Seen at weddings, birthdays, baking bashes, and even on Pinterest and TV,  cupcakes are a favorite in the American dessert culture. Who doesn’t delight in yummy, mini cakes iced to perfection?  Dating back to the 1800s, cupcakes were first thought of by Amelia Simmons. They were a big hit because of their simplicity in comparison to regular cakes and the shorter amount of time they take to make. Cupcakes have evolved since that day and now cover a huge variety of looks, tastes, and kinds.  Whether you walk into a bakery, grocery store, or even a cupcake lover’s kitchen, there are multitudes of options that set your stomach to growling.

It seems in the past few years, cupcake businesses have begun to multiply in number. Owning a cute cupcake bakery has changed from people’s cool dreams to growing realities. Alyssa Farrell, senior, shares the origins of her new found hobby, “I liked baking, but I never did anything cool with it besides cookies, so I wanted to be more inventive.” Inventive she has been, for two of her favorite home baked cupcakes include coconut lime and blueberry french toast. They aren’t only fun to make and be creative with, but also a treat for friends who get to taste them.

On-the-side home cupcake businesses and talented friends aren’t the only way to snag these coveted desserts. A local place is Oh So Sweet bakery in downtown Davenport. They can do custom 3D designs or fondants which may be an example of one contributor that has helped the cupcake enterprise thrive: workplaces can ask for their logos on cupcakes to use as an advertising tool at events.

The name “Scratch cupcakes” is often referred to with expressions of delight. Another relatively local cupcake shop is Molly’s Bakery. While slightly less well-known than Scratch, Molly’s was a winner in a 2010 episode of Cupcake Wars. Allison Ocel, Iowa freshman and PV grad, shares, “Scratch cupcakes are a big hit for Iowa students because college students like to take out the stresses of school with tasty cupcakes. I think Molly’s is very convenient because it is right across from the Pentacrest, but ultimately, Scratch is better because they are cheaper and have better flavors in my opinion.”

Scratch is located in Cedar Rapids, which makes UNI students happy, as well as in Waterloo, West Des Moines, and Coralville. In 2011, Scratch also added a curbside truck to their company which drives all around the state of Iowa selling cupcakes. This is a great method gaining foothold today as it spreads the treats to everyone like Hurts does with doughnuts.

People say the point in time which cupcakes became truly trendy was in 2011. Everyone has different reasons, but one is because they are easy, fun, and adaptable. If a bride and groom can’t decide on a wedding cake flavor, use cupcakes and boom! There can be different options. A list to make your mouth water includes cider with marshmallow frosting, chocolate cherry coke, or Nutella-stuffed vanilla bean. Of course, there is always the basic vanilla and chocolate for the plain Janes.

Another reason for cupcake popularity is summed up nicely by bakery owner Lynne Krueger,  “It’s a little piece of heaven that you can have and not feel like, ‘Oh my gosh. I’m going to have to run a marathon to work this off.’” Or maybe people don’t give enough credit to Sprinkles bakery in Beverly Hills. The more pictures of celebrities eating cupcakes, the more they get promoted. One thing is for certain, cupcakes are definitely in style.

There you have it, the rise of the cupcakes.