Is It Over Yet?

I am acutely aware that I will undoubtedly draw nasty looks from many reading this, but here goes.  Cupcakes annoy me.  Well, actually the cupcake trend annoys me.  The only thing that would annoy me more would be a pink, cupcake food truck, with a cliché name like Crumbs, Buttercream, Sweet Dreams, and so on, that sold cupcakes for 5 bucks each, and I'm sure there's one of those around.

As fast as real businesses are giving in to the reality of the struggles of this economy, moving their business out the back door, the cupcakesters are moving in the front door.  Taking advantage of eager property owners, favorable, short-term rentals and cheap, second hand or home kitchen equipment, that they have little experience using and they move in.  Cupcake shops lack the real world expertise to run a profitable business, so instead, they show us their lack of control when purchasing their ingredients, pass those costs on to the customer and tack on huge markups for profit.  You pay the price for some recent, know-it- all college grad and their marketing degree, which of course, lends the knowledge and respect for business that one would need to participate in such an endeavor.  With arrogance and self-righteousness they sell cupcakes for $4 and $5 a piece and preside over cake pops, whoopie pies, yogurt shops, gastro pubs and truffle popcorn producers everywhere as the king of all things trendy, that also possesses an expiration date.  Cupcakes represent the dumbing down of the skilled trade of baking, they are the triumph of appearance over substance.  They are given a cold shoulder from real bakers, people who have spent years learning an art, they are granted credibility from the Food Network and other media outlets who, are just capitalizing on the trend for their own profits.  Nonetheless, they have found a special place in hearts and town centers of many.  Yes, they remind us of our childhood and some could say they are fun to eat, although I use a fork most times.

I'm sure most of us have tried one of these fad cupcakes.  Your observation was probably like unto my own; this thing is way too sweet.  Let's compare these fancied-up, high priced servings of cake to something a bit more meaningful; pie.  When made properly, with quality ingredients and by someone who cares about the product, pie is rarely very sweet.  Why would you mask the awesome flavors of the fruit and the hard work that went towards preparing the dough from scratch?  This is the difference, since pie is relatively NOT considered a fad, it has been spared the pollution from the trendy types who really have no idea how to bake.  Pie is found attractive to  different groups of individuals; people who actually value the food they eat and people who actually value the process behind producing something good to eat. Pie requires skill, finesse and a thorough understanding of flavor and appreciation of quality.  Pie doesn't have to look attractive, it's not hiding anything, or trying to divert your attention away from what it lacks.  The skill of a cupcake baker seems to be more in their ability to dress up the top of an otherwise poorly baked, small cake.

My cousin Jess started an interesting project over a year ago.  She bought the largest cookbook she could find, that was filled of pie recipes only.  She then began the arduous task of recreating every pie in that book.  On occasion, when she visits, she will actually commandeer my kitchen and produce one more pie.  Her blog and the picture journal she has created to chronicle her efforts tells an interesting story and confirms my thoughts on what baking truly is.  Baking is something that you work on to perfect, it's not something for which a kit is sold, and it's not something that a bit of fancy camouflage will be sufficient to make desirable.  Follow her blog and judge for yourself.  A year after she began this project, her technical aptitude and passion is shown in every pie she shares with us. 

I made a pie this morning with my daughter.  She loved helping measure some ingredients and lay out the crust.  I think she loves making pies so much because she thinks I can't see her when she steals some of the fruit out of the bowl, but that's fine by me, I had her in the kitchen and that's all that matters. 

As we see what unfolds around us, with this trend and every other, I can't help but wonder; is there a strong enough demand for these premium-priced cupcakes to justify this kind of market expansion? Or, are cupcakes just another soon to be forgotten, food fad?      

**Throughout this article are pictures of my pie, that I made today and some of my cousin Jess' creations.  I purposely left the edges of my pie sloppy, because I like making statements.   ©2012 http://peace-of-pie.com/

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