Sunday, November 7, 2010

What is the difference between a Muffin and a Cupcake?

 
I continually get asked what the difference is between cupcakes and muffins.  Here is the best answer I have. 

A muffin is a quick bread that is baked in the shape of a cupcake.  The batter can also be baked in a loaf pan, but not in a cake pan (would not bake properly).  A muffin is usually does not have icing, however, some do have an icing/glaze and Muffins are normally eaten mainly for breakfast.

A cupcake is a cake batter that is baked as "little" cakes.  Cupcakes have frosting on them, are much sweeter (higher sugar and sweet ingredients ratio than muffins (which have a higher four ratio) and are often eaten as dessert.

In the end, they both end up making our bums and tummies bigger :-(  But they are also worth it :-)
 
There you have it :)   What do you think?  Do you agree or do you have a different definition?

2 comments:

  1. Now I can dead at peace. Thanks for the differences.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous27/9/15 15:55

    Not muffins as I know them. I have some in my kitchen now - they are flat, round and made of a bread mixture.I have known muffins all my life in the United Kingdom (I am 66) and they are still widely available. They are, of course, called muffins, not English muffins. American muffins (the things like cup cakes) have only appeared in this country relatively recently, through American coffee shops, fast food chains and the like, and like so many other American terms ‘muffins’ is now taking over from its original meaning here and edging out our terminology almost altogether. I did some research on muffins and found that they date back at least to the 10th century. How did Americans come to give this name to a more recent product that is entirely different?As I said, in England they are known as muffins, not English muffins. I have heard that what Americans call ‘English Muffins’ are in fact crumpets, also very popular. Crumpets and muffins are about the same size, but that is the only similarity. Crumpets are made with a sort of batter mixture. They are very light and have lots of holes in the top side (good for letting butter soak into). Muffins are made with a bread mixture. They are heavier and more dense than crumpets. They do not have holes in them.

    ReplyDelete