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Wedding Reception
Cupcakes
Text by Kameron Bryant As far back as ancient Rome, cakes at weddings have played an integral role in the celebration. Well, in ancient Rome it was actually a loaf of barley bread, which the groom would break over the bride’s head. Somehow this practice increased chances of fertility. Over the years the tradition has morphed from barley bread to a tower of spiced buns in medieval England, from a pie filled with strange meats (think lamb testicles and boiled calf’s feet) in 1685 England to the tiered, white-iced cake we know today. But what about cupcakes? Surprisingly, cupcakes initially became popular in 1919 when Hostess Brands 20
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came out with the very first massproduced chocolate cupcake called… CupCake. That’s right, the company that brought Twinkies, DingDongs and Zingers into the world is responsible for the cupcake’s first wave of popularity. And then came Carrie Bradshaw in 2000, having her pink-frosted cupcake and eating it too. Apparently, the Sex and the City scene from Season 3 showing Carrie and Miranda sitting outside the Magnolia Bakery, eating cupcakes while divulging love-life secrets, created a cupcake craze. Tourists began flooding the West Village bakery where the scene was shot, with customers asking for the vanilla cupcake with pink icing that Carrie
had, now dubbed the “Carrie Cupcake.” Bakeries focusing exclusively on selling cupcakes began popping up across the U.S., and the craze made its way to the dessert tables at wedding parties. Of course, couples have reasons beyond mimicking the fictional columnist’s snack to have cupcakes featured at their weddings. The very nature of cupcakes allows for so much versatility, between choosing various flavors and accommodating dietary needs to the endless options for decorations and table displays. While the cost is usually noted as a main reason to go with cupcakes over a tiered wedding cake, Jen Morrison,
January/February 2021
