What is it About Cupcakes?

When did they overtake the world? Seriously! It is so unreal. Entire shops make a living off of them and when thinking about doing a posting about this do you realize I had to go to like the 6th page of Google images just to find a normal run of the mill cupcake? They are themed and there are special stands made and whole programs on them. Make no mistake, these "bites-of-cake" do not come cheap either! $3.00 each is average and can go up from there. Granted I have a soft spot for red velvet, but still. It is just insane. What happened to good old Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines?

Did you know the British call a cupcake: fairy cake which is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations, such as sprinkles, are common on cupcakes.

Further, thanks to Wikipedia: The term "cupcake" was first mentioned in 1828 in Eliza Leslie's Receipts cookbook. In the early 19th century, there were two different uses for the name "cup cake" or "cupcake". In previous centuries, before muffin tins were widely available, the cakes were often baked in individual pottery cups, ramekins, or molds and took their name from the cups they were baked in. This is the use of the name that has persisted, and the name of "cupcake" is now given to any small cake that is about the size of a teacup. The name "fairy cake" is a fanciful description of its size, which would be appropriate for a party of diminutive fairies to share.

The other kind of "cup cake" referred to a cake whose ingredients were measured by volume, using a standard-sized cup, instead of being weighed. Recipes whose ingredients were measured using a standard-sized cup could also be baked in cups; however, they were more commonly baked in tins as layers or loaves. In later years, when the use of volume measurements was firmly established in home kitchens, these recipes became known as 1234 cakes or quarter cakes, so called because they are made up of four ingredients: one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, and four eggs. They are plain yellow cakes, somewhat less rich and less expensive than pound cake, due to using about half as much butter and eggs compared to pound cake. The names of these two major classes of cakes were intended to signal the method to the baker; "cup cake" uses a volume measurement, and "pound cake" uses a weight measurement.

Cupcakes are now one of the most popular sweet treats in the world. So there you go. But still, I do look forward to settling that craving in the near future.