Coping, with cupcakes

The monstrous economy may be devouring more expensive luxuries and the businesses that purvey them, but it can't get its teeth around one reinvented American comfort food: the cupcake.

A sweet love affair that began before the recession is going strong during it, as more of these niche bakeries rise and prosper in the Philadelphia area.

Indeed, just two weeks ago, the city's newest cupcake business literally rolled into town: the confetti- covered Buttercream Cupcake Truck, which announces its stops on Twitter and has been drawing long lines around Center City.

That follows a "build-your-own" cupcake shop called Cupmakes that opened in July in Society Hill, and the already existing dozen or so cupcake-centric or cupcake-only bakeries in the region, including Cupcakes Gourmet in Frazer, the Wish-Cake delivery bakery, Velvet Sky Bakery in Jenkintown, and two Brown Betty Dessert Boutiques in Philadelphia.

Launching a business in a bad economy may seem counterintuitive. But Kate Carrara, who regularly parks her cupcake truck at LOVE Park, saw it as an opportunity: "I kind of felt that because of the recession, I could try something that was completely different," she said.

Others, like Lauren and Peter Zelm, who own Velvet Sky Bakery, found that the economy pushed customers their way. Their business has increased of late, in part because brides are opting for their cupcake towers for wedding receptions in lieu of the far more expensive wedding cake.

The owners of Cupcakes Gourmet in Frazer are seeing more customers pampering themselves. "People need a little comfort food when the weather is gloomy," said owner Heather Carter, 43.

She and friend Maki Garcia Evans, who opened their bakery in 2008, recently expanded to include a mail-order business and are now selling their beautiful, fluffy, and scrumptious products through the Williams-Sonoma catalog.

"People are saying, 'I can't afford a Coach bag, but I can afford a cupcake,' " Evans said.

Like most new businesses, the owners said, not every month has been financially satisfying for their cupcake bakery, with average monthly sales about $23,000. But in July, they said, they turned a profit with sales of about $1,000 per day - or about $31,000 for the month - after retooling to be as efficient as possible.

The modern cupcake craze may have started with a 2000 episode of Sex and the City, when its stars ate pink-frosted cupcakes in front of New York's Magnolia Bakery.