What is the name of the traditional American cake of small size, designed to serve one person?
A cupcake is a small cake designed to serve one person, which may be baked in a small thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations such as fruit and candy may be applied.
The earliest extant description of what is now often called a cupcake was in 1796, when a recipe for "a light cake to bake in small cups" was written in "American Cookery" by Amelia Simmons. The earliest extant documentation of the term cupcake itself was in "Seventy-five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats" in 1828 in Eliza Leslie's "Receipts cookbook".
A standard cupcake uses the same basic ingredients as standard-sized cakes: butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Nearly any recipe that is suitable for a layer cake can be used to bake cupcakes.
Because their small size is more efficient for heat conduction, cupcakes bake much faster than a normal layered cake.
More Info:
en.wikipedia.org
What are your thoughts on this subject?
29 Comments
Jacinta Cannon
cupcakes were known as Fairy cakes in the UK long before they were usurped by the American name cupcake, ask my Granny!
Char
William Laughlin, I agree
Jeff Carter
William Laughlin, as a Brit, I absolutely agree with you. Some people simply can’t grasp the idea of language evolving differently in other parts of the world. The classic one that irritates me is the constant Football and Soccer argument. When I was a kid, we actually referred to it as Soccer to distinguish it from Rugby. Both games were known as Football.
William Laughlin
Char,
Thanks for your support. I don't completely understand it, but many times, people critcize more because of the commenter's nationality than the content of the comment itself. I hear anti-American sentiments quite often in the comments. They have an axe to grind, but can't seem to admit to the bigger issue; their prejudice.
I refuse to judge someone by their nationality, but I will judge them for their rudeness and prejudice.
William Laughlin
Jeff Carter,
Thank you for your comment. It's refreshing and greatly appreciated to hear someone from your side of the Atlantic say that.
Don't even get me started on that tiresome, old debate over Soccer vs Football. It's akin to arguing over two perfectly acceptable spellings such as labor vs labour.
What people don't realize when making these petty arguments is that it says more about their lack of sophistication and worldliness than anything else.
When I see comments like that, my first thought usually is, "Here we go again!" 🙄
Emma Alabaster
Jacinta Cannon, I remember fairy cakes. Only when designed for 1 serving it was around a third the size of the American cakes.
William Laughlin
Jacinta Cannon,
Usurped? That word implies something nefarious. Couldn't it simply be a different terminology due to distant, the same way elevator and lift are used. No one in the US ever uses the term "fairy cakes".
Why so adversarial?
Wyla Reedy
I remember my mother making them from scratch. Who got to lick the bowl and spoon?
JRW
Jacinta Cannon, my memory of fairy cakes as a child here in Australia was much more specific than the descriptor given. It was a sponge cake baked in and presented in a paper cup. Which had the top cut off; whipped cream placed there; that top piece cut in half and placed to resemble wings; finally sprinkled with icing sugar.
Divinity
Are we in preschool?
Player
Fairy cakes are poetic, cupcakes are prosaic, they are both delicious little cakes.
Player
I like cupcakes
Charlie Tindall
Thanks for the photo lol
Brian Gonsalves
Did anyone else call them scones???
Chris Brown
I didn't know it was an American recipe. It's one of my favourites.
Glynis Rix
I do remember them from my childhood & still so popular today!
Joyce Greenlees
Penny Allen, never heard of them being called buns, always fairy cakes.
Irene Townsend
My mam use to make those when I was a kid in England, nearly 70yrs ago. They were never meant to be as big as they are now and with all the icing they put on them. ugh far to sweet.
William Laughlin
Jacinta Cannon,
I've been mulling your comment for a while and decided to do further research instead of talking off the top of my head like you did.
The earliest extant description of what is now often called a cupcake was in 1796, when a recipe for "a light cake to bake in small cups" was written in AMERICAN Cookery by Amelia Simmons. Cupcakes are an AMERICAN invention and originated before cupcake baking tins existed.
While cake itself in some form or another has been around since ancient times, cupcakes first came about in AMERICA.
Please, tell me when the term "fairy cakes" came about.
Besides, fairy cakes are generally smaller and lack the icings of American cupcakes. They are not the same.
earlepg
Richard D. Boyle, So close that I misidentified the author.
Kath Thomson
John W Shreve, a tart is not a cake. A tart is a cooked thick pastry base with a filling that can be cooked or uncooked; a cake is a mixture of sugar, butter, eggs and flour baked in some solid form or, as in cup cakes, in paper cases or cupcake tins, and iced when cold; a pie has a thinner base than a tart and a pastry cover over the filling.