There are tons of Americans living in Paris and most of the long-term residents are localized in the Marais or the 7th, the former obviously a much more youthful and extroverted neighborhood. The French have tried to adopt many beloved American foods like bagels, cream cheese, peanut butter, cheesecake, cheeseburgers, pancakes and, of course, cupcakes – some of which are less successful than others. There comes a point after living in Paris for awhile that the expat begins to become nostalgic for foodstuffs they wouldn’t ordinarily think twice about – cupcakes are in this category of treats that tug at their hearts.

My good friend Emma made pumpkin muffins with cream cheese icing (it was close enough to a cup cake) for the Halloween party I threw last year and within an hour they were gone. It’s kind of like French fries. 99% of the time you get fries with your meal in France, they’re not homemade, not like in good restaurants in the US (mmmmm sweet potato fries….). So IF you are lucky enough to find yourself in a French restaurant that serves homemade fries, a sense of joy and awe wells up in your soul. The same is true for cupcakes. So when Berko, a trendy cupcake/cheesecake bakery opened its doors on rue Rambuteau in the Marais 9 months ago, it didn’t take long before the American expats and tourists started a-flockin’.

But is it worth the hype? I did some field research to find out. (note to self: next time only buy one cupcake instead of 6 mini’s. You can’t control yourself)

Berko store front

Consensus? Eh…. still very French. The cake is not very moist and the ratio of cake:icing is not quite correct. In any case, it’s the best there is…. for now.