This additive has been banned from cosmetics, but not from food
We have a woman named Amelia Simmons to thank for giving us the cupcake. She's the author of 'American Cookery,' the first known cookbook published by an American, which appeared in 1796.
During the late 18th century, all cookbooks used in the colonies were British. With the publication of 'American Cookery,' Amelia Simmons used terms known to Americans, and ingredients that were readily available to American cooks.
In her book, she described a recipe for "a light cake to bake in small cups." But Amelia Simmons didn't call it a cupcake.
It was another American author of popular cookbooks, Eliza Leslie, who is credited with dreaming up the description "cupcake."
In her cookbook 'Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats,' first published in 1828, Leslie included the first recipe for what she called a cupcake.
And here are the ingredients, listed as Eliza Leslie wrote them: five eggs; two large teacups 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; and half a cup of ginger.
By the early 20th century, cupcakes were being mass-produced and marketed as "snack cakes."
Their dainty appearance, diminutive size, and balanced shape made cupcakes a favorite with amateur cooks. And they were quick and easy to make.
In fact, cupcakes were so simple to prepare that a child could make them. But then things started to get creative!
Confectioners, however, regarded the humble cupcake as blank canvas on which to create mini works of art.
And it helped that kids loved cupcakes, especially when crafted as a mini birthday cake.
Today, there's a cupcake to suit every occasion, with only the imagination limiting what an artisan cakemaker can come up with.
One of the oldest American brands of cupcake is Hostess CupCakes. These delightful desserts were first sold in 1919, with two cupcakes selling for five cents. Today the most common form of a Hostess CupCakes is a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing and vanilla creme filling topped with a signature line of seven white squiggles.
Besides yummy cupcakes made for special occasions, this edible wonder has earned a special place in American culture.
To celebrate Independence Day, for example, cupcakes are made to reflect a patriotic 4th of July theme.
In 2006, the Milford Baking Company produced a batch of Hoffa hand cupcakes after the FBI, acting on a tip-off, began searching nearby farmland in Milford, Michigan, in the hopes of uncovering the remains of Jimmy Hoffa. The former Teamster's president went missing in 1975 and has not been seen since.
Cupcakes were already being frosted in the 1920s. The most popular options at the time were either chocolate or vanilla frosting.
And the Brits enjoy a love affair with the cupcake, too. In this image provided by Food Network UK, a model wears a dress made out of 300 cupcakes at the Food Network Cupcake Showcase in September 2013 in London.
Sources: (Azidelicious) (Divine Specialties) (HowStuffWorks) (CBS News) (Guinness World Records)
Halloween is another festival that calls on the creative talents of the baker-confectioner. These spooky treats topped with witches' hats really do capture the spirit of the occasion.
Easter provides an occasion where a clever cupcake maker can work on themes associated with the festival, including, of course, cute bunnies and Easter eggs.
Pictured: Mickey Mouse and Goofy help prepare celebratory cupcakes on July 16, 2015, at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. The original Disney theme park was marking 60 years since its July 17, 1955, grand opening.
Kim Kardashian arrives to the launch event for "The Kim Kardashian Vanilla Cupcake" held at Famous Cupcakes Beverly Hills on February 19, 2010, in California.
Cupcakes themed with icing depicting the Union Flag, the US flag, and stars and crowns were made to mark the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018.
Pictured: cupcakes bearing the titles of all the episodes of 'NCIS' at the cake-cutting celebration for the 300th episode on February 9, 2016, in Valencia, California.
'DC Cupcakes,' a reality television series that ran from 2010 to 2013, followed sisters and business partners Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis as they ran Georgetown Cupcake, a small cupcakery located in Washington, D.C. Among other topics, episodes featured new recipes and world-record-breaking cupcake creations (Georgetown Cupcake holds the record for the largest cupcake ever made, according to Guinness World Records).
A portrait of the late Marilyn Monroe, made from 2,100 bite-sized stuffed cupcakes is unveiled in celebration of Monroe's 86th birthday at Madame Tussauds wax museum in New York on May 31, 2012.
Though Leslie can be credited for putting down on paper the first cupcake recipe, there is no single inventor of this sweet treat. And the word cupcake itself was likely a name for a measurement, much like "pound cake."
It's one of the most popular cakes in the world, a palm-sized, frosting-loaded, sweet treat that's as colorful as it is decorative. We've been enjoying cupcakes for decades; in fact, since the turn of the 20th century when these delicious snack-desserts first appeared in bakeries across the United States. Today, the humble cupcake is a favorite with most, from kids to adults alike. But who invented this sugared confection, and how did it achieve such a cult following?
Click through and bite into the history of the cupcake!
The sweet history of cupcakes
Biting into the history of arguably the world's favorite sweet snack
FOOD Baked goods
It's one of the most popular cakes in the world, a palm-sized, frosting-loaded, sweet treat that's as colorful as it is decorative. We've been enjoying cupcakes for decades; in fact, since the turn of the 20th century when these delicious snack-desserts first appeared in bakeries across the United States. Today, the humble cupcake is a favorite with most, from kids to adults alike. But who invented this sugared confection, and how did it achieve such a cult following?
Click through and bite into the history of the cupcake!