Take the bottom off and sandwich the frosting between two cake layers. Always. Much better cake-to-frosting ratio that way...

ooh! i love that idea! the icing is far and away my favorite part, so to improve the ratio, i'll twist off the bottom and then just eat it solo, and then finish off the remaining half cake with the icing on top. yummm

I usually just eat it the way it is in the picture up there - unwrap and dig in without any alterations. However, if the icing is particularly delicious (i.e. not that gross "icing" that comes on some grocery store cupcakes that leaves your mouth coated in a layer of grease), then after the first bite (because how do you know how good it is until you've had that first bite?), I'll proceed to eat the bottom (no tearing off.. I just bite around the bottom) then finish off with the top layer and the icing deliciousness!

I've never heard of the sandwich approach. My usual m.o. is to eat the cupcake from the bottom up-thereby eliminating some of the "cake" and allowing me to take bites that include frosting.

Break the stem in half, suffer through it by eating it along with a glass of milk, then eat the cupcake top and icing in one bite. De. Lish. Us.

Eat the cake and give the frosting to my husband, lol.

The sandwich idea is genius - I'll definitely be trying that next time! I'm essentially in rosebud's camp. I'll take eat most of the bottom cake first but leave on a little more than just the "muffin top," if that makes sense. The amount of cake I leave before then eating the upper portion w/ frosting depends on the volume of frosting. I like to have a precise cake/frosting ratio.

And I can honestly say I never realized I was so freakin' OCD about my cupcake eating! I'm so ashamed now...

Lick off the frosting, eat the rest in one go.

i start from the bottom, tearing off one piece at a time and i "dip" each piece into the frosting. then there's just enough frosting left on top for me to enjoy with the upper half of the cupcake.

Okay so I agree with the sandwich method generally, but the trend of a-helluva-lot-o-frosting, like an inch high at the fancy cupcake places (see, e.g. http://www.sweetcupcakes.com/gallery.php), I have had to develop a new strategy:

The double mini-cupcake method. Take off the bottom cake part. Use a knife to divide the frosting laterally. Then place 1/2 the icing on the bottom half of the cake. Behold, two mini, not-too-tall cupcakes.

Break off most of the bottom and eat it first (or toss it if I'm being "good"). Eat the rest of the cupcake with the frosting, a bite at a time. Frosting in every bite and not too much cake. Yum.

Like most, I twist off the bottom and eat it first, saving the icing-y top for last. The sandwich method, however, has me intrigued. Next time I'm confronted with a cupcake, I'll give it a shot.

Oh, I am a total sandwicher. I taught all my students this method too!

I usually eat the icing and then the cake.

Bite off the bottom halfish (you generally find a "sweet spot" [har har] for this tactic) in one big bite (I have a large mouth, admittedly), then you get a larger frosting:cake ratio, which is really what I think most people seek. As for the messy, who cares, utilize that wrapper to catch the crumbs, lick your fingers, lick your palms if you gotta, it's a cupcake, it's not meant to be elegantly devoured!

I like breaking it in half from bottom to top and eating it sideways. It gives me enough grip on the cake part to avoid getting frosting all over my fingers and I enjoy frosting on most of my bites.

But I like this sandwish method idea and will have to try it!

Here's yet another reason I love this blog so much--I thought I was the only person in the world who did the cupcake sandwich thing! So glad to learn I'm in good company. :)

Apparently the sandwich method is really popular, yet I have never thought of it myself before or watched anyone else eat a cupcake this way. Funny timing on this post though, I just watched The Best Thing I've Ever Ate- Snack Attack on food network yesterday and watched one of that episode's experts sandwich their cupcake. It looks like a good method, but it's been so long since I ate a cupcake I can't remember how I do it.

Wow I've never seen anyone do the sandwich method. I'm a eat the bottom half then top half with the icing. But seeing that I have a cupcake waiting for me in the kitchen, I'm going to try the sandwich tonight.

Um, I want a cupcake IMMEDIATELY so that I can try this sandwich technique of which you all speak.

Sandwich method all the way!

i must be the only one who hates icing. I usually decapitate the top and eat only the bottom, icing-less half. lol

i've always done the cupcake sandwich. everyone who has ever seen me do it has adopted this method and never gone back.

I, too, don't enjoy the icing. Depending on where I am (and the company), I either scrape the icing directly into the trash or scrape it into the wrapper. I'm all about the cake (I do this with actual cake, too).

depending on where the cupcake is from I scrape most of the frosting off and hand it over to a willing friend...if it's from somewhere absolutely fabulous then I always approach using the sandwich method-it's truly the only way

Depends on my mood.

I either do the sandwich thing... depending on what kind of frosting it is (if it's not my fav, then i do the sandwich).

Or eat the cupcake and finger the frosting... Mmmmm.

If i'm feeling REALLY greedy, then i'll scrape the cupcake wrapper and eat what's on it.

I'm with Irry!

I HATE icing, so my process is: cut off icing head, eat bottom, give icing head to the always-available friend who loves frosting. :)

I usually peel the wrapper and eat it with a fork. Bite size pieces that fit in the mouth without getting frosting all over your face. and crumbs are at a minimum. and depending on the frosting, if its not too sweet or heavy, will usually get scraped off.

I tear off the bottom and eat it first, then I eat the frosting-y top. Yum.

Wow-I am weird apparently-I just peel off the wrapper and chow down!

i thought i was the only one who did the bottom-to-top method! I'm very much a 'save the best for last person"! Like most of the others I usually take the bottom off, eat it first, then eat the frosting-ed top.

Eat the frosting; discard the cake; hunt for more leftover frosting...

I thought I had a pretty typical way to eat a cupcake: I essentially eat from the "top down," taking a bite from the top edge, then the bottom, back and forth until I finish.

Question: wouldn't the sandwich method come with the same "how do I fit this in my mouth?" problem?

As a side note: I prefer cupcakes without frosting, and my mom used to always set a few "naked" ones aside for me.