Let Them Eat Cake #2, New York, New York #5

You have to love a dancing cup cake. We did. This New York institution had queues ten deep at the counter when we called in. When we finally made it to the counter we could see and smell why.

Leaving aside the cup cake flavours (not that you would want to when they include chocolate, vanilla, lemon, maple & walnut, lemon poppy, orange & carrot), it was the icing art that caught our attention.

How perfect would these be gracing a spring or garden wedding?

Butter, sugar, colouring and flavouring, apparently in the hands of someone with the right talent, can be transformed into the most delectable blossoms. It's not an icing decorating style we're particularly familiar with in Australia (please let us know if you know of a similar local talent), but it is simply gorgeous, delectable, almost too pretty to eat.

We could try and put it better than the New York Magazine but won't try: “The blossoms on Cupcake Café’s cakes set co-owner Ann Warren’s cakes apart... her colors, shapes, and arrangements seem to bloom from roots beneath the frosting.”

The cupcake craze sweeping the bridal market as an alternative to a more traditional wedding cake shows no sign of abating (thank you Martha Stewart, thank you Miranda and Carrie in that episode of Sex and the City where they devour some on a bench outside Magnolia Bakery in Bleeker Street).

The cupcakes I've photographed here are beautiful examples, and we've got some incredibly talented cake designers in Australia who do wonders in the miniature (Cake Occasions for one), but we're sorry to report we've also witnessed some really, really poor examples of the art at too many weddings. Just be careful when shopping around, and don't base your decision on price alone or you could end up spending the night with a new husband on your right, and a tier of cupcakes on your left that look like a labour of love by your baby brother for his school's mother's day bake stall (and yes, scary but true some have looked that bad and there was no brother involved).

Contrary to perception, cup cakes, if done with the love, care and attention they deserve, are not a cheaper alternative to the trad cake. To decorate one this beautifully, and then duplicate it 100, 150, 250 times over, is every bit as labour intensive as a three tier creation.

So enjoy these delectable cup cakes in mind and spirit, if not in person, and we hope they inspire you to create little wonders of your own - be it at home, or for the party of your life (call in the professionals).

Alicia x