Let them eat cupcakes: Barely bigger than bite-size treats are food fad of the decade

WALNUT CREEK, California Kara Lind, the Bay Area pastry chef and Food Network's "Cupcake Wars" veteran, takes the cake for ironic beginnings.

Her father was a dentist.

But that didn't stop her from developing a love affair with sweets she was just forced to sneak her candies and cakes, creating what she calls "an obsession with goodies and a terrific sweet tooth."

The San Francisco-based cupcake queen, who has five shops throughout the Bay Area, is hardly alone in her devotion to the tiny, frosting-topped treats. Cupcakes have turned out to be one of the most enduring food trends of the last decade, although they're not exactly newcomers to the baking trade. The little desserts have been around since the 19th century.

Some food historians say the name comes from the amount of ingredients used to make a cupcake a cupful of flour, a cupful of butter, cupful of sugar, etc. much like the pound cake earned its moniker. Others claim cupcakes were so named because they were originally baked in individual cups, small earthenware or clay dishes, which were faster and easier to bake in old ovens. The 12-hole metal cupcake pan is a modern invention.

It's no secret that recent years have brought cupcakes a considerably flashier and more sophisticated role. Now there are cafes and bakeries, like Lind's, devoted to nothing but designer cupcakes, and a considerable portion of that business comes from parties, weddings, graduations and corporate events.

Kara Haspel Lind is photographed at her store, Kara's Cupcakes, in San Francisco, California, Sept. 22. (Contra Costa Times/MCT)

"Cupcakes are just fun," Lind, 40, says. "They are individual, elegant desserts. They are easy to eat, and can be dressed up to fit any event."

Lind, a former advertising sales rep, combined her sweet tooth, marketing savvy and cooking expertise the San Francisco resident is a graduate of Tante Marie's when she and her husband decided to take her hobby and "go for it."

"I loved baking, especially cupcakes," she says. "And everyone I know enjoyed eating them."

They launched Kara's Cupcakes in 2006. Within two years, her small, word-of-mouth catering business quickly took off. Lind's sweet empire has since expanded to include two stores in San Francisco and one each in Palo Alto, San Jose and Napa. A sixth is slated for Walnut Creek in November.

Her tricked-out KaraVan, a chocolate brown, pink-striped mobile bakery, is a frequent sight at fairs and festivals. And her appearance on the hit Food Network show, "Cupcake Wars," in July propelled Lind into the national spotlight. Lind came in second in the competition, but received sterling accolades from the show's judges.

"It was a grueling schedule," she says of the days spent on the show. "I was exhausted afterward, but I had a lot of fun."

Of course, Lind isn't the only Bay Area baker in the local "cupcake wars." Lind specializes in delicacies such as Meyer Lemony Lemon, a vanilla cupcake with a tart lemon filling and lemon buttercream, Banana Caramel with a silky cream cheese frosting, and Sweet S'mores, a chocolate cupcake with a graham cracker crust and toasted marshmallow frosting.

But her contemporaries are every bit as creative. Karen Tripp of Walnut Creek, California's Frosting Bake Shop makes not only mocha, raspberry and carrot cake treats, she brings her cupcake decorating to new, whimsical heights with pirate cupcakes, kebabs made from mini-cupcakes and tiny Rice Krispy treats, and truffle-sized cupcakes dipped in dark and white chocolate.

Sprinkles, the Palo Alto branch of the flagship Beverly Hills chain owned by "Cupcake Wars" judge Candace Nelson imports its sprinkles from France and uses pureed strawberries, not artificial dyes, to tint its frosting pink.

Lind says more and more pastry chefs are experimenting with gluten-free, vegan and sugar-free varieties. And there seems to be no end to the possibilities for expansion. Consider that a recent Wall Street Journal story on "buttercream economics" quoted a June study partly crediting the rise in cupcake cafes for the employment growth in New York's restaurant and bar sector.

Lind, who juggles a staff of more than 60 plus daughter Lucia, age 2 1/2 says she is grateful, but not entirely surprised, by her success. Cupcakes, she says, are here to stay. Meanwhile, as her empire expands, she's letting her managers take over more of the daily operations.

"I will stay involved creatively, though," she says, "and work on new projects."

One of those projects might be a cookbook, and possibly one for kids. She'll have in-house help for the latter.

"Sometimes, when I'm in the kitchen," she says, "I will give Lucia a small piping bag and let her decorate her own cupcake."

By Peggy Spear

(Contra Costa Times)

(McClatchy-Tribune Information Services)