Red velvet cupcake, from Long Beach's Frosted Cupcakery

Tuesday, December 15 is National Cupcake Day, according to some folks. According to other folks, it occurs in August. Do you really need to designate a day to celebrate the cupcake?

What better place to pay your respects to the cupcake than Los Angeles, which wholeheartedly embraced (if not quite originated) the gourmet cupcake trend? TNG’s resident Cupcakeologist (with a Masters in Cupcake Sciences) outlines his favorite places to get cupcakes in LA and neighboring cities. Given the popularity of cupcakes in LA, this list couldn’t possibly be comprehensive. Additional cupcake resources can be found at LAist.

Frosted Cupcakery (4817 E. 2nd Street, Long Beach).

This Belmont Shore bakery opened a few years ago, and they just keep getting better and better. They sell all the original flavors, and have quite a few unusual offerings as well. My favorite is the orange cupcake with orange cream cheese frosting–an amazing flavor often overlooked in our chocolate- and red-velvet-obsessed world. Chocolate butterscotch and chocolate peanutbutter are also outstanding. In December, they offer not the usual one, but TWO flavors of the month: Ginger with lemon buttercream, and eggnog with eggnog buttercream.

Sprinkles Cupcakes (9635 Little Santa Monica Blvd in Beverly Hills, and 944 Avocado Avenue in Newport Beach)

Probably the fanciest cupcakes on this list. And given their Beverly Hills and Newport Beach locations, what would you expect?  But that makes the cakes no less delicious. Each cupcake appears to be more “designed” than frosted. This chain is now national, with franchises in Phoenix, Chicago, and San Francisco. To cement their trendy reputation, Sprinkles has launched the Sprinklesmobile, a twittering cupcake truck.

Lark (3337 W. Sunset Blvd, Silverlake)

Each cupcake is generously frosted with thick and fluffy buttercream frosting. Red velvet is a specialty, somewhat drier than the traditional moist version you may be familiar with. It’s surprising that there aren’t stores embracing the cupcake trend in one of LA’s trendiest neighborhoods. But Lark fills this niche nicely.

Kiss My Bundt (8104 W. 3rd Street)

Bundts are not cupcakes. But until they get their own national holiday, they are a worthy way of celebrating National Cupcake Day. Many southern-influenced recipes are available, including maple-glazed with bacon bits and peach “melva” (not melba). Other intriguing offerings, like bourbon, 7-up, and champagne, are only available in large form, unfortunately. They largely use organic and local ingredients.

Auntie Em’s Kitchen (4616 Eagle Rock Blvd)

Auntie Em’s was making large and delicious red velvet cupcakes before it was cool. And probably will long after. Their cakes are big enough to share.

If I left off your favorite cupcake place, please share in the comments below!