October 18th, 2016 is National Chocolate Cupcake Day.
The cupcake– because what could be better than a cake for one? Otherwise known as “faerie cakes” or “patty-cakes” in Australia and Great Britain, the daughter of the traditional cake made its debut as early as 1796. Amelia Simmons’ American Cookery made note of “a cake to be baked in small cups,” thus the birth of an American dessert favorite. Cupcake connoisseurs have gone so far as to take the small-scale cake one step further in the mini-cupcake!
“Mini-cupcakes? As in the mini version of regular cupcakes? Which is already a mini version of cake? Honestly, where does it end with you people?”
– Kevin Malone, The Office
Back in the day, cupcakes– AKA “number cakes” or “1-2-3-4 cakes”, referencing the common recipe consisting of 1 cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 3 cups of flour, and 4 eggs– were used as a volume measurement, similarly to “pound cakes”, which were used as a weight measurement.
Through the decades, cupcakes have risen to the top of the list for dessert-favorites, claiming the title of D.C.’s State Dessert (as recently mentioned in “In Honor of Desserts”); however, regulations on cupcakes and similar treats in New York’s schools have lead us to ask, “have cupcakes gone too far?” In 2009, the Education Department effectively banned bake sales in New York City’s public schools in an effort to reduce child obesity. Such a dramatic step taken, we’re prompted to wonder if the call was made rightfully. As a country consuming 770,000,000 cupcakes a year (as of 2012) and counting, it’s possible we could afford to cut a couple cupcake-calories… But, not today!
On this special date dedicated to a dessert that takes the cake, few excuses can be made not to indulge in at least one sweet bite of one the most popular cupcake flavors. Pairing a miniature cake with chocolate? Pinch me! To observe this most delicious of holidays, make sure to treat your taste buds to at least some variant of the chocolate cupcake, whether it takes the form of hot chocolate, toasted caramel chocolate, cream cheese chocolate frosting, or chocolate with pumpkin spice frosting.
After all, in the words of author Anne Byrn, “when you look at a cupcake, you’ve got to smile.”
