After buying a batch of fancy cupcakes for a recent Day of the Dead (November 1) party, I wondered where the best cupcakes can be found.Maybe you're wondering about where to find great cupcake bakeries in your neighborhood. Let's help each other find them (see Comments lead-in below)!

Picking up the party cupcakes set me thinking about how cupcakes have evolved. They're ultra-popular as snacks today, as everyone in this country knows. Everywhere you look lately, you see cupcake news: How popular cupcakes have become, how many varieties there are, how fancifully cupcakes can be iced and decorated. But what is the story behind these tiny dessert cakes?

Wikipedia says,

• "In previous centuries, before muffin tins were widely available, the cakes were often baked in individual pottery cups, ramekins, or molds and took their name from the cups they were baked in. This is the use of the name that has persisted, and the name of "cupcake" is now given to any small cake that is about the size of a teacup. The name "fairy cake" is a fanciful description of its size, which would be appropriate for a party of diminutive fairies to share."

Elizabeth George's mystery novels, set in England, feature "fairy cakes" at Lord Melrose's house, where his Aunt Agatha greedily eats them all up at "elevenses," or morning tea (I guess).Yes, I know he is now the "former Lord," but I always think of him with that title.

Elaine, George, Jerry, and all liked only the tops of cupcakes, so they schemed to start a business selling only the tops. I would do the same. I like the tasty top, with icing and sprinkles (or no sprinkles). The Seinfeld gang, as I recall, got into trouble because people thought they were wasting the "stumps" (the bottoms of the cupcakes).

Well, eating only the top is not "wasting." It's like eating the tenderloin side of a Porterhouse steak first. That's the best part. (Naturally, you have to be a meat eater and happen to get to enjoy an expensive Porterhouse at all.)

Here's a big tray of baby-themed cupcakes, just right for a shower!

In most neighborhoods, there's a bakery that does things right. The cupcakes are light, colorfully iced, maybe decorated for a season or holiday. In the neighborhood I live in, my choice source is Moonside Bakery at http://www.moonsidebakery.com. As noted at the top, here I got some charming Day of the Dead cupcakes for November 1, decorated with tombstones and ghosts. They weren't just cute. They were mouth-wateringly good.

Let us all know about your bakery experiences. Post a comment below to tell us about the cupcake favorite in your town or region. Everybody needs to find the right cupcake when the right occasion arises!