Recipe News: A colorful cupcake collection: 60 marvelous recipes for any occasion

"The cupcake is a classic, let's face it. An unsung favorite for eons, in recent years it has hit the culinary pop charts, even the art scene. The sugary little darlings have become big business, but they still retain their cozy place in our hearts.

These days not only do bakeries across the country sell cupcakes, you can go out to eat at a cupcake cafe and choose a ritzy cupcake from the dessert menu of an upscale restaurant. You can order cupcakes online from cupcake boutiques, there are plenty of cookbooks focusing only on cupcakes, and you can get married with cupcakes starring at the wedding feast.

Celebrity has spotlighted cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery in New York City, munched in endless reruns of television's "Sex and the City," and cupcakes from Sprinkles in Beverly Hills, sent by Barbra Streisand as a gift to Oprah Winfrey.

Dede Wilson's newly published "A Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes" (Harvard Common Press, 2006, $17.95) is as smart and handy as a cupcake itself: a colorful ringbound collection of some 60 recipes for every occasion, each with photo and "field notes" besides loads of other tips."

includes recipes for: