Today’s Spotlight is on Vanilla Cupcakes.

Cupcakes are small, sweet, snack cakes that are baked in a cup-shaped mold. They are designed to serve one person. Cupcakes are popular because they are portable and portion controlled. They can be decorated with cream, icings, fruit, and candy.

Cupcakes are also known as:

• Fairy cakes (BrE)
• Buns (IrE)

Cupcake can also be used as slang to mean:

• An attractive young woman
• A weak or effeminate man

Vanilla cupcakes are small cakes that are flavored with vanilla. They are typically white or yellow but can be colored with unflavored food coloring. Vanilla cupcakes are delicate, light, and moist, and have a slight dome shape. They can be plain and uncovered, or they can have frostings or glazes.

Vanilla cupcakes are made with:

• Sugar, Eggs, All-purpose flour, Vanilla, Creamed butter, Cake flour, Sour cream, Egg whites.

You can make vanilla cupcakes by:

• Creaming butter and sugar
• Beating in eggs
• Adding flour

You can decorate vanilla cupcakes with:

• Frostings or glazes
• Fillings
• Candy or chocolate sprinkles

Vanilla cupcakes are a good source of carbohydrates, protein, and calcium.

 

History

The first mention of cupcakes was in American Cookery by Amelia Simmons in 1796. The recipe was for a “light cake to bake in small cups”. However, the word “cupcake” wasn’t used until 1828 when Eliza Leslie published Receipts, which included the first cupcake recipe.

The first cupcake recipe was published in 1796 by Amelia Simmons in American Cookery.  The recipe was for a “light cake to bake in small cups”.  However, it was different from the cupcakes we know today. The recipe called for “half a pound sugar, half a pound butter, rubbed into two pounds flour”.

The earliest recipes for cupcakes did not resemble the modern-day cupcakes that are popular at children’s parties. The name “cupcake” comes from how the recipe was measured: 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, and 4 eggs. Before muffin tins were invented, small cakes were baked in individual ramekins.

In 1828, Eliza Leslie published the first recipe for cupcakes in a cookbook called Receipts. Most food historians consider Leslie’s recipe to be the most significant.

In 1919, Hostess introduced the first commercial cupcake, the CupCake. It was a mini version of their chocolate cake with white icing. Cupcakes became commercially available in 1919 under the Hostess brand. In the 1920s, bakers began decorating cupcakes with frosting, with the most popular flavors being chocolate or vanilla. Cupcakes were also first frosted in the 1920s. The most popular flavors were chocolate or vanilla.

The cupcake craze began in 2000 when Sex and the City featured Magnolia Bakery. The bakery was opened in 1996 by Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey. They started making cupcakes with leftover cake batter, which became very popular.

Other businesses that helped start the cupcake craze include:

• Sprinkles – The world’s first cupcake-only bakery. The LA Times called it the “progenitor of the haute cupcake craze”.
• Crumbs – One of the first gourmet cupcake chains. It opened its first location in 2003.

 

Here are some facts about cupcakes:

• Cupcakes gained popularity in the early 2000s when NYC shops like Magnolia Bakery were featured on Sex and the City.
• The record for eating the most cupcakes in the shortest time is 29 cupcakes in 30 seconds.
• The world’s largest cupcake weighed over 1,200 lbs. and had over 2 million calories.
• The most expensive cupcake in the world costs $1,50,000.
• There is a dress made of cupcakes.
• In 2012, 770,000,000 cupcakes were eaten in the US.
• Sprinkles Bakery, the world’s first cupcake-only bakery, developed an ATM that dispenses cupcakes 24 hours a day.

 

Here is a Vanilla Cupcake Recipe for you to try:

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 213g
• 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter 170g, melted.
• 3 egg whites room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract 15mL
• 1/2 cup sour cream 120mL, room temperature
• 1/2 cup whole milk 120mL, warm

 

For the Vanilla Buttercream:

• 2 lb confectioners’ sugar 900g, sifted.
• 1 lb unsalted butter 450g, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp heavy cream
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• 1 tsp whole milk

 

Instructions:

For the Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place cupcake papers in a cupcake pan.
2. Sift the flour, sugar salt, baking soda and powder into a large bowl, and whisk together.
3. Separate the eggs. You can use the yolks for a custard or a batch French buttercream.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until combined. (The batter may be clumpy, do not worry!)
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
6. Distribute the batter evenly into cupcake papers, filling each paper with about 2/3 the way up.
7. Bake for about 18 minutes or until the centers are springy to the touch.

 

For the Buttercream:

1. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the room temperature butter. Add in the confectioners’ sugar in two batches. Add salt, milk, cream and vanilla. Mix until fluffy.
2. Transfer to a piping bag.
3. Pipe a large dollop of buttercream on each cupcake.

 

 

Here are some of the most popular cupcake flavors:

• Chocolate: 60% of people say it’s their favorite flavor.
• Vanilla: 39% of people say they enjoy it.
• Strawberry: 30% of people prefer it.
• Red velvet: 27% of people enjoy it.

Other popular cupcake flavors include Lemon, Coffee, Peanut butter, Carrot cake.

Vanilla is a versatile flavor that can be combined with other flavors.

 

Consumption

In the United States, it’s estimated that over 770 million cupcakes are consumed each year. This makes cupcakes one of the nation’s favorite desserts. Cupcake consumption increased 52% between 2010 and 2011.

On average, cupcakes are consumed 2.66 times every year. 35% of people say they eat cupcakes a few times per year. 7% eat them about once per year, 20% rarely eat them, and 4% never do.

Here’s some information about the cupcake market:

• The global consumption of cupcake boxes is estimated to reach US$ 229.9 million in 2022.
• The cupcake mixes market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 4.70% from 2021 to 2028, reaching US$ 0.34 billion by 2028.
• The global cakes and pastries market size reached US$ 136.1 billion in 2022.
• The global cake market size was valued at US$ 42.94 billion in 2019.

 

Celebrating Vanilla Cupcakes

National Vanilla Cupcake Day is celebrated on November 10th.

National Cupcake Day is celebrated on December 15th.

As the holidays’ approach you may want to consider other cupcakes for various festivities.

Here are some holiday-themed cupcake flavors:

• Peppermint, Mocha, Coconut, Eggnog, White chocolate, Gingerbread.

You can also decorate cupcakes with holiday shapes like:

• Reindeer, Gingerbread men, Mittens, Snowmen, Angels, Snowflakes, Melting snowmen, Poinsettias, Santa hats, Christmas trees, Wreaths.

You can also make Christmas cupcakes with these flavors:

• Hot chocolate with marshmallow buttercream
• Carrot cake
• Christmas light
• Gingerbread with cream cheese frosting
• Snickerdoodle with cinnamon swirl frosting
• Peppermint chocolate

You can store cupcakes in an airtight container on your countertop for a day or in the fridge for 4-6 days.

 

Let us know in the comments if Vanilla Cupcakes are your favorite.