So much more than just a cupcake...

I read an article in the Guardian this week questioning the root of our nostalgia for the humble cupcake. Ian Jack suggests our [British] adoration for the cupcake comes from our imagination – a created nostalgic memory of the cakes Mummy used to make rather than genuine recollection. We all know cupcakes are an American creation and a relative newcomer to the tea shops of Britain, yet we have taken them to our hearts and awarded them culinary national treasure status. To me this cuts against the grain of British pride, there has to me more to this phenomenon.

The cupcake is kind of a big deal, studies State Side have found positive correlations between the emergence of cupcake shops and capital inflows – meaning to you and me that the mere proliferation of cupcake shops equals growth to an area. Maybe the movers and shakers are all on a sugar high, or maybe cupcakes have a more intangible quality – aspiration.

I know from watching Rachael’s Kitchen grow over the past year, the act of buying or giving a cupcake is not about satisfying hunger, it’s about an affordable treat – frivolous but not reckless. All our cupcakes at Rachael’s Kitchen are handmade, homemade and decadent. I believe when customers coo over our displays it’s not just about buying a dessert or giving a token of affection, cupcakes are part of an aspirational lifestyle. In these tough economic times, cupcakes are within our reach and we’re grabbing them with both hands.

With the theme of aspiration in mind, we have developed a new cupcake for this week’s market. Our lush new Pimms Cupcake features a lemon sponge (fed with a good slug of No1), a swirl of Pimms infused buttercream and topped with fresh strawberries, cucumber and mint. These cupcakes will make their debut at our regular stall on the Upper Gardner Street Market in Brighton’s North Laines this Saturday.