Sunny Burden pulls “Elvis” cupcakes out of the oven early Wednesday morning at Whipped Cupcakes off River Street. Burden is a co-owner and lead baker of the shop that opened a year ago on the North Shore.* What: Gourmet cupcakes
* Company: Whipped Cupcakes
* Address: 149 River St.
* Telephone: 305-7755
* Owners: Sunny Burden, Bridgette Huckabay, Roxanne Cockrell and Kathy Baker
* What’s special: In addition to using primarily organic and locally produced ingredients, Whipped Cupcakes produces mini-cupcakes that eliminate the calorie guilt other, larger confections might produce, head baker Sunny Burden said.
* The origin story: Co-owners Cockrell and Huckabay wanted to open a cupcakery for years after seeing the concept’s growing popularity in other, larger cities like Los Angeles and New York City. Burden left her position as a dessert chef at Easy Bistro to join them shortly after Whipped opened.
* How long does it take to make? Burden nicknames herself the Cupcake Robot because she goes on autopilot when baking, but she estimates a batch of a dozen cupcakes takes 5 to 10 minutes to prepare. She estimates she can make 12 dozen, including baking and frosting, in two hours. “I’d be a good candidate on ‘Cupcake Wars,'” Burden said, laughing. “I’m pretty fast.”
* Where it’s sold: At Whipped’s River Street location.
* How long have they been making them? Since September.
* Future expansions planned: Burden said she is always trying out new recipes or taking suggestions from customers for cupcake conversions of their favorite foods, which has resulted in flavors as diverse as birthday cake, maple bacon and gin-and-tonic. Whipped Cupcakes also is considering opening a new location in the coming years, possibly in Atlanta, among whose residents their cupcakes have become increasingly popular, Burden said.
* Lessons of the trade: “I’ve learned to give people what they want instead of just what I think would be good,” Burden said. “Delivering [what they want] is very important because if you make people happy, they will definitely show you the love.”