The wedding I went to the past week had something unique in their menu. Instead of serving the guests cake from a three-tiered, white fondant-covered cake, the bride and groom (and their planner) opted for cakes that are easier to serve and easier to stow away for later: they have decided to introduce cupcakes for dessert. Though I have heard of cupcakes being served in formal events nowadays, that wedding was the first time when I saw an elegant cupcake in action (that is, ready to be consumed).

I spent some time scrutinizing the cupcake. It was the blackest, most moist, most luscious chocolate cupcake I have ever tasted. But the taste pales compared with its design. The baker used fondant to decorate the cupcake. It was topped with a flat circle of pale blue fondant (the wedding’s theme was blue) with white fondant flowers placed delicately on top of each one. The light colors contrasted sharply with the color of the cupcake itself, giving it an elegant look that no full-fledged cake could ever hope to achieve. Read More

All-Star Cupcake Frosting Recipes

All cupcake frostings were not created equal. Some are sweet, some with a tang; some have fruits, others are garnished with nuts. Making cupcake frostings in itself is an art – you have to take into consideration how it looks, its consistency, and most especially how it tastes. No wonder a lot of people have experimented on cupcake frostings over the years. The tastes that you can incorporate in frostings are as diverse as the combination of different ingredients to suit your preferences.

Cupcake frostings range from the most basic – such as the basic vanilla or chocolate frosting – to the exotic. Each has its own group of loyal supporters, and each can be delicious in their own right. The main criteria for choosing these cupcake recipes featured below are its taste and how easy it is to prepare. It was not easy to play favorites among cupcake frostings, but for us, these emerged as clear winners: Read More

Sometimes, I ask myself, “What better way to wake up than to the smell of freshly-baked cupcakes mingling with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee?”

And I answer myself, “No, there’s no better way to wake up from that.” Then again, it’s also fun to wake up to the kiss from a beloved. But that’s another story.

Anyway, now that I’m quite old and very stressed (adult life can really get to you) I find that I have less and less time to go out and get myself a half-dozen of my favorite cupcakes from my favorite bakery. But there’s an easy solution: I can make them myself! So with my salary I bought my own pans and ingredients, and I started baking. Read More

Wow your guests with these fantastic Double Chocolate Cupcakes. This an easy cupcake recipe that will make about 12 cupcakes. You dinner guests will be talking about them for the rest of the night.

Ingredients Read More

When a friend invited me over to her house for a slumber party, I excitedly packed clothes, games, and other essentials that I thought would make the party fun. Little did I know that I should have brought a plastic suit and a painted placard that says, “Warning: Clumsy person. Not fit for cupcake decoration.”

When I got there, my friend told me that since her parents were out of town, we were to make our own food. So she hit on what she thought was the perfect idea: Let’s stuff ourselves with cupcakes! She said it would even be more fun if we could decorate them just the way we wanted. And I thought, how hard could it be? Read More

Bake, Frost, Eat

Some people have French fries for their comfort food. Others have ice cream, and still others just buy a huge bar of rich, creamy chocolate when they’re feeling down and out. As for me, I cheer myself up by buying two or three good cupcakes.

It is no secret that we live in a stressful world. If you’re not sleeping, you’re working. If you’re not working, you’re studying. If you’re not doing both, you’re going out of your mind with boredom. For a species that has been around for several thousands of years, humans still can’t seem to find the perfect balance between what s/he can do and what s/he wants to do. The result is stress and skyrocketing psychologist fees, to name a few. Read More

The first memory I had with the humble little cupcake was when I was in daycare. Whenever it is the birthday of one of us kids, the proprietor of the daycare takes it upon herself to bake a vast amount of cupcakes, put a little candle on top of it, and blow it out together with the birthday celebrator as a way of partaking in his or her special day. This is why until today, when those years are way behind me, I have nothing but fond memories for the little cupcake.

What I didn’t know was there was another fun side to cupcakes, and that is having a hand in making them. Cupcake-making with kids is indeed a memorable experience. There was one time when I was staying over at the house of my aunt, and she just happened to be making cupcakes for her visitors later on that night. She invited me to help out, not knowing how clumsy I was in the kitchen. But my aunt, bless her, was very patient with me and never scolded me even if I tipped the bowl of batter over or smeared the counter with colorful icing. She just laughed at my antics and she even gave me my very own cupcake to decorate! Read More

Well this is a very heavily contested area that makes for an interesting debate. The nuances of both a cupcake and muffin are so similar it is sometimes hard to describe them in words.

Some think that muffins are simply ugly cupcakes and some think that cupcakes are simply sugar filled muffins. Lets see if we can go one for one on some define characteristics to help us understand the differences.

• Cupcakes generally come with frosting whereas a muffin does not.
• Cupcakes typically use butter and muffins typically use oil
• Cupcakes tend to be light in texture whereas a muffin will tend to be more dense
• Cupcakes are generally not eaten for breakfast (so call it a muffin if you want it before 11 )
• Cupcakes are as they say, cakes that fit in a cup but a muffin will tend to be bigger and more bread like in texture.

I am sure the debate will go on forever between cupcakes and muffins. To me this is and will remain simply a linguistic challenge to define correctly two similar products that can sometimes only contain slight differences.

All I know is that if I want to think I am eating healthy I will eat a muffin but if I want to feel a bit naughty then I will indulge in a cupcake.

Interested in making muffins? Learn how to make muffins, get tips on making muffins and try some delicious healthy muffin recipes at MakeMuffins.net.

Here is an unusual way to use cupcakes and frosting to make a fantastic treat for the kids. Check it out.

Embedded Video

Ever want to make fantastic cupcakes that will be the talk of the town? We have a recipe that not only is easy to make but it is a little bit different in the method that is used. And the reward for being a little different is the most fluffiest, lightest cupcakes you have ever eaten. Give them a go and see for yourself.

• 2 Cups Self Raising Flour
• 3/4 Cup Caster Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Milk
• 125 Grams Butter – Melted
• 2 Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

1. Preheat oven to 400F (200C) and place cups in trays
2. Place your dry ingredients in a bowl
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well for at least 2 minutes
4. Pour mixture into cups about 1/2 way up
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes until a skewer passed though a cupcake comes out clean
6. Sit to cool on a rack
7. Decorate and enjoy your cupcakes