Yeah. this week in gender relations .... The cupcake craze just got crazier, thanks to an unlikely new trend that's seeing the dainty desserts reimagined as macho indulgences. Stud muffins, if you will. Containing everything from bacon to beer, so-called "manly cupcakes" are a tongue-in-cheek response to the apparently too-prissy offerings that dominate display cases. As a female observer wryly put it on the blog Jezebel: "Pink frosting and/or sprinkles cause testicular shrinkage. Men just can't be too careful." Of course, nobody's seriously suggesting baked goods are gendered. But by riffing on sexual stereotypes, business owners have uncovered a rich new market for cupcakes with cojones .... .... At Butch Bakery in New York, for example, the 12 available flavours include Rum & Coke (rum-soaked Madagascar vanilla cake with cola Bavarian cream filling), Beer Run (chocolate beer cake with beer-infused buttercream, topped with crushed pretzels) and The Old-Fashioned (orange-soaked whiskey cake with lemon curd filling). Each is topped with a streamlined chocolate disc patterned in either plaid, houndstooth, camouflage or driftwood .... .... The Internet-only shop — launched after Arrick, a former Wall Street securities attorney, lost his job to the recession — has seen sales grow a reported 600 per cent in the last two months, with plans for a storefront and expanded shipping in the works. An estimated 90 per cent of customers so far have been women buying for men. In Toronto, For the Love of Cake has seen a similar frenzy over its "mancakes," whose four available flavours are in such high demand that the shop has to keep two in the daily cupcake rotation at all times. "It's been a great way of getting guys interested in cupcakes," says cakemaster Genevieve Griffin, whose hyper-masculine creations evoke images of Betty Crocker with a lip full of Skoal. "Anything with bacon or beer goes over really well with men." (Harris) Just ... don't ever say men's needs aren't accommodated. Then again, if the thought hadn't occurred to me, even in the latest cupcake fad, it might just be that the necessity hadn't occurred to me. While Butch Bakery's founder, David Arrick, found himself "asking why cupcakes are always pink with sprinkles, with cutesy names like Happiness and Sugar Smiles", I can't say I've noticed the same problem in Seattle. For instance, Cupcake Royale is currently promoting its Irish Whiskey Maple cupcake, made with Jameson. And I don't see what about the Triple Threat, aside from a stereotype about women and chocolate, makes the thing too femme for the average man. I mean, come on. "Triple Threat"? That's not manly enough? I suppose, though, since men are a statistical minority, it might be wise to accommodate their insecurities with mancakes. But, to the other, how many average men are going to admit to a craving for "mancakes"? What are you up to, Bob? "Oh, me and Scott are going to go chow on some mancakes." Yeah. Sounds ... er ... um ... masculine. Mancakes. Just say it a few times. "Mancakes". Maybe there's a reason the bakery is called "Butch"? Go get yourself some mancakes. ____________________ Notes: Harris, Misty. "New market for macho cupcakes". The Gazette. February 23, 2010. MontrealGazette.com. March 3, 2010. http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/market macho cupcakes/2601795/story.html Cupcake Royale. http://www.cupcakeroyale.com/
I rejected opening this thread a few times, until finally curiosity and anonymity got to me. I thought by the title alone, that I might become gay by opening this thread. Seriously, I thought we were going to talk about pecs or something. Relieved that we are talking about cupcakes, I must say mancakes is a brilliant marketing scheme, new product, new niche etc. and a good way to get on board with all the cupcake madness in the news lately. To get onboard I think maybe candy hearts ("ILuvU" and stuff written on them) could be converted into cheese pretzels with stuff written on them.
All the alcohol evaporates during the baking, so it will impart some of the flavor into the cake, but eating a muffin will not get you drunk. I guess the taste of booze is supposed to be "manly"? My grandmother has been baking rumcakes for the family for years, and everybody -including children- can eat it. If I were to cook a man-type-muffin, it would involve ridiculously hot spices (like habanero peppers, curry, and whatever else). That way, it would have a "can you handle this, or are you a pussy" factor to it.......very manly LOL.
That's a real good idea. But I think it's girls buying them for dudes, not dudes buying for dudes. A real dude would just eat the Habanero (like me). Regardless, they should try it out agreed.
