My favorite painting of cupcakes.

Last updated on January 3, 2023

It’s Friday, and I think that that means Baking Day.

Baker's Dozen Cupcakes
baker's dozen (12) cupcakes cartoon

Oooh, one of my favorite Slate cartoons ever! Who doesn’t like a cupcake cartoon, huh?

A baker’s dozen, for you know-nothings, means 13 cupcakes or cookies or doughnuts or whatever. Bakeries used to be generous, and also smelled even better, and used real butter, and made everything themselves. I mean, really what does dough cost, a few pennies? So what is one more cookie or cupcake, or chocolate croissant, or…okay,  chocolate cheesecake? And they were so happy to have regular customers that they often gave the customer 13 items instead of 12!

However, this is a recession. (Well, not now – but back in September when this cartoon was published, things were looking pretty iffy. Now everyone is still unemployed, but they don’t sound quite as depressed.)  But Wall Street and advisers are careful not to use recession or depression, or Bad Words like that. In any case, bakeries and doughnut shops still stick to a hard 12.

I hope I explained that one into the ground.

This is an excellent example of why we need more women cartoonists. Good food, and I love how melty and feminine and delicate the tinted colors came out.

Cartoon caption for Google: There are 12 cupcakes in Baker’s Dozen (in a “possible” recession.)

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