Cupcakes take over Paris

First it was New York. Every new storefront seemed to feature pastel-colored, floral-decorated little pieces of cake. Some mini, some oversized, in flavors ranging from chocolate to banana, marble to red velvet. Then the creep spread westward. To Brown Betty in Philly to Holy Cow Cupcakes in Indiana to Sprinkles in sunny So-Cal.

In fall of 2008, cupcakes arrived in Paris when sisters Rebecca and Maggy opened their 11th arrondisement Cupcakes & Co, an absolute gem of a bakery specializing in only cupcakes, made from top-notch natural ingredients (vanilla bourbon with glazed figs and pine nuts, anyone?) And now, just like New York nearly 10 years ago, cupcakes are taking over Paris.



From biggies Berko and Le Bon Marché, to neighborhood patisseries like Moulin de la Vierge—pop, pop, pop—the cute little creations are becoming ubiquitous. I walked by Il Gelato, an artisanal gelateria on the Boulevard Saint-Germain that features fountains of chocolate and pistachio fondant and low-sugar ice cream, and what was in the window?




Bien sur, cupcakes.