Muffin Daze

I guess it seems appropriate on the day when children across the country are waking up with a sugar hangover (and maybe some parents too) that we think about  our collective hangover from another sugary treat: "The cupcake: Will it ever go away?" *

The beginning of a trend:
cupcakes for the road, NYC, 2006

I should probably preface this discussion by saying that I do enjoy Katrina Onstad, food-related cultural commentary, and, of course, the cupcake.  In fact, my love of this colourful single-serving cup-sized cake goes all the way back to elementary school and "Muffin Days." As part of fundraising efforts, each class would get one Friday of the month to host muffin day. Parents would be told to bring in a dozen "muffins" and some lucky students from that class (or Grade 6 volunteers for the ECS and Grade 1 classes) would get to skip the last class before recess to roll the AV cart, loaded with the single-serving snacks, from classroom to classroom, selling their wares for 25 cents each. Woe was you if you were in the last class to receive the cart because the fantastic chocolate treats with the blue icing and sprinkles would be long gone and you only choice would be between the dry carrot muffin or a similarly lumpy bran version (hi Mom!)

The wares of The Cupcake Café,
NYC 2006

Hamilton, of all places, is a bit of a hotbed for all of this sugary sweetness, which I can (and do, regularly) support. While I was delighted to discover an actual cupcake shop in the neighbourhood by the university when I first moved to the city four years ago, and have since become a convert for the cupcakes in the bakery across the street (which is ALSO the only place that makes French macarons. And only for special orders. But that's another story), we truly became a cupcake city with the arrival of three new locations within a short(ish) walk of apartment this summer. Our local paper recently got in on the action and conducted a taste test of the four main cupcake shops.

So what does all of this say about our city? I do like this article that explores the idea of dessert as a form of culture. (And yes, it seems that the Globe and Mail is the only news resource I ever consult.) For an amateur baker who has taken enough birthday cakes and plates of brownies to work and class over the years, and had to scramble for a knife and fork and napkins, cupcakes provide the perfect solution to a group treat: single-serving and no mess.  So perhaps we are a society that needs a treat that we can take on the run, or bring to share, that reminds us of the cakes that we had as children on our birthdays, when the day was just about celebrating us. Sugary sweet, cakey and creamy, maybe a cupcake treat is an afternoon indulgence, like an afternoon nap.

Grown-up cupcakes: margarita-flavoured bachelorette treats

I should probably consider the politics of sugar and the cost of this indulgence (upwards of $2.50 a cute little cupcake) that ties it to a history of elite access to sugar and its byproducts but that may be for another post. Or paper. Just remember that cupcakes are more than just a little treat.


* oh, and be sure to check the "related content" for a video showcasing the Cupcake Diner in Hamilton. I'll buy a cupcake for anyone who can name the street where the diner is curbside in the clip.