Why cupcakes are popular

As you probably already know, vanilla is one of the most common flavors found in candies, pastries and various sweet treats. In fact, like chocolate , the taste of vanilla typifies sweet desserts and confections for many of us, so it's not surprising that these cupcakes are so popular and easy to find. Vanilla cupcakes usually consist of a sweet white or yellow cake with a thick layer of creamy white frosting.

They line the shelves of local bakeries and grocery stores and will almost certainly appear on the menu of any specialty cupcake shop you visit -- you can even pick one up at Starbucks. Some say the cupcake is a fleeting trend, but regardless, the vanilla flavor is here to stay.

Indigenous North Americans have been growing pumpkins for approximately 5, years [source: History Channel ]. But how long have they been eating pumpkin cupcakes? Pumpkin-flavored foods are extremely popular during the fall and winter months. The pleasant taste of these large orange fruits appears in everything from pie to beer, so it should come as no surprise that pumpkin cupcakes are all the rage leading up to Halloween and throughout the holidays.

Although they're typically available for just a few months out of the year, pumpkin cupcakes are extremely popular. It's not unusual to find them at parties, grocery stores, bakeries or even on restaurant dessert menus. When sitting down to devour one of these tasty treats, you can count on a pumpkin cake base, but the choice of topping is up to the baker. You might find a traditional, sugary icing that may or may not taste of pumpkin, or the cake might simply be glazed. Cream cheese is a very popular and common topping.

By the time Christmas dinner comes around, if everyone's tired of pumpkin pie, pick up a dozen pumpkin cupcakes and serve them for dessert, instead. There's something comforting and nostalgic about a steaming loaf of banana bread. Banana cupcakes taste a lot like banana bread -- only you probably won't be eating one for breakfast. These surprisingly popular desserts are more common than you might think, and like their pumpkin-flavored cousins, they go well with a variety of toppings and icings.

Anyone who has tried a banana split knows how versatile these mushy yellow fruits can be, so when they're the star flavor in a cupcake, the possibilities are nearly endless. Banana frosting is always a good choice, as is strawberry, raspberry or any other berry-flavored icing. Of course, just about any type of chocolate frosting is delicious when topping these little yellow cakes, but if you're in the mood for something really different, try adding a dollop of whipped cream. It's simple and delicious!

Coffee -flavored cupcakes may sound bizarre to some people, but they make perfect sense when you think about it. After all, there's coffee cake though typically sans icing , ice cream , candy -- even tiramisu contains a distinctive coffee taste.

Coffee made the jump from a pick-me-up drink in the morning to a popular dessert staple a long time ago, so don't be surprised if you see coffee cupcakes sharing shelf space with their chocolate and vanilla counterparts at your local supermarket or bakery.

Coffee is featured prominently in desserts because it goes well with just about anything that tastes sweet. Therefore, there are a myriad of possible frosting options for coffee cupcakes. Chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch, almond, raspberry -- really, any flavor that might go with a cup of joe is a possible contender for the cake or icing part of your cupcake.

Even if you take your cup decaf, you have nothing to fear; decaffeinated grounds can easily be substituted into any coffee cupcake recipe.

Let's face it, just about everyone loves chocolate. And no wonder -- many of the compounds contained in chocolate cause receptors in the brain to chemically induce feelings of pleasure Read more about this in Can chocolate give me a happy high? Chocolate is eaten by people all over the world, and for many of us, dessert and sweet treats are synonymous with the flavor.

Perhaps the main reason that chocolate cupcakes are so popular is because they use a winning combination: chocolate on chocolate. However, just because chocolate cupcakes have chocolate cake and frosting doesn't mean they're all the same. A rich dark chocolate cake spread with creamy white chocolate icing differs significantly from a milk chocolate cake topped with chocolate ganache. It's all chocolate, so you know it's going to be good, but it doesn't all taste the same.

Biting into a lemon cupcake isn't anything like sinking your teeth into an actual lemon. Email Print Share on Tumblr Pocket. Comments Susan Cota says. November 8, at am. Zak Bruss says. Miyuski says. February 27, at am. Grace Savides says. Make a Comment! We know you want to Cancel reply. Don't miss a story! Enter your email address to get the latest in your inbox. As Featured On. Popular television shows like Food Network's Cupcake Wars are showing customers that cupcakes can be creative, indulgent, and high quality, too.

Cupcakes are popular with bakers because they have high profit margins. Because cupcakes are usually priced individually, the price per ounce for a cupcake is slightly more than the price per ounce of a cake. Cupcakes can also be purchased individually for a quick customer snack. If a customer is craving cake, he or she might not want to purchase an entire sheet cake. However, if your bakery offers individual cupcakes, you might be able to snag a hungry customer.

Cupcakes are also beneficial to a bakery's profit margins because they are simple and versatile. A batch of cupcakes can be whipped up in under an hour. Decorating cupcakes is a much simpler skill to learn than decorating a cake.

Cupcakes are also easy to customize and can be a great canvas for flavor experimentation. Making cupcakes requires the ingredients you already have, plus an small additional investment for cupcake pans , cupcake liners , and additional decorating supplies.