Cupcakes


 

What are Cupcakes?

Cupcakes are small, tasty snack cakes that are favored for their portability and portion-control. They are batter cakes baked in a cup-shaped foil or temperature resistant paper.1

A cupcake can be prepared from a variety of formulations and can be decorated with cream and icings. Its composition is not that different from traditional high-ratio layer cakes. The only difference is the cupcakes higher batter viscosity, an important aspect for better processing and baking tolerances.

Recipes

In later years, when the use of volume measurements was more used in home kitchens, these recipes became known as 1234 cakes or quarter cakes. They were called this because they are made up of four ingredients: one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, and four eggs.
mass-produced Hostess CupCake, a typical “snack cake” style of cupcake

A standard cupcake uses the same basic ingredients as standard-sized cakes: buttersugareggs, and flour. Nearly any recipe that is suitable for a layer cake can be used to bake cupcakes. The cake batter used for cupcakes may be flavored or have other ingredients stirred in, such as raisins, berries, nuts, or chocolate chips.

Because their small size is more efficient for heat conduction, cupcakes bake much faster than a normal layered cake.[8] During baking, the volume of the batter initially increases due to the production of carbon dioxide, then decreases upon cooling due to the release of leavening gases.[9]

Cupcakes may be topped with frosting or other cake decorations. Elaborately decorated cupcakes may be made for special occasions.

They may be filled with frosting, fruit, or pastry cream. For bakers making a small number of filled cupcakes, this is usually accomplished by using a spoon or knife to scoop a small hole in the top of the cupcake. Another method is to just insert the pastry bag in the middle of the cupcake. In commercial bakeries, the filling may be injected using a syringe.

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