Cupcake
A cupcake is a small, individually portioned cake baked in a paper or foil liner. It is often topped with frosting.
Cake batter: A pourable or spoonable mixture of flour, liquid, fat, eggs, and leavening baked into cake. Its proportions and mixing determine a cupcake’s crumb, rise, and tenderness.
Creaming (cooking): A baking method that beats fat and sugar together to incorporate air. Many cupcake recipes use creaming to create a fine, tender crumb.
American baking: The traditions, ingredients, and techniques of baking developed in the United States. Cupcakes became a familiar form within American home and commercial baking.
Birthday cake: A cake served to mark a person’s birthday, often decorated with candles and icing. Cupcakes provide individually served portions at birthday celebrations.
Cupcake liner: A small paper or foil cup placed in a baking pan to hold cake batter. It shapes the portion and helps separate the baked cake from the pan.
Gluten: A network of proteins formed when wheat flour is hydrated and mixed. Excessive mixing can strengthen gluten and make cupcakes tough.
Eliza Leslie: An American cookbook author whose 1828 book included an early recipe called “Cup Cake.” Her published recipe is an early documented use of the cupcake name.
Cake decorating: The practice of ornamenting cakes with icing, piping, sugar art, and other edible decorations. Cupcake surfaces are compact canvases for piping and other decorative techniques.
Frosting: A sweet, spreadable or pipeable topping used to decorate and flavor cakes and other baked goods. It is the customary topping that gives many cupcakes their distinctive appearance.
Baking powder: A dry chemical leavening mixture that releases carbon dioxide when moistened and heated. It can lift cupcake batter without relying on yeast.