Of course, in Florida we will respond with the respect due all holidays – and that means chocolate cupcakes all around!

In some places, cupcakes may be sweet treats left to kids and class parties – but, here in the Sunshine State – we’re all about the personalized perfection of confection at every age and for every occasion.

No matter where you travel in Florida, you’ll find cupcake boutiques that offer mouthwatering treats in flavors that range from Southern favorite Red Velvet, to Carrot and Coconut. But, alas, Oct. 18^th has been specifically deemed Chocolate Cupcake Day (seriously, look it up for yourself) and that calls for us to abandon calorie counting for at least one day to savor the delights of mocha madness and fudgy fun.

Here are some of my favorite cupcake shops around the state. In all of these places you’ll find that cupcakes are serious business. I send you forth in celebration with only one warning: prepare to become a repeat customer…with endless options of flavor combinations, it seems that the only option that’s not likely is you not coming back for more!

LuLi’s Cupcakes, St. Augustine: This great shop has customers who travel from near and far to get a taste of their famous treats. While the shop is known for its signature creative flavors ranging from Chunky monkey to the Godfather, on National Chocolate Cupcake Day, you gotta go with the Chocoholic: chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting topped with chocolate sprinkles…serious stuff.

dd’s Cupcake Shoppe, Jupiter: Classic cupcakes the way mom used to make them puts this sweet shop at the top of my list. This holiday go with their signature confection dd’s Cupcake, made of chocolate Devil’s Food Cake with pink butter cream frosting & a cherry. You’ll find this cupcake not only on the shelves, but also in everything the bakery prints – it's the shop logo.

The Cupcake Spot, Tampa Bay: Their claim to fame is creating sweet bites of happiness – and you can take that as the gospel truth. With two locations on either side of Tampa Bay (one in St. Petersburg and one in Tampa) we have twice as many reasons to get carried away in a cupcake craze. It’s hard to pick just one flavor here, but on National Chocolate Cupcake Day, my recommendation has to be the Forget Love I’d Rather Fall in Chocolate flavor. Double chocolate cake and icing pays off in a big way with big taste.

Buttercream Cupcakes & Coffee, Coral Gables: Lucky for us this cupcake superstar whips up its unbelievable Chocolate Orange cupcake combo on Sundays, because the 18^th falls on a Sunday this year. The menu rotates, but every day of the week something good is cooking here, where the finished product always looks as good as it tastes.

Camicakes, Jacksonville: Camicakes was Jacksonville’s first cup cake-only establishment and, as the pace-setting trailblazer, continues to show – sometimes having a head start makes all the difference. One of the reasons Camicakes is so cool is because owner Andra Hall always seems to have it all together…especially the cupcakes. There are lots of chocolate varieties for this special day, but the Elvis – a creamy confection of peanut butter, banana, chocolate and a dash of sea salt – will leave you happily humming "I Just Can’t Help Falling In Love With You."

Where’s your favorite place to catch up with friends over a cupcake? Pass it on so that we can create a comprehensive list of all of Florida’s best cupcake bakeries to share with readers on National Chocolate Cupcake Day. I’ll publish a full list a couple of days before the 18^th. Happy eating!