The cupcake may be
seen as an edible
work of art
Alee
Brecka
makes
cupcakes
look good
at Healthy
Creations
If you need a
cupcake fix,
Blak’s has been
the Windsor
connection for the
past 95 years...
Sonia Klue, owner of Klueless Cupcakes in Windsor, says
cupcakes have become popular because of their size and the
variety of choices available.
“If you come for a cupcake, you have so many different
flavours you can choose from and there won’t be any
leftovers,” says Klue.
The increased interest in these desserts has given people a
chance for business, a chance to enhance their creativity and
for those who just want to eat them, a quick and easy way to
have a snack.
The cupcake is often seen as an edible work of art, with
bakers creating a variety of looks. The cake portion can offer a
variety of flavours to appeal to the taste buds, but it’s the icing
where the artistry truly comes to life. With decorators
transforming the food into edible flowers or creating cupcakes
that look like animals, if you can imagine it, it can likely be
done with a cupcake. Because of the smaller size, having an
elaborate cake in a single portion may lead more people to
choose cupcakes over cakes.
Cupcake sales may have impacted cake sales slightly, but
Klue thinks the loss is probably minor.
“When they ask for a cake, I always tell them, ‘why buy a
cake when you can have the cupcake?’” says Klue. “I’m not
sure if it’s taking away from the cake, it’s just something new,
people want to try it.”
Kat Spargalo, a student at St. Clair College, has noticed
bakeries adapting to the cupcake craze by selling their own
cupcakes and being creative in how they sell them.
“I’ve seen a few [cake shops] that have actually created
cupcake cakes which is a bunch of cupcakes beside each other
with thick icing over top so it appears to be an actual cake,”
says Spargalo.
Valarie Blak-Gill, co-owner of Blak’s Bakery, thinks it’s
also the influence of shows like “2 Broke Girls” and “Cupcake
Wars” that has increased the craze.
“When it’s out there, everyone wants the newest and the
latest thing,” says Blak-Gill. “So with all these cupcake places
coming out as the number one thing, that’s the way to go.”
Blak-Gill says the cupcake craze has caused decreasing
cake sales at her store as people purchase the dessert more
often.
“It’s a single-serving item rather than buying a cake,