The enduring love affair with cupcakes makes sense. They rise in esteem for a while and then we move on to another dessert. Yet we always seem to go back to our beloved little pastry cakes. Why is that?

It may have something to do with our childhood happiness, or it may just be our happiness in general. There is little more that can make a person smile than taking a bite out of  a perfect tiny cake made just for them.

The Daily Meal an online foodie web site quoted The Wall Street Journal saying “Cupcakes are dead”. They then went on to list 101 best cupcakes in America. Funny thing is, there are so many cupcakeries in this country that a list like that can only be subjective. It completely depends on what you like.

Coming in at number 10 on the 101 count down list is Cupcake Magician, in Red Bank, NJ. When I told John Nardini, owner of Cupcake Magician the news he said he was “shocked” and that it was “wonderful”. The photo’s you see above were taken at the bakery. The mouth watering display and multitude of amazing flavor choices really surprised me.

When asked, the owners and the bakers all had different favorites. For me, it was the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle cupcake. The mix of flavors, raspberry base cake,  chocolate raspberry truffle center, cream cheese frosting, dipped in chocolate ganache and garnished with raspberry drizzle. Everything I like in one little cake…heaven!

But then there are these unbelievable Cannoli cupcakes…yeah, they taste as good as they look. Then there are those who prefer the Pancake and Bacon cupcake. John Nardini said his favorite is the Tiramisu cupcake that had a wonderful espresso scent and flavor.

Considering the price point, and the choice of flavors it is a no brainer why we continue our love affair with the cupcake. What else in this world can we depend on to make us so completely happy in just a few bites? Cupcakes never disappoint, and that is why they continue to endure.

Big thank you’s to John and Ruthann Nardini and the lovely baker Danielle (shown in the picture above with John). Your cupcakes rocked my world. We will be back for more, and I expect you will see many more new fans of Cupcake Magician in the near future. Tenth place in all of America…not bad!!!