Florence White Williams

'Perfect portion of happy'

Their choice: almond cupcakes with white icing topped with a pink flower.

The two anxious tykes quickly sat down after making their choice, ready to dig in.

“I want the skin off,” Nicola told his mother, who took the paper from both cupcakes.

“Ooo, that looks super yummy,” she told her sons as they licked the icing with the help of their fingers. “Pure icing, who doesn't like that?”

Several local bakeries have recently opened with the hopes that people will devour the little cakes and heaps of frosting.

Across the U.S., cupcakes are having their moment, from a bevy of television shows such as “Cupcake Wars” and “D.C. Cupcakes” to expanding franchises of Gigi's Cupcakes and Sprinkles Cupcakes to a recent library of books dedicated to the single-serve treats.

The trend has reached the local level where, within a year, two stores with a focus on cupcakes opened in the Shoals on either side of the Tennessee River. Another bakery opened with half of its business dedicated to cupcake sales.

One possible explanation for the trend: Consumers who cut back to the bare bones during the punishing recession may now be looking for a little indulgence with the smallest impact to their wallets.

The recent crop of cupcake emporiums includes one that solely features the treats (Cupcake and Co., 124 E. Tennessee St., Florence), another where 75 percent of the business is doling out cupcakes (Yummies Bakery & Deli, 107 E. Sixth St., Tuscumbia) and a third where about half the business comes from the pint-sized cakes (Sugar On Top, 112 E. Tuscaloosa St., Florence).

The local bakers share a passion for cupcakes, and each came to that point from a different direction.

Dawn Fry, owner of Yummies, was an accountant for 20 years. Harley Williams, owner of Sugar on Top, worked in retail with an eye toward opening a bakery. Leah Bishop, owner of Cupcake and Co., earned a marketing degree in December.

Fry spent last summer test marketing cupcakes at the Spring Park market in Tuscumbia before her shop opened in November.

“Cupcakes are very much a popular thing right now,” she said.

For one thing, cupcakes allow bakers and consumers alike to try new flavors without the large investment of a cake.

Popular flavors include chocolate and red velvet, a chocolate variation, the bakers say.

New flavors can become unexpectedly popular such as “Grasshopper,” a chocolate mint offered by Williams.

Florence and the Machine w/ White Williams @ 229 - Flavorpill London

Camberwell's Florence gathers her troops for an evening of guttural noise and haunting, blues-tipped vocals. Gritty, barely produced guitar parts and pared-down rhythms come in gut-busting doses as Florence — the very picture of skinny glamour — rips through ferocious, lo-fi anthems. Support comes from White Williams' shimmering Krautrock and clever synth pop.

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