Friday 19 October 2012

Is this a cupcake I see before me?

Frills and fancies - the modern cupcake

Cupcakes have become the new cake thing.
Swiss rolls are passe, jammy dodgers a thing of the past and fairy cakes are, well, let's leave that one where it is,

Everywhere you look there are cupcakes, of every colour and size.
 Small ones, giant ones, ones with fancy concoctions on top, ribbons and bows, hundreds and thousands, nuts, glace cherries, multi coloured cupcakes, cupcakes covered in sprinkles, cream, M & Ms - the list of varieties and permutations of varieties is endless.

I well recall the days of the late sixties (yawn, zzzzzz,) when cupcakes were all the same.
The cupcake of ages

The sponge was chocolate flavoured and they came with a chocolate topping thick enough to require a good pair of jaws to penetrate it.
They were solid, reliable, uniform, satisfying and delicious and you knew where you were with them.

In short, they did all that you could wish a cupcake to do for you.
And then, along came Vatican II - and it all went downhill from there on.


3 comments:

  1. Great analogy, Richard! Where would rhubarb crumble (my favourite) stand in all this?

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  2. It was just the same with fruit pies, smallish boxed variety, usually square shaped, made by J Lyons. Tasty, fruity, just right for train rides home from school - assuming that you had the necessary sixpence to pay for them! Those were the days of real fruit pies of all flavours, sadly they have long vanished - and it's all the fault of Vatican II!!

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  3. Brian, Lyons Fruit pies were part of my staple diet as a young man. Chris, Rhubarb crumble ranks alongside chocolate cupcakes and individual fruit pies as being most traditional of all pastry type foods. In fact, they made me the Catholic that I am today (overweight).

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