Opening her own business is icing on the cupcake
The Boston Globe by Darry Madden, Globe Correspondent
September 26, 2007

A mysterious sign appeared in Somerville's Davis Square over the summer. A throbbing red neon cartoon cupcake, it seemed to beat for naught, as the business it announced, Kickass Cupcakes, never materialized.

But after a few weeks, the lights came on in the little storefront and suddenly it was bursting with cupcakes - and customers.

Sara Ross hung the neon red cartoon-cupcake shingle. Ross, a pastry chef who recently moved from California, reels off half a dozen cupcake bakeries in the Santa Monica area she went to all the time, including one called "Le Cupcake" which opened last fall and prompted one food blogger to ask, "Are we cupcaked out? Is there room for yet another cupcake shop in Southern California?"

"They're everywhere but here," says Ross. Which is not to say one can't find a good cupcake in Boston. Lulu's Bakery in the North End and Petsi Pies in Somerville, for example, both bake cupcakes daily. But Ross's is Boston's first cupcake-only business.

Her all-natural cupcakes are baked fresh every day and contain no trans fats and no preservatives. Many of her sprinkles are dyed using plant extracts, and all the milk and cream for baking, frosting, and whipping comes from Shaw Farm in Dracut.

And that, says Ross, is the difference between a grocery store cupcake that retails for about $1.50, and one of hers, which start at $2.75. There are other differences. Grocery stores don't usually soak their cupcakes in rum (the mojito also features sugar cane lime frosting and mint) or make them entirely vegan (java jolt, born from many requests).

"Think about cupcakes in new ways," writes Ross on her website. "Cupcakes with shooters. Cupcakes-a-Go-Go. Deep fried cupcakes. Looking for a cool alternative to a birthday or wedding cake? Try a cupcake tower."

The deep-fried cupcakes she's referring to come stuffed with cream and drizzled with chocolate syrup. Leftover cupcakes are reborn as cupcake crisps, a take on biscotti.

Ross is using a few different recipes for the basic cupcake foundation. The standard vanilla cupcake begins with a buttery batter. Strawberry shortcake vanilla batter uses buttermilk for a more country flavor and a slight tanginess. Likewise, there are two different chocolate recipes. Super chocolate cupcakes are first cousins to the brownie, and are made with real chocolate that has a very high fat content. The traditional chocolate cupcakes, made with cocoa, are a close relative to devil's food cake.

A special flavor is offered daily. Wednesday's, for instance, is peanut butter with chocolate chips topped with milk chocolate and roasted peanuts. The shop offers minis ($1.50) and XLs ($3.75).

This is such serious business. When did cupcakes go from being a small-scale fund-raising sweet to a confection you can build shops around? Ross explains that a New York cupcake shop called Magnolia started it all in the 1990s. Loyal fans speak of the high cake-to-frosting ratio, and the wonders of forkless eating. There is a nostalgic component when adults consume this childhood treat. The real appeal might be the kitschy novelty of it all.

Ross believes that her company has found its proper home in Davis Square. She thought about opening up shop near her home in Dorchester, but didn't think the location was right. She looked in the South End, but rents were too high. Davis, with its mix of college students and families, felt more appropriate, and, says Ross, "It just seemed to go with the name."

Maybe she read the situation right. After a successful opening, she didn't have a single leftover cupcake to show (or to re-create into cupcake biscotti). Hundreds of them went out the door on Saturday and Sunday, and the little storefront, which is still just a takeout business with no tables or chairs, was colorless and bare on Monday, save a small container of bright red birthday candles, for sale individually, next to the cash register.

Time to bake some more.

378 Highland Ave., Somerville, 617-628-2877.

Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.