A friend who shares this obsession is mainly to blame. She introduced me to Citizen Cupcake in San Francisco, the trendy cafe and cupcake haven hidden atop Virgin Records on Market Street.

On my way to meet her in Union Square one morning for an overnight shopping trip, I emerged from the Powell Street BART station and was pleasantly surprised to see how close I was to our favorite treat spot. Of course I went straight to the escalator, calling her on my cell phone to gloat.

But when I arrived at the empty cafe, I looked at the clock and figured I must be the first customer of the day. I must admit it was slightly embarrassing to be ordering such a sweet thing while most people were still full from breakfast.
I pondered this aloud to the woman behind the counter, who reassured me that "Anytime is cupcake time," helpfully rationalizing that my choice of mocha was sort of like ordering a cup of coffee. Yeah right, a 300-calorie cup of coffee.
Of course I thoughtfully ordered my friend one of the confections _ piled inches high with frosting and a tiny sculpture of chocolate. Then I sat in the window-side seats and savored my snack, watching the bustle of Market Street below.

But hours later in our hotel room, when she neglected to eat her gift in a timely manner, I couldn't resist it. I grabbed it out of its cupcake-sized white box and took a huge bite out of it, much to her chagrin. Apparently she had been planning on saving it to eat THE NEXT DAY. What a fool. Cupcake gratification isn't to be delayed.

Every trip to the city now has become a logistical puzzle as I scheme up excuses to somehow end up near the cupcakes.

When another friend suggested we meet in the city for lunch in a neighborhood not too far from that corner of Market Street, my one-track mind leaped ahead to the important aspects of our get-together. "Cupcakes," I blurted out. "We can get cupcakes."

Unfortunately I live a 40-minute BART ride from my babies so my mission now is to learn to make my own.

I was excited to come across a copy of "Cupcakes! From the Cake Mix Doctor" (Workman, $13.95) at my daughter's preschool book sale. Shoving aside a small amount of guilt for forking over bucks for my own selfish cooking interests in lieu of another Maisy book (hey, any purchases help the school out, right?) I rushed home with my purchase, flipping through it like a teenage boy with his first Playboy.
Coconut Snowballs, Jelly Doughnut Cupcakes, Kiss Me Cakes, Warm Chocolate Cupcakes with Molten Centers, Red Velvet Cupcakes with White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting. Mmmmmmm.

While I eventually would like to cook my way through the whole book, I decided instead to try a recipe in this month's Sunset magazine for coconut cupcakes with buttery cream cheese frosting, as the cook called them her "signature" dish.
These moist, slightly dense buttery wonders are so rich they're delicious stark raving naked. Covering them with the frosting and topping them with coconut flakes is beyond sinful.

I brought them to work for a friend's birthday, eternally grateful that she just happens to adore coconut. (Whew!) And I am rejoicing that I now can make a cupcake that's such a strong alternative to those long commutes to the city.

-- Kari Hulac