Cicada Cupcakes 'Flying Off The Shelf' At Wolf's Bakery

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — Although their real counterparts are just starting to emerge from the soil, cicada cupcakes are flying off the shelf at Wolf’s Bakery in Evergreen Park.

The neighborhood bakery, celebrating its 85th anniversary, has been busy making cicada cupcakes in honor of the double emergence of the 17-year Brood XIII and the 13-year Southern Illinois Brood XIX.

Don’t worry, Wolf’s isn’t using real cicadas for its sweet creations. Their cicadas are made of buttercream frosting, with a dab of red icing for its googly eyes. The cicada cupcakes are $3.69.

“People love them,” said bakery owner Pam. “Especially moms and grandmas.”

Wolf's cicada cupcakes come in vanilla with buttercream frosting and double-chocolate fudge.

A husband also came in and bought cicada cupcakes as a joke on his wife, who is terrified of the imminent emergence, she added.

In 2007, during the last 17-year cicada uprising, Pam’s late husband, Jeff, thought the bakery should do something about it.

“He came up with the cicada cupcake and people bought 'em like crazy,” Pam said. “The next summer there were no cicadas, so my husband said, let’s do ladybugs and bees. Everyone likes the bugs.”

Pam finds the first double emergence of periodical cicadas since 1803 interesting. Except for the nymphs flushed from their emergence tunnels during recent heavy downpours, most are still waiting underground for the “go” signal, when soil temperatures hit 64-degrees. Once the emergence starts, we’re all going to know about it.

“They’re coming,” she said. “Last time they were so loud it was interesting.”

The Unofficial Lemon Fluff Cake Capital Of The World, Wolf Bakery has been doing business at 3241 W. 95th St., Evergreen Park, since 1939. The bakery is renowned on Chicago’s South Side and beyond for its Irish soda bread, butter pecan coffee cake, atomic cake, chocolate donuts and paczki.

“I’ve been eating Wolf’s lemon fluff cake for 65 years,” an older customer chimed in. “I had it somewhere else, but it wasn’t as good. You have to go to Wolf's.”

Jeff and Pam bought the bakery from Mrs. Wolf (they shared the same accountant) 33 years ago. In addition to cakes and pastries, employees start showing up at 4 a.m. to bake fresh bread.

“”We’re a neighborhood bakery,” Pam said. “We love our customers.”

Meanwhile, Jeff’s legacy lives on in his 17-year cicada cupcakes.

Wolf’s Bakery, 3241 W. 95th St., Evergreen Park, is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. So there isn’t a run on cicada cupcakes at the bakery, call the bakery at (708) 422-7429 to pre-order.