"What child doesn't have fond memories of cupcakes?" asks Jessica Brown.
We'd say there's more who do these days than ever before, as the mini cake trend continues to take off across Australia.
Capitalising on this boom is Jessica's not for profit charity,
SISTER2sister, that's now helping young women in the community with the help of a cult cupcake cafe in Sydney's Surry Hills.
The haven,
Sparkle Cupcakery, is producing butterfly cakes for the initiative, which helps teenage girls struggling with circumstances beyond their control like parental loss, domestic violence, sexual absuse, depression and self harm.
A dollar from the sale of every cupcake goes directly to the charity's Life Changing Experiences Foundation.
The project matches each young woman - a 'Little Sister' - with her own mentor for 12 months. This 'Big Sister' guides and supports them through their life, hopefully making a positive change along the way.
"Everyone needs a little indulgence and the experience at Sparkle can be guilt free as proceeds from our butterfly cakes are supporting the SISTER2sister Program," said Jessica.
Sparkle's owner, Kathryn Sutton, said she became involved in the charity because "the work that Jessica has begun is inspiring".
"It felt like a natural fit," she said.
The cupcake has gone through a boom in recent times - a trend Kathryn said she noticed when living in New York a few years ago. This city has even got its own unofficial 'Cupcake of the World' competition, and stores dedicated to the treat are still opening up all over the city today.
In Australia, stores like Sparkle, My Little Cupcake, and Little Cupcakes keep propping up, with larger chain stores and cafes also capitalising on the trend recently.
"The world is currently in love with cupcakes! We all understand why - they're a little sugar bomb that just make people smile," said Kathryn.
"It's a gesture that breaks through all age barriers and it just says 'celebration'."
Hopefully, the Sparkle's initiative will also give struggling young women something to celebrate, too.
Jessica said that issues faced by young women under her charity are "frightening".
87 per cent have experienced abuse of some form (whether sexual, verbal, or physical), about half have witnessed crime or been a refugee, and all of them come from broken homes, live in care or have adult responsibilities.
About 40 per cent of them have even attempted suicide.
Despite these statistics, there is hope. One young woman who had attempted to take her own life multiple times is now one of the charity's best success stories.
"My big sister showed me that life didn’t have to be that way and that I could make my own choices about where I want to go in life. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be where I am now," she said.
"She believed in me when no-one else did."
Jessica said that the best part of her work, which has so far helped over 250 girls, was witnessing young women "achieve goals that they never in a million years would have thought they could achieve".
"Despite their chaotic lives they are courageous and resilient and, with the support of the program and their big sister mentor, they manage to pick themselves up against all odds."