Cupcake History
Have you ever wondered where the word “cake” came from? Interesting story! The word cake is actually from the Viking origin, from the Old Norse word “kaka” or plakous (pronounced kaykay). The word was derived from the word “flat” or plakeous.
There wasn’t a lot that went in to the cakes other than flour, eggs, milk, nuts and honey. Honey was used in place of sugar back then.
Let’s take a minute to learn about this “cake”.
During the Ancient Greek era, they made cakes with candles on top as a special way to celebrate (or pay tribute) to the moon goddess, Artemis. The reason they made the cakes in a circle was because it symbolized the moon.
They also believed that blowing out the candles was a way to send all their wishes to the gods that they believed lived in the sky. Interesting, right? I thought so.
Now that we have learned where the word cake came from and how it came about, let’s dive into the birthday cupcake and see what we can find out!
Debut of the Cupcake
As we know, the cupcake was first introduced in “American Cookery” in 1796, by Amelia Simmons’. She described it as “baking a cake in small cups”, thus the word “cupcake” became pretty much a household name, for all intents and purposes.
However, in 1828, Eliza Leslie published her own cookbook called “Receipts” and she had the first actual recipe for a cupcake.
People would make these little cakes in place of the big cakes for several reasons. They are less of a hassle to make; they take about half the time to cook than a regular cake, friendlier size to eat and a person can really surprise their guests with different tastes.
There’s nothing a cupcake and coffee can’t solve.
-Marie Williams Johnstone
Cupcakes Today
Birthday cupcakes are very popular these days and I believe more as now as we move in to the future. They are by far, easier to deal with than a big bulky cake!
They are much easier to serve and a lot more fun to decorate. With a normal cake, there is only one design really, that can go on the cake, as it is the birthday motif the person has chosen.
With cupcakes, a person can literally change the entire thing with just a couple of tweaks, letting everyone enjoy something different. Using a basic vanilla recipe for the cupcakes gives you all the options you need to change the flavor without taking away from the taste. Anything added will only increase the flavor.
Chocolate cupcakes are bit trickier but they can still have added flavors to make them more interesting and tasty. With vanilla cupcakes, the sky is the limit on adding different ingredients to change the taste.
You can use canned fruit as well, however, it is suggested that adding this should be at the last minute, before it’s served. This way, the icing won’t really break down before it’s served.
Sprinkles are a great ingredient to add on top, and even in the batter, for a colorful dessert. People have used candies and crumbled cookies as well.
Birthday Cupcake Basics
A typical recipe for cupcakes calls for flour, vanilla, cream, butter, eggs, sugar and baking powder. This is if you are making them from scratch. You can also add cocoa to make the chocolate cupcakes, if you so choose.
Most of the time, it’s easier for people to use cake mixes for their cupcakes. On the back of the box are directions for how to do this. There are a few things that change, so you need to make sure you read it all.
Here are a few ideas people have come up with for birthday cupcakes: https://pin.it/1gZuU1i
Customizing Your Cupcakes
You will notice below that with these cupcakes, there are different colors of icing, different types of decorations and these are all edible, with exception of Forky from Toy Story!
So many different ways to decorate these little cakes, it can get overwhelming if your brain goes in to overdrive. The confetti cupcakes are so easy to make, just simply add the sprinkles to the batter before baking. Make sure to mix it well so all the colors go through the entire bowl.
Take a look below to see the different kinds of birthday cupcakes that have been made! Easy to assemble and a whole lot of fun to eat!
What do you think about cupcakes made in ice cream cones?? Click this link: https://images.app.goo.gl/9SNoQws68QMAQw466
Now, IF you really want to make a big impression for a birthday cupcake party, take a look at these cupcakes below….and click this link for the full recipe: https://thebakingexplorer.com/rainbow-cupcakes/
These are the Rainbow cupcakes and they are amazing when they are finished! Start out with about 6 bowls (or however many colors you are going to make), with the batter evenly distributed between them as you see below, and then add your colors and mix.
This is the end result….WOW!
They are a lot more time consuming but they are beautiful when they are done! The colors are not set in stone, you can darken or lighten them, depending on what you want to achieve.
You can also color the frosting or leave it white, as it is above, and add toppings (like sprinkles or chopped candies). How about a CAKE cupcake? Hmmm….
This beautiful work of art is as big as a regular sized cake, and very easy to assemble. For anything like this, you will need to draw the picture of what you want on the cardboard that will be holding the cake.
I would use a pencil just for the outline because it’s not too dark and will be easy to conceal it with the cupcakes. Once you have everything arranged the way you want it, you can frost the cakes unless you do it before hand.
These were done before and pushed together. The only part that was added in afterwards was a little more pink frosting where the blue candies are. Once giant cupcake that is easy to take apart and eat! Perfection!
Final Tips
Again, always make sure your cupcakes are completely cooled off before adding the frosting. Not having completely cooled cakes will result in runny icing and very disappointing decorations.
I have been known to put cakes in the refrigerator or freezer to get them cooled down; I call it the “cooling station” and it works quite well.
Transporting cupcakes is fairly easy as long as they aren’t too tall from the decorations put on.
You can use a rectangle pan, add some non-slip material to the bottom to keep them from moving and place inside with a little space between them. It’s up to you if you want to cover them while you transport them.
I guess it all depends on how far you have to travel and if you have someone brave enough to hold them while you drive! You can also order a holder from Amazon.
They have several different types for all shapes and sizes. They can range anywhere from about $76 down to $17; all depends on what you want to get. Again, not everyone can afford those fancy holders so using a pan is just fine. You can always decorate the pan to make it more festive!
You can also go to the local dollar store and purchase a cake holder with a lid. Don’t forget to add the non-slip material to that was well, because they will definitely move around in there.
The leftover cupcakes, if there are any, can be put in the freezer for a later date. I wouldn’t keep them longer than about 6 months. You don’t want to have dry, funny tasting cakes if you can help it.
With all the ideas out there, all the ingredients you can use and all the colors you can think of, these perfect little treats are a hit anywhere you take them.
Happy baking! Send us some pictures of your creations; we would love to see them!