Cupcakes are a preferable alternative to birthday cakes, whose constant accompaniment by off-key singing has depleted the planet’s finite supply of forced smiles. Garner genuine grins with this Groupon.

Choose Between Two Options

• $15 for one dozen cupcakes (a $30 value)
• $30 for two dozen cupcakes or one dozen holiday cupcakes (a $60 value)<p>

Customers choose from more than 10 flavors including Peppermint Maddy, bittersweet chocolate cake with green mint buttercream and french-chocolate sprinkles; Cheeky Monkey, banana cake topped with caramel cream-cheese frosting, candied pecans, and a drizzle of caramel; and Tropical Bliss, coconut cake with mascarpone-cream-cheese frosting and sweet toasted coconut flakes.

Kupcakz

Whirring and banging, whirring and banging—these mechanical sounds could come from a factory churning out machine-made pastries by the hundreds. At Kupcakz, though, a slower, more organic chorus fills the air as Doreen Durano blends, chops, and stirs ingredients for small batches of cupcakes by hand. Drawing upon studies in baking and pastry at San Francisco’s California Culinary Institute, Doreen works with her team to craft each and every cake from scratch, armed with ingredients found in gourmet kitchens, such as creamy Plugra butter, much-revered Valrhona chocolate, and powdered sugar distilled from unicorn tears. Each creation gets a whimsical name: the Morning Buzz’s moniker comes from a base soaked in rich espresso, and the Sooner Than Later hints at a general timeframe for biting into cream-cheese frosting and red-velvet cake.