A little piece of cupcake history

Most of us know that cupcakes are tasty little cakes for one, which are dressed in paper cases & iced with all sorts of sugary goodness.  What you may not know is that cupcakes date back to around 1796, when they were first mentioned in an American recipe book as cakes baked in small cups. 

Otherwise known as fairy cakes in England or patty cakes in Australia, cupcakes were originally baked in pottery cups or molds, hence the title cup cakes.  The other meaning of cup cake, relates to cakes which are baked using a standard sized cup to measure ingredients rather than scales. 

Cupcake shops first appeared in America the 21st century and as we all know, can be found just about anywhere today.