Individually portioned confections have a long and venerable history. Diminutive iterations of popular traditional baked goods are particularly enjoyed when portability and ease of service is appreciated. Cookies, tea cakes, petits fours and cupcakes all spring from the basic same idea.
There seem to be two theories about the origin of recipes titled "cupcake:"
1. The name comes from the amount of ingredients used to make the cake (a cupful of flour, a cupful of butter, cupful of sugar etc.).
---This is very similar to how pound cake was named. In fact, the recipes for cup cakes and pound cakes include pretty much the same ingredients and would have produced similar results.
2. These cakes were originally baked in cups. ---Old cookbooks also sometimes mention baking cakes in small cups. These cups may very well have been earthenware tea cups or other small clay baking pans. These would easily accomodated baking level oven heat and produce individual-sized cakes. This is not the same thing as contemporary metal cupcake pans, enabling cooks to bake a dozen small cakes in one fell culinary swoop.
Which is true? Both! We have historical evidence (old cookbooks) that support both theories. This food historian agrees:
"Cupcake The name given in Britain and generally in the USA to any small cake baked in a cup-shaped mould or in a paper baking cup. In the USA the term may have originally have been related to the American measuring system, based upon the cup."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson (p. 234)
Small pound cakes baked in individual-portion pans were quite popular in the 18th century. "Queen Cakes" are a good example of these. Food historians tell us this recipe evolved from lighter fruitcakes baked in England.
"Queen cake. A small rich cake made from a creamed mixture with currants, lemon zest, and sometimes chopped almonds, baked as individual cakes. They have been popular since at least the 18th century. Now usually baked in paper cases, traditionally little fluted moulds in fancy shapes were used; Eliza Acton (1845) said that heart-shaped moulds were usual for this mixture."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 644)
20th century cupcake variations are endless. They range from simple to sublime. Baking papers come in designer prints. Individual portions and easy clean-up make cupcakes perennial favorites for classroom birthdays and bake sales. A survey of American cookbooks reveals the interest in cupcakes, as food in their own right, has grown over the years.
Historic cupcake recipes:
[1796] "A light Cake to bake in small cups. Half a pound sugar, half a pound butter, rubbed into two pounds flour, one glass wine, one do. [glass] Rosewater, two do.[glass] Emptins, a nutmeg, cinnamon and currants."
---American Cookery, Amelia Simmons, 2nd edition (p. 48) [1828]
"Cup cake.
5 eggs.
Two large tea-cups full of molasses.
The same of brown sugar, rolled fine.
The same of fresh butter.
One cup of rich milk.
Five cups of flour, sifted.
Half a cup of powdered allspice and cloves.
Half a cup of ginger.
Cut up the butter in the milk, and warm them slightly. Warm also the molasses, and stir it into the milk and butter: then stir in, gradually, the sugar, and set it away to get cool. Beat the eggs very light, and stir them into the mixture alternately with the flour. Add the ginger and other spice, and stir the whole very hard. Butter small tins, nearly fill them with the mixture, and bake the cakes in a moderate oven."
---Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats, By a Lady of Philadelphia [Eliza Leslie](p. 61)
[1833]
"Cup cake. Cup cake is about as good as pound cake, and is cheaper. One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, and four eggs, well beat together, and baked in pans or cups. Bake twenty minutes, and no more."
---American Frugal Housewife, Mrs. Child (p. 71)
[1871]
"Cup cake. Half a cupful butter and four cupsful of sugar creamed together, five well-beaten eggs, one teaspoonful of [baking] soda dissolved in one cupful of cream (or milk), six cupsful of flour, nutmeg, one teaspoonful of dry cream of tartar."
---Mrs. Porter's New Southern Cookery Book, Mrs. M.E. Porter (p. 255)
Ingredients for Basic Cupcakes Recipe
1 cup milk
4 cups flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
Instructions
Cream the butter and sugar.
Add the eggs well beaten, then the milk.
Add flour sifted with baking powder and stir thoroughly.
Bake in buttered and floured cup tins in a hot oven for about 25 minutes.
Once the cupcakes are completely cool, they can be covered with any kind of frosting or topping.
Praline Cupcakes Recipe
Praline cupcakes are made with butter, vanilla, and pecans and have a brown sugar pecan praline topping.
INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Praline Topping
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
PREPARATION:
Cream softened butter in mixing bowl. Sift in flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add about half of the milk and the egg; mix until flour is thoroughly moistened. Beat for 2 minutes. Add remaining milk and the vanilla; beat 1 minute longer.
Stir in chopped pecans. Place paper baking cups in muffin cups and fill about 1/2 full with the batter. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes, or until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched with finger.
Combine melted butter and brown sugar; spoon over hot cupcakes. Place a pecan half in the center of each; return to oven and bake 5 minutes longer. Makes 18 praline cupcakes.
Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
1/2 C. shortening
1 t. salt
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 C. buttermilk
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 oz. red food coloring
1 T. vinegar
4 T. cocoa
1 t. baking soda
2 1/4 C. flour
Cream shortening and sugar in mixer bowl. Add eggs and beat until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl mix red food coloring and cocoa. Add to sugar mixture. Beat well. Add flour and salt alternately with buttermilk and vanilla. Continue beating. Add vinegar and soda. Mix until well blended.
Fill cupcake holders 2/3 full. Bake 18 - 20 minutes at 350°F. Cool.
Frosting:
1 1/4 C. milk
3 T. corn starch
1 C. sugar
1 C. shortening
red food coloring. Add a few drops at a time until you get a color you like.
Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup milk. Add remaining cup milk and cook over medium heat until thick. Pour into shallow plate, cover with plastic wrap so crust will not form, refrigerate until cold. Cream sugar and shortening, add vanilla, mix until very light. Add cooled thickening a spoonful at a time and continue mixing until consistency of whipped cream.
Decorate with Candy Hearts.
Yield: 18 Cupcakes
