What was once assumed a fad has become a relative staple of Southern California life.  More and more of us turn to cupcakes for our celebrations, as a “reward” for a job well done, or for our after-dinner dessert. 

A great cupcake is a decadent treat that takes your entire body on a natural high.  The moist cake and silky frosting tickles the tongue, a proper balance of sweetness and subtlety allows the brain to do a happy dance without sending it into sugar shock, and careful selection of flavors can whisk your spirit away on a 10-minute vacation.

 Altadenans don’t have to head too far from home for a perfectly created cupcake.  Polkatots on North Lake Avenue bakes up approximately 15 different flavors of cupcakes daily (closed Mondays), and you are sure to find at least one that appeals to your discerning taste buds. 

In fact, the problem with these cupcakes is that you will find it difficult to choose only one flavor.  That problem can thankfully be overcome by selecting several mini-cupcakes rather than a single “Biggie”, allowing you to sample an assortment of flavors. 

Among the flavors offered are my favorite, “Red Diva”, a red-velvet cake with silky cream cheese icing and pink sugar crystals; “Café-latte”, vanilla cake with coffee buttercream frosting and chocolate shavings; and one of their most popular, “Dolcissimo”, dulce de leche cake with dulce de leche buttercream frosting and caramel drizzle….yummmm!! 

Polkatots also develops a “flavor of the month” cupcake in order to experiment with different flavors…an excuse for you to stop by regularly

Mini cupcakes go for $1.50 and Biggies are $3.00, and a dozen of either will get you roughly 12 for the price of 10.  Polkatots is also well-known for their creative cupcake cakes, an alternative for those who want the look of a traditional cake with the ease of cupcakes. 

March is the perfect time to treat yourself to a Polkatots cupcake, because they have designated March as their Charity Awareness Month.  During the entire month of March, Polkatots is donating a percentage of their proceeds from their “Red Diva” cupcakes to the Susan G. Koman Foundation (breast cancer awareness), AND during the week of March 26th, a percentage of their “Chocolate Raspberry” cupcake sales will go to the Anita Kaufmann Foundation (epilepsy awareness).

 So head over to Polkatots for your Red Diva or Raspberry Cupcakes before the end of March.  You’re not only treating yourself…you’re helping to treat others.