The past decade’s cupcake renaissance has seen boutique bakeries across the country hawking the single-serving pastry to an urban and middle-class market. While certain consumption practices have long illuminated social behaviors and behavioral patterns, the cupcake-as-commodity seems an unlikely barometer. Nevertheless, in 2009, Dr. Kathe Newman of Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy determined that by analyzing the urban distribution of cupcake purveyors it was also possible to discern the flow of capital investment in cities and, more generally, the relationship between gentrification and the emergent boutique industry culture. In 2011, Berkeley student Danya Al-Saleh used a similar strategy to demonstrate the relationship between bakery location and gang violence in San Francisco’s Mission District.