Before cakes, the only vehicle for frosting consumption was the bare hand, and the only place to load frosting onto that vehicle was the neighborhood frosting bucket. Eat frosting the evolved way with today’s Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of cupcakes, cakes, and other confections at Cakes by Karen, redeemable at four locations in Aurora, Denver, Lakewood, and Northglenn.

Cakes by Karen’s dessert doyens forge, frost, and creatively festoon a sacchariferous lineup of scratch-made confections. Cakes and cupcakes take on a kaleidoscope of 15 flavors ranging from simple classics, including chocolate and angel food, to decadent creations such as red velvet and german chocolate. Dream up a collection of cupcakes ($1.50–$4 each) swathed in a choice of six icing flavors, such as rich butter cream or chocolate cream cheese, to pepper celebrations with bite-size variety, or take home a 6-inch round cake ($19.98; $2 extra for filling) perfect for filling five guests’ plates or one Lincoln Memorial’s mouth. With advance notice and an extra fee, icing artisans can adorn the sugary sculptures with an array of custom decorations, festooning cakes in flowers, a birthday wish, a scanned photograph, or a life-size replica of the Eiffel Tower.