When we were children, cupcakes were some of our very favorite treats. Parents took the extra special time to carefully mix, bake and decorate these miniature treats to the great appreciation of all those who were lucky enough to enjoy them. They were fun to make with the family and an evening could be care freely spent creating these tasty morsels. They were made for special birthday parties, a great report card and for any exceptional achievement or milestone. These treats were easy to make, easy and fun to eat, they were the perfect single serving, and they were easy to clean-up.
As children grew up and interests changed, jump ropes made way for nail polish and eye shadow, while “cooties” made way for asking girls out on movie dates. Things changed and such childish treats as cupcakes were abandoned for other such treats, such as a full sheet birthday or celebratory cakes.
In college and early adulthood years, it would be very rare to see them donning any social party tables. Sodas were replaced with alcoholic beverages, sweets with chips and other such snacking foods.
But, recently there has been an interesting revival of the infamously neglected cupcake within all age segments of the population. It has become popular again to want this special treat so much so that we are finding celebrities stopping, often daily, to enjoy the delectable treats. Many gossip magazines have written articles and taken voluminous pictures of this new phenomenon among celebrities. And, as is the case most of the time, celebrities tend to be the ultimate trend setters. The majority of the population looks toward celebrities for fashion tips, cool lifestyles, and many other instances. They want to, literally, be like the stars and so how better to achieve this than by imitating what they do.
These miniture cakes are now once again being appreciated by young and old for their perfect portion sizes and their fun unique variations. Would you like sprinkles, frosting, or chocolate chips on that? What color would you like the sprinkles?
They can be multi-colored, stars, beads, or one solid color. Would you like chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, or a multitude of other frosting flavors; and instead of chocolate chips to add that extra special touch, why not coconut or peanut shavings? Better yet why not some sprinkles or jimmies for that extra sweet taste, And those choices don’t even include the different flavors available in the actual cupcake itself! Why not chocolate vanilla swirl or mocha peanut butter blend? And what about the wrapper the delightful treat sits in as it patiently waits for a person to pick it up? You can have pink, silver foil, holiday seasoned, and the list goes on of all the possible wrappers you can choose from. So many choices, so little time definitely illuminating the additional reasons why they are such a beloved treat for people young and old. And, they have a wonderful way of making people feel younger. But you need to prepare them right and a good way to do that is by using a stand mixer, personally I prefer the Kitchenaid professional 600, but you can go for cheaper stand mixers also. They feel like a special treat in one’s hand, especially the uniquely decorated ones. No two are exactly alike, that is another great reason why people seem to adore them so! Cupcakes are definitely making a comeback and we are all so lucky for this fact!