The cupcake craze may have come and gone, but it brought big interest in small treats.

It was 20 years ago, and cupcakes were a national obsession.

At Sprinkles in Beverly Hills, customers could select from a lineup of gourmet treats – as long as they were cupcakes; the bakery served nothing else. Lines extended out the door and around the corner at the Washington, D.C. area’s Georgetown Cupcake. Guests were happy to wait hours for a hand-held, frosted treat. These were heady years for what was once considered a children’s party staple.

And then the nation moved on. The mania waned and high-profile, upscale cupcake locations closed.

In the aftermath is a confectionery correction. Only a few Monterey County bakeries continue to bake the diminutive cakes on a daily basis – The Perfect Crumb and Layers Sensational Cakes in Monterey, as well as Carmel Bakery, offer a reminder that the once-trendy treat never truly went away.

The menu at Layers is a return to cupcake sanity. The baking team leans on timeless favorites, such as red velvet, marble or chocolate. Despite its menu of cupcakes, The Perfect Crumb prefers to highlight its cookies.

So in the wake of the cupcake craze, it might seem easier to find them at Whole Foods or other grocery stores than at local bakeries. “I haven’t seen them lately,” a staff member at Alta Bakery in Monterey tells me. “But people still order them from time to time.”

Specialty orders, crafted with fine ingredients and pretty to look at, have replaced rows of ready-to-go racks. And many bakeries are ready to satisfy what remains of the gourmet cupcake appetite – the Monterey custom bakery I Love Cake, the aptly-named Monterey Custom Cakes, Sweet Reba’s in Carmel, Freedom Bakery in Salinas. Ruby Cakes of Monterey offers specialty cupcakes starting at $5 each, a relative bargain compared to the heyday.

If there has been a lingering effect of the 20-year cupcake trend, it’s the popularity of baked goods in smaller packages. Alta prepares tiny meringue-based pavlovas and rich mousses that can be dispatched in two memorable bites (try the lemon version). At Parker Lusseau and Paris Bakery Cafe, pint-sized “cakes” – essentially cupcakes, but not limited to the familiar cupped shape – have become popular.

And as the cupcake sensation began to taper, Americans became reacquainted with macarons. The colorful army of small and sweet meringue-based “sandwiches” could be accused of toppling the cupcake empire.

Invented by Italian monks during the Renaissance, macarons have been available ever since, although not always so popular. Their current form (and its variety of colors) is a French invention of the early 20th century. They gained notice in the U.S. after 2010, taking more and more space in the baking industry.

Macarons are smaller than cupcakes, but they are even more attractive to the eye, in colors such as pistachio green, turquoise and all shades of red and pink. They also last longer, typically for three days at room temperature.

Parker-Lusseau Pastries is one place to look for these cupcake replacements, as well as Patisserie Bechler in Pacific Grove. I Love Cake offers macarons to order, with luscious fillings under airy meringue.

But it is worth noting the almost equally long history of the cupcake. Contrary to the trend now past, cupcakes are at least as old as the country itself. Amelia Simmons of New York published American Cookery in 1796. It is the first known cookbook written by an American, and it includes a cupcake recipe – many believe it to be the first, as it requires “well-greased cups or muffin pans” for baking (in a “rather hot” oven). Other recipe variations quickly followed.

But it is Carrie Bradshaw, the heroine of the hit early-2000s show Sex and the City, who made cupcakes wildly famous for much of the next two decades, drawing crowds to New York’s Magnolia Bakery, which still offers The Carrie Cupcakes.

While less popular than in the 2000s, cupcakes are still considered a celebratory treat, especially for birthdays, as an easier-to-serve alternative to a traditional cake and always bringing a smile – no plates or forks needed.

In other words, while the cupcake trend may have gone the way of other fads, the little cakes themselves will continue to attract the imagination of both young and old. Somehow, things just got out of hand for a while.