The Evolution of Cupcakes

It seems like a lot has changed this day and age. Cassette tapes have disappeared and MP3's and IPod’s rule the music world, we can watch a 3-D movie in the comfort of our own living room, and the power of ecommerce is at our fingertips which allows us to practically buy anything we want without having to step outside our home. Now here is the biggest change of them all, cupcakes now have homes which are called cupcake trees and cupcake towers. With all of the developments that we have seen over the past decade, having the traditional cupcake move a step further is one of the most appreciated by most bakers and homemakers

I remember when I was younger, my grandmother would always have a cute little cupcake waiting for me and she would lay out all of the decorations for cupcakes and let me decorate them and the cakes decorations when I arrived. My family get-to-gather almost always ended up with a white cupcake, with lots of chocolate icing and sprinkles on top, as dessert. Today, the cupcake has evolved from the usual white cake flavor to the more elaborate forms, such as red velvet cupcakes, carrot cake cupcakes and many, many more.

While the housing and the flavor of the cupcakes have improved over the years so has the cupcake accessories used in cupcake preparation and decoration. Some new found and some improved, these cupcake accessories have made the cupcake more interesting to cook and decorate.

Cupcake Wraps and Cupcake Liners

Cupcake liners or round sheets of thin paper, such as parchment paper, are used to provide a thin barrier between the cake and the cupcake pan. The job of a cupcake liner is to keep the cupcakes moist and soft and also make it easier to remove the cupcakes from the pan after they have finished cooking and cooling.

White paper used to be the main style of cupcake liner available. Eventually they came out with plain colored cupcake liners that you could purchase for events such as birthday's and anniversaries. A couple years later, another change came when colorful paper liners with designs that can match your party theme were made available. If it's Spiderman or Hello Kitty you want, finding the paper liner that fits your needs is no longer a problem.

Not only have the cupcake liners evolved into works of art, now the big trend is to wrap your cooked and decorated cupcake with cupcake wraps. Cupcake wraps are the new chic in the cupcake industry. Cupcake wraps are easy to handle and can make even the most novice bakers' cupcake look like a designer cupcake out of a couture cupcake shop.

Cupcake Towers

Cupcakes used to be baked and placed on a platter or maybe even a cake plate for display. They weren't displayed long in my house, as I remember as soon as they were baked, they were eaten. There was no time for fancy decorations and displays.

Nowadays, cupcakes are the centerpiece of the dessert table for many events. The newest trend in, most would say, the biggest event that every girl dreams of, are cupcake wedding cakes. Cupcake trees and cupcake towers are being used as wedding cupcake stands in order to display hundreds of elegantly decorated cupcakes replacing the traditional wedding cake in many weddings today. The guests of the party can even take their own cupcake home with them in specially made cupcake containers.

Depending on how large the event may be, cupcake towers can have 3 to 7 tiers at an average. Most of them can be easily taken down, washed and stored for future use while others are disposable so the host doesn't have to worry about cleaning the cupcake tower and storing after the party. The disposable towers are usually cheaper than the reusable ones; however, if you plan on having several events during the year, it would be beneficial to invest in a little higher priced, reusable tower that would really save you money in the long run.

Cupcakes have always held a place in my heart and remind me of the simple things in life I enjoy. With that said, cupcake accessories available on the market, make the simple things, a little more enjoyable.

There are many places to get ideas for cupcakes online. You can find an online cupcake store or cupcake blog that will have information about baby shower cupcake ideas, novelty birthday cakes and decorations for cupcakes.

Remember, this day and age, you can find anything you would want to know about cupcakes online.