Everyone Loves a CupCape

By: Emma Bleiler, November 30, 2011

Emma Bleiler - In the mood for some Vanilla Ice, Ice Baby?

What happens when you're fed up with your job in the corporate world and your passion for baking takes over? Just ask Tammy Knight, owner of Main Street’s sweet spot, CupCapes of Falmouth.

"After a long career in the  corporate world of finance, I decided to hang my corporate hat up and the rest is history. I baked for fun and as a hobby, I always found it ironic how the sweet treats would  elicit responses of pure delight yet nothing related to finance ever did," Knight explains on the bakery's website. 

Since opening CupCapes in July 2008, Knight has been whipping up delectable personal and regular-size cakes. From your average vanilla frosted-chocolate cupcake to more unique flavors like Hot Cocoa and Salted Caramel, there’s plenty of decadence offered behind the shop's gleaming, colorful display case.

It's all in the ingredients

But after learning about Knight’s life-changing to open the bakery, I had to ask: why cupcakes?

 “We didn’t have anything like that here on the Cape. There’s been a whole resurgence of the cupcake trend industry: it is essentially having a cake, but your own personal cake. I knew a cupcake bakery like ours would do well here, since there aren’t many bakeries around and a cupcake is something you can get creative with,” she says.

I wondered if being surrounded by so many cupcakes would make her get sick of them.

“I never get tired of eating them! Right now I love the S’mores cupcakes, the marshmallow buttercream is so good!" Knight replies.

Cupcakes may not be health food per say, but CupCapes has been keeping up with the progression of the local and organic foods movement by using certified organic ingredients and enrolling in the Buy Fresh Buy Local Cape Cod program. In addition, all the beverages served at the bakery are sourced from Mighty Leaf Tea and Jim's Organic Coffee.

“We use as much local and organic produce as we can. We get berries when they’re in season from Coonamessett Farm and we also have local vendors who sell us eggs, honey, apples from their land, all kinds of stuff. It all depends on what’s in season," Knight says.

Sweet nothings

With the almost overwhelming choices of flavors taunting me from the case, I was about how Knight gets so creative with her cupcakes.

“I get the most random inspirations, like last night. Ever heard of peppermint bark? Everybody’s had it for Christmas, so I thought what about a peppermint ice cream pie? One with a chocolate crumb crust and peppermint ice cream in it, but then I thought, why not a cupcake?! I just keep going from there,” she says.

One important thing I learned was that men and women experience their cupcakes differently: Knight finds that men will like any kind of cupcake you give them, while women are more finicky.

But no matter what, everyone loves a cupcake.

“It’s somewhat nostalgic. The most wonderful part of having this business is that everyone who comes in is in a good mood,” she says.

What’s next for the bakery? Talk of expanding sweetness in the local area and possibly even the West Coast could be in Knight's future. In the meantime, I suggest you go to CupCapes of Falmouth and indulge in the Hot Chocolate cupcake on a cold pre-winter day!