Designer cupcakes that are sweet on the eye

Mumbai is setting new standards in cupcake design, and we have located the most creative bakers in the business

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Mumbai's best cupcakes were shot on fashion designer Manish Arora's new range of crockery, available exclusively at Good Earth.

Homemade designer cupcakes are tantalizing taste buds around Mumbai. Here's where to find them, dressed in their fanciest holiday frosting for your viewing (and eating) pleasure.

Butterfly

Batter flavored with roasted hazelnuts, glittery frosting, and a fluttery moniker -- Butterfly, slated to open mid-December, proves that cupcakes are a girl's new best friend. Conceived of by gal pals Sarah Jane Dias (former Channel V VJ and Miss India 2007) and Shaana Gwynne (wife of former Olive executive chef Evan Gwynne, and pastry chef at her own restaurant in Goa), this café is modeled after the Madhatter’s tea party and promises to be your ticket to a cupcake Wonderland.

Tel. +91 9833350745, Rs 50 to Rs 80 per cupcake.

The Baking Tray

Rebecca Vaz’s comfort cupcakes draw inspiration from the women in her life -- grandma, mum and an old lady down the street who shared her prized baking recipes. The five years she spent as a flight attendant allowed her to roam the world in pursuit of cake, giving her enough "research material" to go full time on frosting in April 2009. "Try the Mr Lava Lava Cupcake," suggests Vaz, promising that their chocolate-filled centres will more than make up for the corny name.

Tel. +91 9821694917. Starts at Rs 50 per cupcake, minimum order of a dozen.

Babycakes

Pallavi’s love affair with baking began at age nine, when her dad bought her her first gas oven. She has traveled a long way since then, leaving her hometown in Assam for Delhi, Kolkata, New York and now Mumbai, earning a Master’s degree in Economics and working in corporate communications and advertising. Her passion for dessert travelled and stayed with her though. Earlier this year she decided to pursue it full time. The result? Moist and delicious chocolate cupcakes, decorated with a smattering of kiddy stars.

Tel +91 9820120098. Rs 25 per cupcake.

Sugar Rush

Trained at the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in London, Malika-Rahat Khan has cooked at Michelin starred restaurants like L’Escargot and the Orrery, UK. So what is she doing in Mumbai, baking (the most delicious) cupcakes out of her home? “Sugar Rush started when a friend was craving cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery in New York. I made her some as a surprise, and she absolutely loved them! That’s when I decided to turn them into a full-fledged business.”

Tel. +91 9833498943. Rs 20 for mini cupcakes, and Rs 45 for regular-sized cupcakes.

Cupcakes & Co

The newest bakers riding the cupcake tide are Namrata Narang and Sangeeta Kulkarni, who plan to make the cupcake as ubiquitous as doughnuts with their soon-to-be-launched outlets. For now, they home deliver. Their USP: elaborately frosted cupcakes, adorned with everything from lush sugar bouquets to tubby pandas. Pretty OTT on design but they taste great.

Tel. +91 9920976000; cupcakesandcoindia.blogspot.com. Starts Rs 40 per cupcake.

Tart

London-bred management graduate Aashiyana Shroff could very well be credited with starting the cupcake buzz in Mumbai when she opened up Tart at Vong Wong last year. "I think that initially people were intrigued by the fancy frosting, but it was the taste that made the cupcake more than a passing fad," says Aashiyana. It’s been a year now, and Tart’s cupcakes continue to evolve depending on customer demands. Our favourite: banana cupcakes with chocolate frosting.

Tel. Vong Wong at +91 (0) 22875633/34/35; www.tart.co.in. Starts at Rs 55 per cupcake.