiching cream, ganache or almond paste between two wafers made from egg whites, almond powder and confectioner’s and granulated sugars. As you can see from the chart below, macarons have increased in search popularity over the past five years, a trend that continues to grow:

(image from Google Trends)

Like cupcakes, macarons are cute, colorful, portable, single serving-sized bits of goodness. They are also extremely versatile, with flavors ranging from lemon to mocha to pistachio raspberry- even bacon. Their colorful stackability makes them a natural subject for blog headers and Twitter backgrounds. Plus, “Sex and the City,” credited in part for catapulting cupcakes to mass popularity, even featured macarons in one episode, an indicator of macarons’ commercial potential.

I had never heard of macarons until a few months ago; now I see them all over the internet. They certainly have more elitist origins than cupcakes, being both French and difficult to bake (first-time macaron makers often complain that their macarons lack “feet”, the ruffles around the bottom of each cookie), which I see as the only potential drawback. Otherwise, macarons are just one SNL reference away from international cult status.

Just a theory. What do you think?

Other people’s thoughts on the matter:

• Serious Eats: Talk
• Domestic Deep Thought of the Day: What’s the Next Cupcake?
• Willow Bird Baking: Un Petit Trésor: Les Macarons

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If I were to live my life as a confection I’d definitely choose to be a cupcake. They’re cute, everybody loves them, and because they’re the perfect size you never hear, “Ugh, I really shouldn’t have eaten that. It was just tooooo much!” Unless you’re me, who gluttonously ate three of them the other day. But that’s what happens when:

1) you love cupcakes,
2) you stumble upon a bakery in your new neighborhood that just happens to specialize in cupcakes,
3) you decide your readers need to hear -more than anything else- about said bakery’s fabulous cupcakes.

So I blame my dessert debauchery on Cupcake Royale. It’s simply their fault that they had so many delicious cupcakes from which to choose and make myself happily sick.

The flavors we chose for our dutiful experiment were:

• Lavender: Real lavender buds in vanilla buttercream on vanilla cake,
• Coconut Bunny: Vanilla buttercream topped with coconut on chocolate cake,
• Peppermint Party: Minty green peppermint buttercream on chocolate cake,
• Triple Threat: Chocolate buttercream with dark chocolate bits on chocolate cake,
• A seasonal strawberry buttercream on chocolate cake,
• A specialty Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.

Cupcake Royale was voted Seattle’s Best Cupcake 2008 and I gleefully concur. Their three Seattle-area bakeries whip up their diminutive sweeties bright and early each day. As they say, “Shelf life = Today!” Their “Rules of Cupcake Goodness” simply state: no preservatives, no box mixes, use only top-quality ingredients from local or sustainable sources, no shortening, hand frosted, and make them with lots of love.

Just like mom used to make!

I’ll be back soon for another round of “testing.”

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Why is it we love cupcakes so much? By “we” I mean us girls because, let’s face it, they’re pretty girlie. I’ve never heard a guy say, “Oh! Let’s stop and get a half dozen cupcakes! Won’t that be fun!?” Nope. I’m fairly certain I will never hear those words out of Barnaby’s mouth.

I found these little Red Velvet 4th of July cupcakes in a local bakery, and thought the gang of kids at the party today would really dig them.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

Makes about 14-16 cupcakes

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ounces water
2 ounces red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare cupcake tins with cupcake papers.
2. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. 
3. Add eggs and blend well.
4. Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring and add to the butter mixture.
5. Sift flour and salt together into the above mixture.
6. One at a time, add the buttermilk, vanilla, and water.
7. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and baking soda. Fold it into the cake batter, making sure it’s incorporated, but don’t beat it.
8. Pour the batter into the cupcake tins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched.
9. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes, then turn the cupcakes out of the tins and onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

Vanilla Frosting

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium-size saucepan, whisk the flour into the milk until smooth. Stir constantly over medium heat cook until the mixture becomes thick and begins to bubble (approx. 10-15 minutes).

Cover with waxed paper placed directly on the surface and cool to room temperature (approx. 30 minutes).In a large bowl beat the butter for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar, beating continuously for 3 minutes until fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat well.

Add the cooled milk mixture, and continue to beat on medium high speed for 5 minutes, until very smooth and noticeably whiter in color. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes (exactly 15 minutes – set a timer!). Use immediately.

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