Though less devastating than banana-cream pies, cupcakes still provide effective suppressive fire during fancy dinner-party food fights attended by Larry, Curly, and/or Moe. Lock and load with this smile-inducing ammunition with today's Groupon: for $10, you get a dozen cream-filled cupcakes at Elmwood Pastry Shop (a $21 value), located in West Hartford.

Since 1948, Elmwood Pastry Shop has crafted French, Swedish, Polish, and other European confectionary creations entirely from scratch. Named one of Hartford’s best cupcakes by CBS Hartford, Elmwood Pastry Shops’s delectable cupcakes are built with a foundation of chocolate, yellow, raspberry, carrot, or spice cake. Pastry purveyors then shelter their blissful baked treat with a roof of all-natural icing, which comes in a vibrant array of taste-bud-tempting flavors, including chocolate, butter cream, whipped cream, and cream cheese. Each pint-sized pastry is injected with an indulgent dose of butter cream or another specialty filling, perfecting a mouth-watering dessert that’s ideal for afternoon teas, dinner parties, and bribing Benjamin Franklin at the historical reenactment center to break character.

Reviews

Examiner.com reviewed Elmwood Pastry Shop, and CBS Hartford named its cupcakes amongst the best in Hartford:

• Elmwood Pastry Shop in West Hartford is known for their baked goods, including their cupcakes. With a mix of French, Italian, Polish and Swedish influences to their baked goods, Elmwood Pastry Shop has some of the best cupcakes in Hartford. – Stephanie Geary, CBS Hartford
• While the cupcakes and pies may grab your attention there are many other sweets in the glass case to focus on. From colorful fruit tarts to éclairs and Danishes this bakery has a variety of pastries to choose from. – Samantha Fournier, Examiner.com