Yule Ramblings #16: The Sugary One

Cupcake or Ice Cream Sundae? I vacillate between the two... in more ways than one :)

This cloyingly sticky sweet ornament was made by chubby, three-year-old hands a couple holidays ago.

Fine motor skills in dessert-fashion action. When I went to collect my son from daycare one afternoon, he proudly presented me with this imitation sweet treat. ...while it was still dripping wet.

I held this sucker in the palm my hand - delicate as a baby chick - and tucked it up among my Tiggy's front windshield vents for a few days. After it dried, it assumed its permanent place on our Christmas tree, among various other counterfeit Christmas consumables: a slice of sparkly pizza, a miniature Orange Crush bottle and five-pack of Dale's Pale Ale. Historically, "dessert" comes from French desservir, which means "to clear the table." I theorize that dessert was reserved as special reward to be enjoyed after the toil and trouble of cleaning all the clunky dinner service ware from the family table. Dream interpretation tells us that dreaming of desserts is a good omen of harmony, peacefulness and contentment. Pink is associated with sweetness. White with innocence. Green with life and energy. A cherry can suggest a type of forbidden fruit, which makes sense that it is reserved as the crowning jewel of delectable desserts decked out in all their frivolity. Interestingly enough, we typically limit ourselves to one singular red berry to dot the top of our saccharine indulgences.

But to this day we still wonder is this ornament a cupcake or an ice cream sundae?

Now it's time for a game of Confection Detection.

Cupcakery became mainstream around 2000. (You can thank Magnolia Bakery and "Sex and the City" for this.) The uptick continued with increasing popularity, finding the gourmet individual-sized dessert portions replacing the ubiquitous sheet cake. Now, the cupped cakes are still holding tight as a post-dinner-staple, with increasing interest in alternative [wedding/graduation/event] desserts including smores, donuts (cronuts), whoopie pies and even homemade PopTarts. (WTF?) I would argue the trend is more about "atypical" offerings than championing any particular dessert variety.

This ornament may be a cupcake because:

• It's in a cupcake wrapper. (How would a sundae function in an ice cream wrapper?)

• The hardened paper-towel core may, in fact, be vanilla cake.

Ice Cream Sundaes tend to be a bit more nostalgic, the concoction zapping us back to the days of Old Fashioned Soda Shops. Now, Bruster's has the assembly-line capability of churning out dozens of customized Waffle Bowls and Dino Sundaes to accommodate the appetites of hordes of tee-ball players and their surname-donning, ever-doting fanatical parents.

But for those of you that are a bit more adventurous, you'll find savory ice creams to suit a wide-range of palates. Choose from concoctions such as Wasabi Pea, Queso Cheddar Cheese or Butter Popcorn.

This ornament may be an ice cream sundae because:

• The paper towels might be vanilla ice cream.

• It is coated in a drippy, strawberry-sauce. It may be rose-colored glue.

• It boasts a sparkly craft-pom cherry on top. (Are cupcakes ever really served with cherries on top?)

The ornament could go either way because:

• Both desserts can oftentimes feature sprinkles, which, on this ornament, are made entirely of a loose glitter dusting.

• I'm not sure that either dessert is typically served deflated, but I think this exemplifies the crafter's oversight, not intent :)

What's your take on the great cupcake/sundae debate?