National Cupcake Lovers Day – A Classic Favorite
Before gourmet bakeries and Instagram-ready frosting, there was one cupcake nearly everyone recognized: the Hostess CupCake. Today, June 13th, is National Cupcake Lovers Day—unofficial, unexplained, and completely justified by the staying power of this classic snack.
Cupcakes go back to the late 1700s in American cookbooks, but the Hostess CupCake, introduced in 1919, was the first to be mass-produced. It started simple—just chocolate cake—but by the 1950s it gained a cream-filled center and its trademark white icing swirl.
It’s still going strong. Hostess sells more than 600 million CupCakes each year, making it arguably the most popular chocolate cupcake in America.
This image is part of my From Bag to Background series, where I photograph fast food and mass-market items exactly as they appear—unstyled, unaltered, and isolated against a black background. See the full gallery at https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0/I0000nUG8tfk8Gdc
National Jelly-Filled Donut Day – Raspberry and Glaze, No Apologies
June 8 is National Jelly-Filled Donut Day.
It’s a quieter entry on the food holiday calendar, but one that speaks to a specific kind of nostalgia. The jelly donut—with its burst of raspberry (or sometimes strawberry or apple), dusting of powdered sugar, or coating of glaze—has long been a bakery staple.
The exact origin of National Jelly-Filled Donut Day is unknown. Like many niche food holidays, it likely emerged through a mix of tradition and marketing momentum. But the donut it celebrates has a real history.
Jelly-filled donuts trace their roots to Central Europe. In Germany, the Berliner—a yeast-raised donut filled with jam—has been a favorite for generations. Jewish communities adapted it into the sufganiyah, eaten during Hanukkah. When immigrants brought these traditions to the U.S., jelly donuts found a natural home in bakeries and diners across the country. Over time, chains like Krispy Kreme and Dunkin’ made them mainstream.
Of the major brands, Krispy Kreme’s Glazed Raspberry Filled donut is often considered the favorite. Its lighter texture, warm-glaze appeal, and bright red filling strike a balance that other versions often miss. First sold in the 1930s from a small storefront in North Carolina, Krispy Kreme has held onto its original recipe and a sense of warm-donut theater.
For this post, I photographed the Glazed Raspberry Filled donut from Krispy Kreme. No props, no styling—just the donuts torn open and stacked, revealing the red interior against the black background. It’s part of my “From Bag to Background” series, documenting fast food exactly as it is, straight from the box or bag.
You can see more from this series on my website at:
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0/I0000nUG8tfk8Gdc
Memorial Day, 1934: Meltdown Created Carvel
It was Memorial Day weekend, 1934, when Tom Carvel’s ice cream truck got a flat tire in Hartsdale, New York. He pulled into a parking lot and started selling his melting ice cream to passing drivers. What could have been a loss turned into a breakthrough—customers liked the softer texture, and the concept of soft-serve was born.
That moment sparked the launch of the Carvel brand. By 1936, Carvel opened a permanent roadside stand on that same site and began developing his own equipment and franchise model. He pioneered innovations in frozen desserts and advertising—including early television commercials and animated mascots.
In the 1950s, Carvel introduced the now-iconic round ice cream cake—layered with vanilla and chocolate soft-serve, filled with chocolate crunchies, and topped with piped whipped frosting and sprinkles. It quickly became a fixture at birthdays, holidays, and family celebrations.
Photographed here as served—no props, no styling—just the cake, isolated on a black background. It’s part of my “From Bag to Background” series, and a fitting nod to an accidental origin that took place on Memorial Day nearly a century ago.
See more from the series:
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0/I0000nUG8tfk8Gdc
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