Muffins vs Cupcakes
Who doesn’t love cupcakes?! These tiny desserts look amazing and are loaded with so much flavor! But let’s look more at the history behind these stunning desserts and what sets them apart from one another! It’s muffins vs cupcakes time!
Cupcakes, also known as fairy cakes, were first mentione in 1828 in E. Leslie’s book called „Receipts”. These miniature cakes were very convenient at that time because the ovens years ago were nothing like the ovens we know now and baking was hard to do without being able to control the temperature. For that reason, smaller cakes were easier to bake. Muffin tins were different too. Called gem pans, they were made from a hard, heavy metal which was heating slow but kept the heat for a longer period of time, leading to a quicker baking. Cupcakes at that time were a huge hit amongts children and that hasn’t changed nowadays either, right?! The only big difference is the wide range of available flavors and food coloring which makes them even more appealing to kids, but also grown-ups, although I don’t necessarily agree with chemicals in desserts.
Cupcake pans come in various sizes: small, medium and large and can be used either simple, greased, or with muffin papers or liners. I definitely prefer the muffin liners because not only the cupcakes are easier to remove from the pan once baked, but they also save me some time spent to grease the pan and wash off the grease afterwards. Paper liners are available in so many different colors and shapes and they are so much fun! Red, yellow, with hearts, stripped, with flowers, shiny and the list can go on – often the liners fit into a theme, depending where you are serving the cupcakes at so keep that in mind when baking muffins or cupcakes!
| Muffins | Cupcakes |
| Muffins are basically quick breads and can be either sweet or savory. | Cupcakes are miniature cakes, often topped with frosting or glazed and decorated with sprinkles, chocolate or other sort of decoration. |
| Muffins are made using the quickbread method – mixing the dry ingredients with the wet ones just until combined. | Cupcakes are made using the creaming method – mixing butter with sugar then adding the remaining ingredients in the order specified by the recipe – or the genoise method and so on. |
| The batter is often lumpy. In fact, mixing the batter until smooth might mean overmixing and the result won’t be as good. | The batter is smooth and creamy, often flavored with delicate spices, like vanilla, lemon or orange. |
| Muffins use less sugar and healthier ingredients, such as seeds, nuts, fruits, whole wheat bread, oatmeal etc. | Cupcakes are sweeter and they resemble a cake. |
| Muffins can have a crisp, streusel topping. | Cupcakes never have a streusel topping as they are topped with whipped cream, buttercream or ganache most of the times. |
| Muffins are often served as a healthy snack or morning meal. | Cupcakes are considered a dessert and they have no place in your morning meal. |
| Muffins can be stored for a longer period of time. | Cupcakes can’t be stored as much time as muffins. |
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