this is my opportunity to finally come clean. I am an addict. addicted to the absolute power of cupcakes. never has there ever been a more comforting, smile inducing connection to my childhood. when I was in catholic elementary school, we had punch and cupcake sales just about every friday. maybe- just maybe- this explains my current need for them at least one day a week. of course, back then the cupcakes were just twenty-five cents and the punch was gratis. today, I willingly pay up to five dollars for each delicious memory of my innocent times. those tiny sweets topped with simple frosting and sugar dots or flowers, ALWAYS cheer me up. I fear I may have also passed this addiction on to my almost 4 year old son, who now begs for cupcakes whenever we pass mommy’s favorite bakery.

I thought that I would take a few moments to tell you about my favorites here in brooklyn and beyond. and YES, I am talking about cupcakes of the organic variety. my absolute favorite cupcake in the world is quintessential simplicity. vanilla cake with vanilla icing. and I get these from cheeks. melanie, the owner and pastry chef makes everything fresh daily and uses only organic and local ingredients. from what I hear, she used to be affiliated with magnolia bakery (of sex in the city fame), but honestly– hers are soooo much better. magnolia’s lines are ridiculously long and as a cupcake connoisseur who has tried just about every cupcake in nyc, I do NOT find them line worthy. melanie’s are. I seriously dream about these cupcakes and cheeks in brooklyn is THE spot to find them.

if I am puttering around manhattan, there are several options; however, I tend toward the simple straight-forward style of cupcakery. I typically stay away from the over- sized, multi-flavored, cream filled varieties. in my mind, these are the stuff twinkies are made of, and I loathe twinkies. my spot in the city is buttercup bake shop. slightly sweeter and much more icing than the faves in brooklyn, but haunting nonetheless.

while my son was visiting his nana this summer, he decried to me that there were no cupcakes by nana’s house. this is in outrage, I thought- there has got to be a bakery that he can visit. my mom is not really adept with the baking skills & well, it turns out- there wasn’t. so I went the next best route- the internet. I was so ecstatic when I learned of sweet debbie’s organic cupcakes, that I had her immediately ship a half dozen vanilla-vanilla with stars (the boy said he wanted stars on the cupcakes, so he got stars!) sent out overnight. debbie uses only organic ingredients and from my research appears to be a rarity in shipping them out. from what the little guy has said to me they were yummy and debbie’s customer service shone like those stars he requested. she was an absolute pleasure to work with. now, of course overnight shipping is frought with carbon emission dilemmas, and I strive for as light a footprint as possible, so I once again sought out a way to offset. this time, I contributed to the WWF (“hotter than I should be”) global warming fund.

I would definitely recommend seeking out organic and local cupcakes, or making your own from farm fresh ingredients- but for an occasional indulgence- this is a simple step to help the planet recover from our undying cupcake addiction. now, if you’ll excuse me- I think cheeks’ cupcakes are calling me!

when in boston- visit johnny cupcakes to get the t shirt pictured above. they don’t actually have edible cupcakes, but they do have great cupcake inspired gear. I’m definitely with johnny on this one: more cupcakes- less war- makes perfect sense.
namaste.