Cupcakes? They Were Sooo Last Season | hungryhouse

Macaroons now cooler than cupcakes

Remember when no sandwich was safe from sun-dried tomatoes, and cupcakes could have nearly been classed as a fashion accessory? ?Food fads come and go so quickly most of the time we?re not even aware we?ve fallen victim to the new flavour of the month.

There have been more obvious fads such as the fondue craze of 2010, which saw a sudden spike in sales of emmental, gruy?re and comt? cheese in Selfridges and Waitrose, and fondue sets were once again back on the wedding gift registry at Debenhams. The chocolate kind made a comeback in large proportions, with no trendy event or even school Summer Ball complete without some sort of big fondue-inspired chocolate fountain.

From fondue to fondon't. Image: tetraconz

The sun-dried tomato slid their way onto every pizza, sandwich, pasta dish and salad in the 1990s, making foods seem more decadent than they really were. But there?s only so much of the rich taste of oily tomatoes one can handle.

No sandwich was safe. image: Andrew Deacon

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Not long after came the fashionable friand. They are kind of like a muffin crossed with a cupcake, but smaller and missing all the good bits like icing and moisture.

Could a friand really be better than a muffin?

Another favourite in the caf? scene was banana bread. Again, like the friand, it made us feel as though we were having something delicate and somewhat guilt-free with our coffee, but at the end of the day banana bread really is just cake!

The cupcake fad became so ridiculously fashionable, that soon in nearly every romantic comedy film, the female love interest owned a cute little cake shop or bakery, where she would stand behind the counter in her high-heels and apron, with flour strategically smeared on her face, ready to entice her ?Mr Right?, who just happens to have a sweet tooth.

'The bride & groom will now cut the... cupcakes. Image: Jose and Roxanne

This trend even made its way to reality television ? why we would want to watch a cake shop rushing to fill orders of hundreds of cupcakes for a bridezilla, I don?t know. What?s a wedding without a great big marzipan monstrosity of a cake anyway?

Lately macaroons have been stealing the trendy treat crown away from the versatile cupcake. We say crown because these bite-sized, colourful, meringue-based treats usually don?t come cheap. They are French after all.

Richness reached its peak when truffle oil became a restaurant?s stamp of quality and indulgence. Everything was all of a sudden infused with the rare oil, even to the point where there was truffle flavoured chips. We were lead to believe that if there was truffle oil included then it must be good.

Pickles on the outside, tr?s cool. Image: metaphoricalplatypus

Then there was, and still is, the gourmet burger. Gone are the days where a simple cheeseburger would be suffice. Nowadays diners are treating themselves to high-quality, bulky burgers with anything but traditional toppings. Think ground sirloin beef, mixed together with rosemary, coriander, fennel seed, and even duck fat for extra flavour, served with blue cheese, smoked onion marmalade and house-made aioli.

With that in mind, the next takeover trend is said to be the gourmet taco, so do yourself a favour and hold onto your guacamole! You never know what it will resemble after the fashionable food police get their hands on it.

Tell us, which food fad do you remember feasting on? ?

Main image by UggBoy???UggGirl?

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Source: http://hungryhouse.co.uk/blog/cupcakes-they-were-sooo-last-season/

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