The Rise of the Cupcake

Carrie Bradshaw and co of Sex and the City fame have influenced so much of popular culture. Did you know that not only are the girls responsible for introducing us to the Cosmopolitan, we can also credit them with bringing cupcakes to the masses?

Yes, if it wasn’t for Sex and the City (or Carrie and Miranda, specifically) we might have never known the sugary joy of a bun covered in buttercream icing. Shocking, isn’t it?

How did the cupcake trend begin? Well Carrie and Miranda sat down outside the Magnolia Bakery in NYC and discussed Carrie’s new crush on a man named Aiden over some cupcakes. That was pretty much it and the rest, as they say, was history.

What followed was an insane boost in profits for the Magnolia Bakery as women scrambled to try the cupcakes and it wasn’t long before the bakery in question began to extend its business.

While all of this was busy happening in New York, a small bakery by the name of Sprinkles in Los Angeles was also expanding its business and cashing in on the cupcake frenzy.

Soon Haute Cupcakeries (a fancy way of saying cupcake shops) began to spring up all over America and it became pretty obvious that the humble cupcake was the way forward when it came to dessert dining.

The trend gathered such momentum, the iconic homemaker Martha Stewart even published a book entitled Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes. And we all know, once Martha Stewart puts her name to something, it’s guaranteed to be knocking around for a while.

Although we doubt that anyone realised at the time that the cupcake trend would still be going strong 12 years after it made its initial debut on Sex and the City.

So aside from the fact that they are absolutely delicious, why do we all go mad for cupcakes? What is it about them?

Is it simply down to some deep-seated nostalgia? Do we really miss those plain buns our Mams used to bake us for our birthday parties when we were younger? Nostalgia is a powerful emotion, so we imagine that it definitely plays a part in the larger trend.

Another reason as to the success of the cupcake could be down to the fact that they’re personal little treats. They’re small, visually appealing and ever-so-chic.

Plus it’s the image that they project. The girls of Sex and the City are successful, sassy, smart and constantly bedecked in the latest designer gear. The cupcake is just a part of that.

So maybe, it’s the fact that because of Sex and the City we view the cupcake as meaning something more. Much like how we view a flash of red sole on a stiletto as meaning that the lady wearing said shoes is a successful, fashionable, powerful woman.

Maybe our love of the cupcake is all down to perception and nothing more – although it also helps that they taste like rainbows and sheer happiness condensed into baked-good form.