On Tuesday America woke to news of the demise of one of the world's largest cupcake chain, Crumbs’ and the closure of its 50-odd stores. Within hours the last remaining Crumbs' cupcakes were being sold on eBay for hundreds of dollars and one question was being asked: is this the end of cupcakes?
After all, with many food trends, where the US leads, the UK follows. Cast your mind back to Sex And The City in the late nineties. Carrie and co's famous NYC hangout was the Magnolia Bakery, and seeing Carrie tuck into the pretty pastel-iced creations sparked a cupcake craze over here, a trend which has been going strong, until now.
So could Crumbs' demise this week create a Cupcake Calamity over here? We sincerely hope not. While some food pundits are saying Crumbs' misfortunes are a sign that the 'US cupcake economy is crumbling', we have to say we'd be rather sad to see them totally disappear. We may have all fallen victim to some very bad cupcakes in our time (sickly-sweet, toothache inducing, articially-coloured), but we have also enjoyed some fun, cute, delicious and melt-in-your-mouth vanilla-y ones too. Infact there are signs that Crumbs' comeback may be already in the offing with plans to reopen select stores.
So our advice - use em, or lose em. Click here for our ten favourites>>
Cupcakes
1 of 111. Hundreds And Thousands Cupcakes
Cupcakes and Doilies is a fabulously-cool cupcakery owned by Jamie Oliver’s protégé Cupcake Jemma, who also has a book out now showing how to make them at home. Buy the book here.
2 of 112. Red Velvet Cupcakes
The Hummingbird Bakery sells american style cupcakes including the all-time classic, the Red Velvet Cupcake. Gwyneth Paltrow called their cakes ‘legendary’.
3 of 113. Raspberry Ripple And Basil Cupcakes
From blog Ren Behan.com. Find the recipe here
4 of 11CLICK HERE FOR OUR 10 FAVOURITE CUPCAKES
5 of 114. Chocolate And Vanilla Cupcakes
Pastry chef Claire Ptak, worked for three years as a pastry cook for famous Californian restaurant Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, before setting up her own bakery, www.violetcakes.com . Cue cute cakes, whoopies, to-die-for brownies, amongst others.
6 of 115. Vanilla, Cardamom and Rose Petal Cupcakes
From cupcake makers Juniper Cakery. Find the recipe here.
7 of 116. Pina Colada Cupcakes
Tufnell Park baker Bunny Little from Bunny Little’s Bakery loves nothing more than creating cupcakes with a newsy or fashiony twist. Check out her marvelous recipe for Pina Colada cupcakes here (created to mark the world cup).
8 of 117. Gastro Cupcakes
Find Beas of Bloomsbury selling beautifully-made cupcakes made from seasonal ingredients in Bloomsbury, St Paul’s and Farringdon, as well as an Americana-style outlet on foodie mecca Maltby Street, 10 minutes walk from London Bridge.
9 of 118. Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes
Wraggamuffins. specilaise in american-stye cupcakes with big-american flavours such as Key Lime Pie to Peanut Butter Cup.
10 of 119. Pretty Cupcakes
Peyton and Byrne is a large London Bakery selling cupcakes in every imaginable flavour.
11 of 1110. Mini Vanilla Chai Cupcakes
From blog Eat Live Burp. Find the recipe here.