R.I.P. Cupcakes

April 19, 2013 by
 |  6 Comments  |  Leave Comment

broken cupcake

We’re sad to announce the demise of one of our favorie food fads – the cupcake. Three separate news sources have published obituaries. 

The first is from no less an unimpeachable source than The Wall Street Journal. In Forget Gold, the Gourmet Cupcake Market Is Crashing they note that the publicly traded cupcake company “Crumbs” has gone from $13/share to $1.70. The over-all problem? “As a business, making cupcakes has a relatively low barrier to entry and the field has become saturated with competitors, including individual bakeries, chains and grocery stores.” 

Meanwhile, The Daily Meal is asking Are Gourmet Cupcakes on the Way Out? and is trying to estimate the next craze, “So what’s next? Nothing quite has the low entry barrier of cupcakes (one of the cons to the business is, after all, that anyone can bake cupcakes), but  pies have been trending for a while and have a potential mini-size for party appeal, while gourmet donut shops have been gathering a following. We like betting on pies, just because we’re obsessed with the sweet and savory possibilities, but the market will decide.”

And, finally, we have Grub Street New York, which has Nine Reasons Why the Cupcake Boom Went Bust. Besides the problems mentioned above, here are a few more from their list:

  • They’ve now become symbols of female depression and loneliness.
  • Honey Boo Boo’s opened a cupcake stand
  • They’re antifeminist
  • There are too many cupcake blogs

So EYBers, it looks like we’re back to baking our own. However, as the EYB library demonstrates, we like our cupcakes and we like our cupcake cookbooks – here are our favorites to fill in the loneliness this passing has left behind.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo by Grub Street New York

Category: Food Online

Post a comment

6 Comments

  • Jane  on  April 19, 2013

    Good riddance! I've never met a cupcake I've liked so this passing causes me no grief at all. Now if they had predicted the demise of macarons, I would have been heartbroken!

  • Christine  on  April 19, 2013

    I do love cupcakes (and I have a bit of a frosting addiction…), but I've very rarely eaten a purchased cupcake from a bakery that tastes as good as homemade, so I have no problem making my own!

  • lesorelle  on  April 19, 2013

    Thanks goodness that fad is over. The nadir for me was my sister-in-law's wedding "cake" made of tiers of cupcakes — it was like being at a kid's birthday party…

  • sir_ken_g  on  April 20, 2013

    $2.50 cupcakes I don't need.
    A good idea of parties and weddings where everyone gets their fav flavor and no poor sucker is stuck with cutting.

  • madamepince  on  April 20, 2013

    The only good cupcake is a black bottom cupcake & why pay a bakery to do that?

  • Potterhill  on  April 23, 2013

    I have made cupcakes for as long as I remember (almost). They were one of the first things I made, and I made them often. If I was baking, I could escape other chores like berry picking, and no one complained!
    I made them for my children's birthday parties, sent them to school, made them for bake sales. I love cupcakes!
    But, I have to say I have rarely purchased them. So blame me for the demise. I will, however, continue to make them, be they dead or alive.

Seen anything interesting? Let us know & we'll share it!

Categories

Archives