Mmm...Ramadan.

Wow. Is it Ramadan again already? As an agnostic, it sneaks up on me every year, especially now that I don't have helpful Bush administration officials around to remind me that Ramadan's when Muslim radicals in Iraq & Afghanistan step up their attacks.

Of course, Ramadan is more than attacks on our troops. It’s a time for fasting & humility & spirituality & most importantly, cupcakes.

This Ramadan, Park Slope's Butter Lane is partnering with South Asian news site Divanee to offer Ramadan-inspired cupcakes. A dollar from every $3 cupcake purchase goes to the Save a Mother foundation, which tries to reduce maternal mortality & develop health care solutions for the poor worldwide. As of today, no Staten Island groups have ridden their church bus to Park Slope to protest serving the Muslim treat so close to the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The NY Post hasn't commented on the matter either, but they still have over two weeks to put something together. FINGERS CROSSED!

Yesterday afternoon, I stopped by Butter Lane to get myself one of these festive cupcakes but when I arrived, I didn't see any on display. I was confused. Were they that popular in mosque-free Park Slope that they'd already sold out?

As it turns out, all they are is one of Butter Lane's regular, everyday cupcakes with a decal of a crescent moon (the symbol marking the beginning of Ramadan) affixed to them. You choose a cupcake and they cut out a single edible crescent moon decal from a sheet of them & affix it to the top of your cupcake.

I opted for a chocolate cupcake topped with peanut butter frosting. Unfortunately, adding the crescent moon to my cupcake ended up being a two-person operation, as the two folks working there struggled to separate a single decal from the sheet. As I waited, I turned and apologized to the nice girl behind me who’d actually been ahead of me in line but had said "If you're ordering a single cupcake, you can go first. I'm ordering a box." I hope my order doesn't make her hate Muslims.

After a good seven minutes or so, my Ramadan cupcake was ready to go. I brought it home with me. While I hadn't fasted at all, I decided to pretend that I had fasted, and waited til sundown to give it a taste. Holiday spirit! When sundown finally came, I confirmed that, other than decoration, the crescent moon decal didn't add a damn thing to the cupcake.

It's really too bad. Magnolia Bakery's Dubai location offers a Ramadan-inspired cupcake made with sweet date & orange meringue. Dates, of course, are the food traditionally used to break the daily fast, so their cupcake makes WAY more sense & actually tries to be creative.

Good try, Butter Lane.

Your move, Robicelli's.

Read way more from Shawn at eatdrinksnack.com.