National Cupcake Week | Most expensive cupcake

Most of us will pop down to our local supermarket to bulk buy cupcakes for a party but for some they will go to extreme lengths to find cupcakes that are complete show-stoppers, one's that end up being more expensive than the cost of your kid's presents combined. As it's National Cupcake Week we're bringing you a select few of those cakes that are just that bit more than £2 for 12. We've also shared our favourite photos of cupcakes from the world of social media here.

The £645 cake

The ostentatiously named Golden Phoenix cupcake went on sale in 2012 and was coated in 23 carat gold. It stood as the world’s most expensive edible cupcake at a staggering £645. The cake, sold in Dubai’s Bloomsbury’s Cupcakes, was made with premium quality gold Ugandan vanilla beans, Amedei Porcelana cocoa from Italy, organic flour and butter imported from the UK and edible 23 carat gold. The Golden Phoenix caused a Twitter storm when founder Shafeena Yusuff Ali first announced her intention to create the world’s most expensive cake with some users lambasting the cake as “pointless” and “ugly”. The Golden Phoenix, despite being seen as more of a pretentious fashion statement than tasty treat has nevertheless been defended by Tablez Food Company and sold in Bloomsbury’s.

The £540 Birthday Present

One particularly generous Canadian husband

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splashed out for his wife’s 40^th birthday in August 2014. Some people might want a bit more for their money than a solitary cupcake when parting with over £500, but not this man! The pastry cream icing on the cake was made with Krug Collection Brut champagne, Rosewood Estate Honey and essence of Tahitian vanilla beans. When you consider that a bottle of Krug Collection Brut can cost £500 in the UK you start to see not only where the money has gone but also that this is no ordinary cake.

The £26 cupcake

Admittedly we are downscaling a bit here but Crave have outdone themselves with their Maple Bacon Cupcakes. Yes, that’s bacon in a cupcake.

At £26 each they are still undoubtedly a luxury purchase but the combination of bacon, maple syrup adorned with a golden champagne chaperon seems, if anything, too audacious to turn down. This is a cake for the adventurous. Just to reiterate, they’re cupcakes with bacon in! The demand for luxury cupcakes is well and truly on the rise and the market does not look likely to stall any time soon particularly with the popularity of National Cupcake Week and hit programmes like the Great British Bake Off. If you've seen a cupcake that you'd need a small loan to buy then let us know! Tweet as @canteentweets or over on our Facebook page. By Tom Evans

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