Never in our history have we had such a love affair with Cupcakes as in the last several months. When you sit down and analyze it, doesn't it make sense that the style of the Cupcake now better suits our society than the once popular pies, cakes, tortes and doughnuts of bygone eras?

Of all baked goods (other than Dolly Madison, and no... those don't really count as REAL "baked goods"... sorry to disappoint), the Cupcake is the most mobile, neatly packaged, limited calorie (after all, you can't request a "small slice" or "why not" slice), quick-to-make and even quicker-to-eat, cute little baked good around! Easy to whip up from a variety of premade mixes, quickly spoon into baking cups (of which there are a zillion themed designs to suit your own personality), bake in a short amount of time (no beating it down and letting it rise time and again like my grandma's fresh cinnamon nut rolls which always seemed to take FOREVER to make), and frost in a jiffy.

The Cupcake has become the time-saver baked good of the new generation,and yet it allows you to show a ton of personality by how you decorate it. Besides that, you can't really mess up a cupcake, can you?

To celebrate the Cupcake in all it's glory, here are some FUN CUPCAKE INSPIRED items to make you want to rush to the kitchen and bake a batch:

1. Cupcake Kitchen Timer: Adorable, useful, and it will help you to remember to take the cupcakes out of the oven when you get caught up in internet surfing and forget you're baking.....
http://www.brightandbold.com/cukiti.html

2. Cupcake Recipe Deck: You will fall in love with the recipes in this one, and talk about getting ooohhss and aaahhhs at the next party you bring some "Peanut Butter Fudge Cupcakes" or "Caramel Cupcakes with White Bourbon Frosting" to..... yummmmmy!
http://www.brightandbold.com/curede.html

3. Cupcake Courier: A handy, portable carrying case for up to 36 cupcakes or muffins in one stylish unit... need I say more?
http://www.cupcakecourier.com/

4. Cupcake Charm: Cute little customizable cupcake charm lightly scented lets you always have a cupcake nearby... just remember not to nibble!
http://www.pancakemeow.com/item.php?item_id=223&category_id=45