Whether you are having a birthday party or thinking of baking something as quickly as possible, the option of baking cupcakes is always a favorite pastime for many. The origin of cupcakes is believed to date back to 1796: a recipe book by the name of “American Cookery” published by Amelia Simons contained a recipe for a light cake to bake in small cups. Before cupcake pans were introduced, cupcakes were baked in pottery cups and ramekins. The muffin pan is thought to have been introduced around 1880. Since they were created, different flavors have been introduced in the market; chocolate, standard vanilla, red velvet, etc.
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Tips for baking cupcakes
Although baking seems to be an easy task, but keeping in mind certain basic things makes it easier to bake perfect cakes and cupcakes.
Pre heating the oven
You should heat the oven before you start mixing the batter.
Gathering your ingredients
This points out the fact that your butter and eggs should be at room temperature in order for them to work fine.
Lining the cupcake pan
Using cupcake liners is an extremely helpful step. The liners prevent cupcakes from sticking to the pan. For extra non-stick feature, you can spray some oil on them as well.
Sifting the dry ingredients
This step is often ignored; however, it helps in eliminating any lumps in the dry ingredients.
Adding eggs one at a time
Beat the mixture well after adding each egg.
Adding flavors
Flavoring can be added after beating the eggs.
Adding the dry and liquid ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture
When baking cupcakes, special caution must be taken not to over mix the batter as it may turn them dense and less aerated.
Filling the cupcake pan
The ideal choice for pouring the cupcake batter is an ice cream scoop, for equal division of the batter.
Baking cupcakes immediately
Since the oven is already pre heated, it is preferable to bake them immediately.
Checking if it’s done
Usually a toothpick or skewer is used to check the doneness of the cupcakes. If the stick comes out clean, then the cupcakes are ready to be served.
Cooling down before frosting
For ideal application of the frosting, it is advisable to let both the cupcakes and icing cool before use.
Marketing tips for home based or commercial bakers
These days, we get to see many talented bakers out there who bake and sell from home. Also, some have done contracts with bakeries and commercial confectioners. A few marketing tips might come handy for the young talent out there.
Social media use
The use of social media to promote your business can be very beneficial. Apart from posting about your work and art, a useful idea is to share behind-the-scene baking on social media.
Use themes
Monthly themes can be added to the promotional campaign, and items like recipe of the month, flavor of the month can be added.
Promotion packages and deals
A very common yet helpful idea is to introduce deals and packages on weekly/monthly basis. This attracts many customers into buying from you.
Arrange booths and provide services in schools/colleges
This way more people will get introduced to your baking skills and talent.
Fun facts about cupcakes
- In United Kingdom, cupcakes are known as fairy cakes, also called butterfly cakes.
- On August 15, 2009 GourmetGiftBaskets.com broke the world record for largest cupcake ever made. It was 1,224 pounds, 4 foot tall by 10 foot wide
, and had 2 million calories. Consider this: pushups can burn at least 7 calories per minute. That’s a lot of pushups. - Approximately, 770,000,000 cupcakes are eaten in the United State per year. We’re proud to say some of those are made by Sweet Heat.