(clockwise from front):The Blatt: Vanilla cake filled with raspberry jam, cheesecake buttercream, jam topping, fried cookie bits, powdered sugar / Port Poached Pear: Pear cake, vanilla buttercream, port poached pear, port reduction / The Hansel: Gingerbread cake, white chocolate pudding, speculoos buttercream, white chocolate dipped gingerbread cookie / Eggnog: Eggnog cake and buttercream, freshly grated nutmeg

You know that trend that you have going on in the midwest right now? The one that everyone is raving about and you can’t wait to be a part of? It’s over already in NYC. It came and went. For a while that trend was cupcakes, started by the annoying women from Sex and The City and the horrid cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery – they taste like oil people…they aren’t good and if you’ve ever walked through the West Village and watched some tourist act out their Carrie Bradshaw fantasy, you’d be just as disgusted as me.

So the moment passed, but it doesn’t mean cupcakes are out. They are just less talked about now. Probably because our mouths are still full with frosting. And besides this is a trend, not a fad – these are not SKIDZ we are talking about here. Its food. We all need food, even if it comes in the form of flour, sugar and butter – lots and lots of butter by the way. I mean, there are entire BLOGS dedicated to the cupcake. And there are cupcake companies out there that push the culinary boundaries. One company in particular, Robicelli’s in Brooklyn is a prime example. For me, Matt Robicelli redefined the cupcake when he put a piece of fried chicken on top of it. These cupcakes will never fall out of fashion or favor. Recently they’ve branched out into brownies, hot chocolate and whoopie pies – The cupcakes and the whoopie pies are the best I’ve every had, hands down! Here is a look at their operation and the wonderful things they do.