National Cupcake Day

December 15th is National Cupcake Day in the United States.

The cupcake, also known as the fairy cake (which is actually a variant with a "wing" made from the top of the cake) and cup cake, is a small, individual cake that dates back to at least the late 18th century in a recipe in which the capes were baked in small cups - hence the name. Today, baking cupcakes in cups is no longer necessary, as there are baking trays and other implements designed specifically to cook them in, with muffin tins being one of the most commonly used.

They shouldn't be confused with the other cup cake which are named after the measurement of ingredients by volume (a common trait in American recipes), namely cups.

Cupcakes have an advantage over normal cakes in that they are easier to cook evenly and quicker to cook. There is also no problem with cutting them into slices - one cupcake is one portion.

There are a wide variety of different cupcakes, from the most basic to the most extravagant. Modern cupcakes shops and stalls, which typically sell only cupcakes, can practically make them into works of art.

National Vanilla Cupcake Day

November 10th is National Vanilla Cupcake Day in the US.

This is another, really precise, national day, celebrating just an item of food but a specific type of that food item. In this case, vanilla cupcakes.

Cupcakes, which are also known as fairy cakes and patty cakes, are small, individual cakes that were originally baked in cups, hence the name. Nowadays, they have their own baking trays, as well as paper and aluminium "cups", so that there is no need to bake them in a normal cup.

These particular ones are flavoured with vanilla. This could be in the mix, or it could be in a glaze or icing applied to the top of the finished cupcake. Vanilla, true vanilla, comes from an orchid and is the second most expensive spice after saffron due to how labour intensive production of it is.

National Chocolate Cupcake Day

October 18th is National Chocolate Cupcake Day in the United States.

Cupcakes, which are also known as fairy cakes, are small cakes intended to serve one person, and which are therefore usually cooked in something that will just be big enough for that.

The cake dates back to at least the late 18th century. In the 19th century, there were cupcakes and cup cakes. The former were usually baked in cups, although now individual muffin tins and the like are available, and the latter were where the ingredients were measured in cups (the now-standard US practice) instead of being weighed.

Cupcakes are similar to normal cakes (at least layer cakes, anyway, which are the most suitable recipes) in all respects but one - they are smaller. A chocolate cupcake will typically have chocolate (often as cocoa powder) added to the cake mix, giving them a distinctive chocolate colouration. They may also be topped or frosted with more chocolate, in the form of icing or a glaze.