# Cupcakes. Cake-pops, what's next? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2011, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325 "2011-11-28T09:01:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/21 "2011-11-28T19:19:13Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Different varieties of the same thing at best, I’d say (or one as a subset of the other) - I guess I’ll concede that if we’re talking about a specific local variety, the specific local name should be used, but it feels wrong (in a sort of pretentious way) to me - like if I said _bocadillo_ when I just mean _sandwich_. [Slate Magazine explains macarons, macaroons and macaroni.](http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2011/11/macarons_macaroons_and_macaroni_the_curious_history.html) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/22 "2011-11-28T20:20:53Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > can buy. > > Mini-pies are the next big dessert. You already have several pie shops opening in major cities that specialize in this. LOL we asked for that mini pie ‘panini press’ like appliance that think geek had in their email this month! I saw that and immediately thought of making mini chicken turkey or beef pot pies for mrAru to take to work, and all sorts of mini pies that we could make and pop into the freezer for later. As I make a good flaky pastry and a goof puff pastry, it wouldn’t be as expensive as buying the ready made versions =) ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/23 "2011-11-28T20:26:52Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > And sugar and ground nuts as well, one hopes. 😉 > > Seriously though, can you really reach that level of texture, shape and color consistency with home equipment? Yes! The color comes from comercial food colorings. The shape comes from one’s proficiency with a $10 pastry bag. I think it is much more based on the skill of the cook then the quality of the equipment. But if equipment is an issue, there is nothing stopping a home cook from walking into a restaurant supply store and buying whatever small wares they want, including a small Hobart stand mixer. The only other limiting piece of equipment is an oven. If you have a bottom-of-the-line electric stove, I doubt you will get consistant results. But the manufactures of commercial ovens also make high end consumer ovens. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/24 "2011-11-28T20:41:42Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > LOL we asked for that mini pie ‘panini press’ like appliance that think geek had in their email this month! I saw that and immediately thought of making mini chicken turkey or beef pot pies for mrAru to take to work, and all sorts of mini pies that we could make and pop into the freezer for later. As I make a good flaky pastry and a goof puff pastry, it wouldn’t be as expensive as buying the ready made versions =) I don’t know if it’s the same thing, but a few months ago, someone here linked to [this mini-pie maker](http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/breville-pie-maker-bpi640xl/) available at Williams Sonoma. It’s kind of cool, in a yet-another-gadget-you-don’t-really-need way. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/25 "2011-11-28T23:11:29Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Those are not the same things at all. Macarons have cookie-like parts that sandwich whipped egg whites. Macaroons are made with coconut and have no cookie like sandwich part. Just because both use egg whites doesn’t make them the same. I think you’re using a very narrow, possibly singular, definition of macaroon there - when in fact, there are numerous different varieties, existing in a spectrum that comfortably accommodates macarons as a variety (with its own specific presentations). ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/26 "2011-11-28T23:49:45Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I think you’re using a very narrow, possibly singular, definition of macaroon there - when in fact, there are numerous different varieties, existing in a spectrum that comfortably accommodates macarons as a variety (with its own specific presentations). As per the Slate article linked above, in the US a macaroon and a macaron are two distinct and different things. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/27 "2011-11-28T23:51:11Z")
Ok, rather than arguing word history let’s rephrase it this way. The developing food fad is Parisian macarons and definitely not coconut macaroons. I have, within walking distance of my office several businesses that primarily sell Parisian macarons and none that primarily sell coconut macaroons (though those aren’t hide to find, though unfortunately the Max’s variety of half pounders are too common). As a side topic, while they may technically be in the same family never have I requested a macaron or a macaroon and had anybody need ask what kind of a variety of items I might mean in order to give me what I wanted. So I wonder if, as you technically once might have needed to specify you wanted tomato ketchup and not, say, mushroom ketchup, the coconut hasn’t won the day on owning the macaroon title. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/28 "2011-11-29T00:11:24Z")
Pretty much the same thing, just a quarter of the damned cost. I saw one on an overnight crafting infomercial shopping thing, looked fun. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/29 "2011-11-29T00:47:08Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > Ok, rather than arguing word history let’s rephrase it this way. > > The developing food fad is Parisian macarons and definitely not coconut macaroons. I have, within walking distance of my office several businesses that primarily sell Parisian macarons and none that primarily sell coconut macaroons (though those aren’t hide to find, though unfortunately the Max’s variety of half pounders are too common). Macaron, macaroon–who cares, that’s all old school, now. Word on the street is that churros are about to go big. Churros, or rice-crispy treats–one or the other. That’s where I’m putting _my_ money. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/30 "2011-11-29T01:14:07Z")
I tell you what’s big in Japan right now: Baumkuchen. I’m not kidding. For no apparent reason a whole [heap](http://mrnaomi.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/japan-baumkuchen/) of [Japanese](http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiditamae/sets/72157623051394008/) [stores](http://biggestmenu.com/rdr/Japan/Tokyo/Nenrinya-1596273/Original-Glazed-Baumkuchen-60557) have started carrying immaculately presented slices of Baumkuchen. Wonder what it is about this particular cake - pleasant but a little dry and by no means special apart from its construction - that so enamours the Japanese. Perhaps the trend may carry over to the west? With a twist in order to make it a little more to our taste - perhaps a shit-ton of frosting or something. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/31 "2011-11-29T10:51:14Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > As per the Slate article linked above, in the US a macaroon and a macaron are two distinct and different things. The US is not the world, and in my reading, the article talks about them being related and similar. \ I don’t want to destroy my own thread over a terminology nitpick. Whatever classfication system works for you is just fine by me. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/32 "2011-11-29T11:07:06Z")
What you wrote: > [@Amblydoper](#): > > Deep fried cup cakes? Things are generally better deep fried. What I saw: [QUOTE=What UB saw] Deep fried cup cakes? Things are generally **batter** deep fried. [/QUOTE] To which I though: “That goes without saying.” ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/33 "2011-11-29T23:19:32Z")
[Apparently popsicles](http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/cuisine/heaven-on-a-stick-20111128-1o27h.html). ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/34 "2011-11-29T23:26:38Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Hell yes. Hell yes to anything involving sugar and fat and flour. I have a theory: Cupcakes suddenly transformed from a plebian snack to a gourmet delicacy. So let’s find another presently-common food… and open a _ **R** __ice Krispie Treat Bakery_\*\* (perchance on a trendy gentrified “Streete of Ye Olde Wee Shoppes”). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/35 "2011-11-30T10:58:35Z")
Hmmm… Cupcakes and cake pops are cutesy, customisable, easily portable/deliverable and can be prepared in advance - I think these are all factors that have contributed to their sudden popularity… Baumkuchen is interesting, but can it be scaled down to hobby-enterprise level? Churros might work, but is there a tremendous scope for variety and cutesy presentation? Popsicles need special handling/storage - so they’re not so easy to peddle to friends/family/colleagues Krispie treats might work, but they’ll need a decorative/craft-ish twist of some sort. Not impossible though - maybe they’ll just be frosted (I think all the enamel fell off my teeth just thinking about it) What about iced/decorated cookies? Or have those already been and gone? ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/36 "2011-11-30T15:42:57Z")
I’m seeing tiny desserts- on a spoon, in a 1-4 ounce cup/dish or served in small, edible chocolate cups like this : [Chocolate cups on Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_14?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=chocolate+cup+shell&sprefix=chocolate+cups) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/37 "2011-11-30T15:57:25Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > I’m seeing tiny desserts- on a spoon Good point. I’ve seen exactly that recently - a plastic bag containing a wooden spoon with the tip embedded in a cup- or ice-cube-shaped block of chocolate. Sometimes accompanied with a weird plastic eyedropper of liqueur. I presume you pop it into a mug of hot milk and make your own hot chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325/38 "2011-11-30T22:11:00Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Good point. I’ve seen exactly that recently - a plastic bag containing a wooden spoon with the tip embedded in a cup- or ice-cube-shaped block of chocolate. Sometimes accompanied with a weird plastic eyedropper of liqueur. I presume you pop it into a mug of hot milk and make your own hot chocolate. It’s a Mexican thing too. You can buy packages with plastic spoons coated with some kind of flavored candy concoction. Kids just suck on them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cupcakes-cake-pops-whats-next/604325.md?page=1)