Friday, September 05, 2008

Cupcakes: So Last Season?

Sprinkles are the new leggings.

This just in from The New York Times City Room blog: the cupcake trend is on the outs. The market is over-saturated, and in light of the obesity epidemic, sweets of all kinds are coming under fire by parents and schools.

If it's true, it wouldn't necessarily be the worst thing in the world. In the area where I work in downtown Manhattan, you cannot swing a dead cat without hitting a fairy cake piled high with buttercream, and it would be nice to see a little more diversity in bakeries. Sure, they're conveniently sized, but so are brioche and croissants and cookies -- hey, why not individual tarts or pies at the next office party? Something a little less...precious?

The point I'm getting at is that cupcakes are great, but there are so many other exciting things that can be done with flour, sugar, and butter. Why so many shops devoted to just one item? If I can figure this out, I will have also solved the mystery of the tangy fro-yo phenomenon.

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