"When it comes to cupcakes, when will it end?"

That's the question food writer Carolynn Carreno asks, in her blog post entitled "Looking Deep Into Cupcakes," and she also writes:

In our current post-Magnolia reality, pretty much anyone who has ever creamed butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl has begun baking cupcakes. When Sprinkles opened in Los Angeles several years ago, promising a stylish cupcake made with premium ingredients (Valrhona chocolate, organic Nielson-Massey vanilla) I thought: Aren’t they a little late to catch the cupcake wave? I really and truly thought that cupcakes had had their 15 minutes. What did I know? Now Oprah has her sanctioned cupcake source. Crumbs, whose cupcakes are even grosser than Magnolia for reasons having to do with More is Not More: (think Magnolia meets Cold Stone Creamery) is spreading across the country like a bad rash. And now this: Melissa’s cupcakes the size of a quarter, giving them an extremely high cake-to-icing ratio already—but let’s not stop there: they are then filled.

I found this via Robyn Lee over at Serious Eats, who sticks up for the cupcake:

As I am a fan of cupcakes, I'd like to put in my two cents. When I get a cupcake craving it's because I want something sweet, quickly and cheaply, involving cake and frosting, but in a single serving size. Regularly cupcakes fulfill this craving quite well; oversized cupcakes are pointless. The cake should be moist and light and the frosting shouldn't make me gag from sugar overload (hello, Magnolia and Billy's Bakery). Any place I have to wait in line for (hello again, Magnolia) isn't worth it, although bakeries with cozy, accommodating interiors are a plus.

Robyn also shares her favorites: sugar Sweet sunshine (also a favorite of ours and might I add, a huge bargain at $1.50 each) for "cheap, quick, and cozy" and Nine Cakes for "favorite overall cupcake." (I believe she's only talking about NYC bakeries.)

Once again, I think it's totally valid to criticize individual bakeries, and also to not like cupcakes. What I don't think is fair is attributing all sorts of cultural attitudes onto cupcake eaters and fans. I don't understand the cupcake hate, though we've come across it before, certainly.

Well, as I always say, more cupcakes for all of us!