It’s Official: Cupcakes Have Arrived

By Akela Talamasca on March 18th, 2009

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As far as Internet memes go, there is a half-life that can be measured in portions of 2-month cycles. Someone will “discover” something funny online, forward the link to all of their friends, who will forward it to their friends, ad nauseam, and suddenly it’s the Latest Thing. It will continue its upward climb for a short while, then suddenly fizzle out, never to return.

However, the cupcake trend seems only to be gaining in strength, even after months of favorable buzz on the ‘Net. While always popular as a standard bakery confection, they’ve managed to strike a chord among ‘Net denizens, spawning dozens of cupcake blogs, Twitter accounts devoted to cupcakes, and now: The Pastries and Pasties Cupcake Contest and Burlesque Show, held during this year’s SXSW conference in Austin, Texas.

Taking place at local venue Emo’s, the show included dozens of tasting tables filled with cupcakes of exotic flavors, like Irish Car Bomb. Attendees waited in a long line to be able to partake of the delicacies while being entertained by onstage burlesque acts The Little Green Absinthe Fairy, and The Muffin Man and the Berry Girls.

Other than the fact that cupcakes are quick to eat and frequently yummy, there doesn’t seem to be a particular reason for their sudden popularity among the online crowd. Unless I’m mistaken, they take no less time to concoct than the average cake or pie — in fact, serious confectioners often spend a good amount of time on cupcake presentation, crafting each one precisely so. For whatever reason, time will tell whether or not this latest edible meme has any longevity. If the glamour begins to pale, expect to see the resurgence of the Russian Tea Cookie.