This is perhaps the subject of most inquiries of cupcake artisans. My stock answer is the sugar and fat ratio; cupcakes have more of both. Also, in my mind anyway, cupcakes are not as leavened and have a finer crumb as a result of thorough mixing, whereas muffins are quick mixed and have a bigger more crumbly crumb. As for the history of it, well, in my years of disciplined research I have determined that no one really freaking knows.

The invention of baking powder in the 19th century gave way to both muffins and cupcakes. They were both just little cakes. It seems that cupcakes may have started out the same way pound cake did. That is, it was the amount of flour, sugar, fat in the batter - 1 cup. It wasn’t until the “health food craze” of the 60s that muffins became thought of as a healthier cake.

And so it is our generation’s ideas that will determine culinary history, will we let muffins turn into cupcakes?

I hope youse can make it.

Here is the info from the Moo Shoes website. It should be a really fun night. And hey, if nothing else, free cupcakes!

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World Release Party and MooShoes' 5th Year Anniversay

So, what's better than an event that revolves around vegan cookbook authors, cupcakes, and birthdays? Nothing! That's why you have to join us for this amazing event we are co-sponsoring with Satya Magazine.

On Thursday, October 26 at 7:30, we will celebrate both the release of Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's cupcake cookbook Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes and MooShoes' 5th year anniversay. There will be a cupcake demo, a book signing, and food and beverages on hand.

The event is scheduled to begin at 7:30, and we hope to see many of you there. You can get a copy of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World at MooShoes, either in the store or online. There will also be copies available for purchase at the event.

FREE
October 26, 7:30, MooShoes, 152 Allen St (at Rivington).
Info: 718-832-9558; satya@satyamag.com.

Expect mucho cupcako porno nexto weeko because we have events up the wazoo.

On Saturday we’ll be doing a food demo at the Boston Veg Food Fest and afterwards cupcakes for the masses! We’ll have a huge mini cupcake tower. I mean a huge cupcake tower filled with mini cupcakes because “mini cupcake tower” sounds redundant. And we will be handing them out to you, the consumer. Talk about value added savings.

Here’s the info. 

Scroll down until you see our smiling emo faces.

Here are some really great Halloween cupcake decorating instructions, a zombie zoo!

Marzipan is a delicious and vegan way to dress up cupcakes, and it goes well with either chocolate or vanilla.

But please remember that if you choose to adopt a purebred cupcake, make it a rescue.

From universal remonster in Champaign, IL.

Maple cupcakes with candied walnuts are perfect for fall. Here is mine all dolled up and ready to go to the New Jersey Vegtoberfest picnic. Does everyone have plates shaped like leaves? It seems like the entirety of the internet has the exact same plates as me.

While there I discovered a non-cupcake object (NCO) that was so luscious that I have to post about it. They’re called “Potato Candy” but really they taste just like macaroons, you would never guess that there was potato in it. They were brought by Debya who apparently got the recipe years ago from Emiko at Food Fight.

Potato Candy

• 3/4 cup mashed potatoes — cold
• 4 cups confectioner’s sugar (make your own confectioner’s/powdered sugar: 1 cup raw sugar + ¼ cup cornstarch in yo’ food processor)
• 4 cups shredded, not sweetened coconut
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 squares baking chocolate (sweet or semisweet)

Mix potatoes and confectioner’s sugar. Stir in coconut, vanilla and salt. Blend well. Press into one large or two small pans, so candy will be 1/2 inch thick. Melt chocolate over hot water, do not let water boil. Pour chocolate on top of candy, cool and cut in squares. For variations, make haystacks by forming white mixture into cones 1 inch high. Allow to stand uncovered for 20 minutes. Dip base of each cone in melted chocolate. Place on waxed paper until chocolate hardens. Yields about 100 haystacks (I gave up after 60).

Doggy and Smores Cupcakes from sweetlyvegan in Florida.

“A googolplex is precisely as far from infinity as is the number 1… no matter what number you have in mind, infinity is larger.” - Carl Sagan

Webly was a tester for Vegan Cupcakes so she has a lot of cupcake photos over on her blog Fueled by Popcorn. The one that struck me the most was this vanilla one with lemon frosting, baked in an ice cream cone.

Baking your cupcakes in ice cream cones is one sure-fire way of getting attention, but there isn’t anything about it in Vegan Cupcakes, most of all because it’s sort of a crapshoot. But I think it’s a safe enough subject to discuss from the comfort of the internet.

I’m not sure if this is indeed what Webly did, but the general rules are:

1) Use vegan wafer cones with a flat bottom. “Let’s Do Organic” is one brand that makes them.

2) For support, wrap a ring of tinfoil around the cones, close to the bottom, and place them in the cupcake tin so that they stand up straight. The wrapped ice cream cones should fit snugly into their place.

3) Fill cones less than 2/3rds full. The greatest danger is that the batter will spill over and ruin everything. The second greatest danger is that the batter will seep through the cone, and so the less batter you use the less heavy it will be thus less chance of that happening.

4) And finally, if the batter looks too liquid-y, add another handful of flour. The more watery the batter the more chance it has of seeping through the cone, so defy the recipe and make the batter a little thicker, if necessary. The batter shouldn’t quickly drip from a spoon, it should be slow and lava-like.

Here’s a recipe that discusses how to do it, but I think I may have explained it a little bit better. In any case, it’s still a cute recipe.

Because kids plus vegan cupcakes cancel out all the world’s evil. These belong to dollydlux, who usually shares yummy produce recipes with us at Project Produce. Sometimes after cooking all those veggies you just need to kick back and relax with a cupcake. Behold Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream!

Another vegan cupcake blog, but just for cupcakes from VCTOW. So we’re not too worried.

This is the Elvis.