Cupcakes, muffins and cupcakes are very similar in appearance. They all look like small round portioned pies. And the main composition of the products used is the same - flour, eggs, butter, soda or baking powder. How are they different?

Method of preparing cupcakes

Many consumers refer to all three types of baked goods as cupcakes. But this is not true. Technological process preparation is different despite the same products used.

So, a cupcake is a sweet product that is baked in small round shapes, often paper, or in a large form with a hole in the middle. The dough is similar to a sponge cake, but looser and moister, as butter is added to it. The cupcakes are fluffy with lots of bubbles, which is achieved by beating the egg mixture, just like with sponge dough.

Cupcakes are taller in appearance than muffins or cupcakes and are usually not decorated other than frosting. Dried fruits, berries, nuts, and citrus zest are often added to the dough. Sometimes they put it inside the cupcakes before baking. a small amount of fillings such as jam or custard.

Easy mini cupcake recipe

Beat 150 grams of butter and sugar with a mixer until fluffy, 2 tsp. vanilla sugar. Add 3 eggs to the mixture, beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix sifted flour (1.5 cups) and 1 tsp. baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture gradually, stirring gently with a silicone spatula. Place the batter in the molds so that at least a third of the volume remains empty, as the muffins will rise well during baking. Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for 20-25 minutes.

This basic recipe for cupcakes. For variety, you can add raisins or dried apricots, candied fruits, nuts, fresh or canned berries. Add them to egg mixture, before mixing the dough with flour. Wet ingredients (steamed raisins, cherries) own juice) need to be rolled in flour in advance so that they are evenly distributed.

Differences between a muffin and a cupcake

Muffins originate from England. Their main difference is that they are less porous and not too sweet, as they were usually eaten for breakfast. The dough for them is not whipped, but mixed, and baking powder is necessarily added to it for rising.

Most often used as a filling fresh berries and pieces of fruit, but it is also acceptable to use the same ingredients as in muffins. Salty fillings are typical for muffins.

Breakfast muffins recipe

Chop 80 grams of ham and cheese into cubes. Mix two chicken eggs with a fork with salt and pepper (a pinch each). Pour in 100 ml of milk, add 75 grams of butter room temperature, stir. Add 1.5 cups of flour and 1.5 tsp to the mixture. baking powder, mix until smooth. The last step is to add the cheese and ham and mix lightly. Spoon the dough into the molds, leaving a little room for rising. Bake at 180°C for 25-30 minutes. Serve hot.

Cupcakes – mini cakes with decorations

The dough for cupcakes consists of the same ingredients as for muffins and cupcakes. The fundamental difference is that cupcakes are necessarily decorated on top with cream, confectionery sprinkles, glaze, and figures made from frozen protein mass. That is why they are called small cakes.

The main task of the cook when preparing cupcakes is to prepare a cream that will hold its shape well and not slide off the “cap” of the cupcake.

Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

For the dough, in a saucepan, mix half a glass of milk, a cup of sugar, 150 g of butter and 4 tbsp. l. cocoa. Let the mixture boil and cool. Add 2 eggs to the cooled mixture and mix. Add 1.5 cups of flour mixed with 2 tsp. baking powder, knead. The dough should not be thick. Fill small molds to two-thirds of the volume, bake at 180°C for 20-25 minutes.

For the cream, mix 4 tbsp. l. l sour cream, cocoa and sugar in a saucepan and place on moderate heat. Mix. As soon as bubbles appear and the mass begins to boil, add 25 g of butter, remove from heat and cool completely.

Cover the cooled cupcakes with cream using pastry syringe with a star attachment. You can sprinkle with ground nuts or almonds to taste.

It’s nice to please your loved ones with crumbly portioned baked goods for tea and coffee, for example, cupcakes and muffins, which are prepared with chocolate, fruits, dried fruits, nuts and berries. Hot tea and warm fragrant cupcakes- the best start or end of the day, a symbol of family comfort and home warmth. It is no coincidence that the British are so sensitive to the traditional “fife-o-clock” tea break, during which you can have a snack, chat and forget about important matters for a while. Cupcakes were baked already in ancient Rome, and muffins are a later culinary invention, which at first were baked goods for the poor, because soft buns With various additives prepared from scraps of the “master’s” dough and products from the master’s table. Many people consider muffins to be small cupcakes, but there are many differences between them, which we will talk about today.

What is the difference between muffins and cupcakes?

And the cupcakes are absolutely perfect. various desserts, although outwardly they seem to be “relatives,” muffins are always small, and cupcakes can be large. Cupcakes are baked in round and rectangular shapes, sometimes they have a through hole and resemble a ring. There are two types of muffins - traditional English ones yeast dough and improved American ones that resemble classic ones sponge cakes. Muffins and cupcakes also differ in the technology of kneading dough - muffins are prepared with a large amount of eggs, sugar and flour, and the dough for muffins is lighter and low-calorie, although these confectionery products are heavier in weight than cupcakes.

Speaking about the difference between muffins and cupcakes, it is also worth mentioning small cakes that are very similar to them -. Cupcakes are of American origin and are a small cake in paper form. This name comes from the way this pastry is prepared: in past centuries, cakes were often baked in ceramic cups or molds the size of a teacup - hence the name “cup cake”, literally “cup cake”. Cupcakes are very easy to distinguish from muffins and cupcakes: just like cakes, they are decorated with cream, icing, cream, mastic and much more. Elegant mini-cakes are frequent guests at children's parties!

All muffins are prepared using butter, which is ground with sugar, and only then eggs or yolks are added to the mixture. At this stage, sour cream or kefir is added to the dough, and then the mass is whipped into lush foam. Gradually, dry ingredients are introduced into it - flour, vanilla, baking powder and the necessary spices. It is best to use cinnamon, cardamom, a little almond flour, lemon and orange zest which will make the cake especially delicious. Even the simplest cake recipe is based on this sequence of introducing ingredients, although many bakers add whipped whites to the dough only after flour to make the sponge cake more fluffy. It is acceptable to replace eggs with yolks if you want to get more delicate pastries, and so that the cake does not go stale for a long time, starch or ground nuts are used instead of part of the flour.

The main secret of making tasty and airy ones is that the dough is whipped very carefully and quickly. Try mixing it from top to bottom using a whisk or blender - the dough should have a very similar consistency. thick sour cream. Homemade cupcake it will be much tastier if you add raisins, dried apricots, prunes, pieces of fruit, poppy seeds, nuts or candied fruits, which are added after beating the butter-egg mixture. The cupcakes are baked in a well-heated oven for an hour at a temperature of at least 200°C; in a multicooker, the sponge cake can be baked in 35-45 minutes, depending on the recipe, and readiness, as always, is checked with a dry wooden stick. It is not recommended to open the oven during baking and move the pan, since sudden temperature changes and careless movements will cause the sponge cake to settle. Take your time to remove the cupcake from oven- wait until it cools down, otherwise it will be difficult to remove from the mold. Ready cupcake can be decorated with fruits, berries, sprinkled powdered sugar, pour over chocolate or sweet syrup. In each country, preparing cupcakes has its own nuances. In the Bahamas, dried fruits and nuts for baking are soaked in rum; in Switzerland they like it light and sweet cupcake, generously flavored with nuts and candied fruits, in England the cupcake is covered with glaze or marzipan, and in the USA it is soaked in cognac or aromatic liqueur. On our website you can find something that will definitely please your family and friends!

How to make muffins at home

If everything is clear with cupcakes, then for many they seem unusual pastries, so not all housewives know how to cook them. However, in reality everything is not so complicated. The main difference between muffins is that the dry and wet ingredients for the dough are mixed separately, with the liquid being poured into the dry mixture, and not vice versa. All ingredients are kneaded well, but not beaten, and some of the lumps in the dough can (and even should) be left for piquancy. Usually added to muffin batter less oil and sugar and more liquids (milk, kefir, yogurt, eggs), so they turn out to be more dietary. Ready-made muffins are mini-muffins made from a lumpy crumb with large air bubbles and a thick crust, but they are stored for no more than a day, so eat the muffins fresh, cut in half and always with a piece of butter - they are very tasty!

There are traditional muffins with fruits and nuts and “non-canonical” ones, which are prepared with mozzarella, mushrooms, vegetables, herbs, oatmeal, meat, fish, in general, with any products that you have in the refrigerator. Bake in small silicone molds, filling them two-thirds full, and grease only the bottom of the mold with oil. This is another little trick that will help the dough rise well and form a nice round top.

The dough is kneaded for a few minutes, and the muffins are baked for a quarter of an hour, without suffering from drafts and movements in the oven. Muffins - perfect quick breakfast for the family: appetizing, nutritious and satisfying. They are convenient to take with you on picnics and trips, serve as a lunch snack, for evening tea and a snack.

If you haven't tried making muffins or cupcakes at home yet or don't know how to prepare them correctly, then it's time to try your hand at this delicious experiment. Enjoy your meal!

When ordering dessert in a cafe, you can find yourself in a situation where the waiter brings you something that is not what you wanted. But you will be wrong, not the employee. Any self-respecting establishment has a wide variety of sweet dishes. For example, you can order a muffin, or you can order a cupcake. Many people think that they are the same thing, but there are still differences in taste. What exactly is the difference between muffins and cupcakes? We will give a comprehensive answer to this question in this article.

What is a cupcake?

Since childhood, we have all become accustomed to eating our mother’s baked goods. Today women may not stand at the stove, but before there was no opportunity to buy sweets. What is the difference between muffins and cupcakes? To understand this, you need to consider each dessert separately.

A cupcake is a confectionery product that is made according to a sponge cake recipe. It contains flour, butter, eggs, milk and yeast. As additives, confectioners add nuts and raisins to the dough. Not so long ago, muffins began to be made with jam, boiled condensed milk and other sweet filling. Their structure is loose due to the fact that confectioners stir the dough for a long time using a mixer. Moreover, you should first beat the whites with sugar, and then add other ingredients. Muffins are usually served after lunch, with tea.

What is a muffin?

Cupcakes became famous in Russia at the end of the 18th century. But the word muffin came into the vocabulary of our compatriots relatively recently. This confectionery product appeared in America. It was there that confectioners stopped beating the dough for a long time and began to make it more liquid. By departing from the classical canons of preparing sponge cakes, people managed to create less porous and more buttery baked goods.

Muffins are made in silicone molds. Thanks to this, the culinary product can be easily removed without damaging the soft edges. These buns were perfect for breakfast. After all, most often they are baked either without filling at all and spread with butter on top, or made with meat or vegetable fillings. What is the difference between muffins and cupcakes? Berries and fruits were often added to the first culinary product, if it was baked with a sweet filling. Fruits come into cupcakes only in the form of jam, preserves or candied fruits.

What is the difference between muffins and cupcakes?

Experienced housewife view culinary product will be able to determine not only by its taste, but also by its appearance. How can the average person understand the difference between muffins and cupcakes?

• Muffins have a dense structure. Cupcakes are more porous, airy and, as they say, melt in your mouth.
• Americans grease the muffin with butter to make it fattier and tastier. Such operations are not performed with cupcakes.
• Muffins contain more liquid. Milk, eggs and melted butter form the base of the dough. Flour is added to give it a viscous consistency.
• Traditionally it is believed that a muffin is portioned dessert. But cupcakes recently became small. Previously, this type of baking was more like a sponge cake that did not need to be greased with cream. Accordingly, it had the shape of a full-fledged pie or a loaf of bread.
• Muffins are less sweet. Even if they contain fruits and berries, less sugar is added to the dough than to muffins.
• Muffins are most often baked without filling. And if the pastry chef does add it, then most likely it will be meat or vegetables. Cupcakes are made only with sweet filling: raisins or jam.

Muffin recipe

There will be no hassle in preparing this dessert. What are mini-cupcakes and muffins made from? To prepare them you will need: cottage cheese, butter, sugar, flour, eggs and baking powder.

In what order should the products be mixed? First you need to combine 100 g of butter with 150 g of cottage cheese. Then you need to add 150 g of sugar to this mass. While stirring, you need to add two eggs to the dough one by one. Then you should gradually add 150 g of flour and 1 tsp. baking powder. When the dough becomes homogeneous, it can be considered ready.

Place future muffins in silicone molds and put them in the oven for half an hour. Once the dessert is ready, you can sprinkle it with powdered sugar or decorate it with whipped cream. And today it is fashionable to decorate culinary products with various figures made of mastic and chocolate.

Cupcake recipe

To prepare a classic culinary product you will need: sugar, butter, eggs, salt, flour, baking powder.

Homemade raisin cake is prepared as follows. Mix 1.5 cups of flour with half a teaspoon of salt and the same amount of baking powder. Then you should melt the butter. Now you need to beat 4 eggs with 250 grams of sugar. This process should be continued until the formation thick foam. Now you need to pour 250 g of melted butter into the egg mass. Whisk all the liquid ingredients a little until they are well mixed. After this, the dry mixture should be gradually introduced.

If desired, you can add raisins, nuts or candied fruits to the cupcake. When the dough is ready, pour it into a greased form. Bake the cake in a well-heated oven for half an hour. After the product has cooled, you can sprinkle it with powdered sugar.

For a person with no experience in culinary arts, these two sweet baked goods may seem exactly the same. They have the same size, sometimes their tastes are very similar, but still they are different. To know exactly what their difference is, you need to familiarize yourself with the method of their appearance and recipe.

Differences between sweets

To say that there is no difference in muffins and cupcakes is wrong. The process of making them is quite simple. But for baking these delicacies they use absolutely different ingredients. This can only be understood by comparing them by mass. The muffin is slightly heavier than the cupcake. This is due to the fact that the recipe for their preparation requires more eggs and dairy products. Judging by the consistency of the dough obtained as a result of kneading, you can see that it is softer and airier than mass prepared for baking cupcakes. The most important difference between them is that the cupcake is made only in the form of sweet pastries, while the muffin can also be savory.

Anyone can prepare muffins and cupcakes, because this process does not require any special skills.

How to make cupcakes?

Cupcakes have their origins in Russian cities of the eighteenth century. It was then that this dessert was first prepared, but its shape was similar to a pie. They were prepared in new year holidays and Christmas Eve, were also made for wedding day. Over time, their sizes became smaller and their shapes became more varied.

Any recipe has constant ingredients: flour, sugar, butter and eggs. To obtain the dough, these components are mixed using a mixer or whisk. Then only the cook's imagination operates. Any ingredients can be used as a filling, and the external image can remain unchanged, or the cupcake can be decorated on top various types glaze. This type of baked goods contains a large number of calories, which makes it dangerous for those with a sweet tooth.

Cupcake recipes

To prepare the cake batter you will need the following ingredients

• 3 chicken eggs.
• 100 gr. cheap butter or table margarine.
• 1 cup wheat flour.
• 1 teaspoon baking powder.
• Granulated sugar - half a glass.

The entire process of preparing the base takes place in stages:

• Whipping chicken eggs with the addition of granulated sugar.
• Add table margarine or butter of a pliable consistency.
• Added to this mixture Wheat flour and baking powder.
• The resulting mixture is stirred until smooth.
• Filling is added to the resulting dough.
• Fill out the prepared forms with the resulting dough.
• The oven needs to be baked for 15-20 minutes at medium temperature.

Method for preparing muffins

This type of baked goods was first produced in America and was intended to feed people of low social status. Then their preparation was noticed in Britain, where they were prepared in the form round flatbreads. This recipe came to Russia relatively recently, and a revolution took place in the world confectionery. Muffins have become very popular. They were made only in portions and had small sizes, which is still happening today.

Their production is based on yeast or biscuit dough. Due to the high-temperature baking process, you may notice a small flaw - the top crust is often cracked. Often used for filling various fruits, as well as sweets and nuts. Upper layer decorated with various types of glaze or simple sugar-based powder.

The preparation of the base for this pastry is a little different. First the baker must mix only the dry ingredients, then the liquids are mixed separately and finally everything is mixed together, but only manually without application kitchen appliances. There are two types of muffins: the first was made in England, and was based on dough prepared with yeast, the second in America and the cooking process differed only in that leavening agents were used. This pastry, unlike cupcakes, does not have large quantity calories, which makes it more in demand and consumed.

How to make a classic version of muffins?

You will need the following products:

• Wheat or corn flour - 2 tbsp.
• Granulated sugar - half a glass.
• Cow's milk - 3/4 tbsp.
• Chicken egg - 1 pc.
• Vegetable oil - 1/3 tbsp.
• Table salt - 0.5 tsp.
• Vanillin - to taste.
• Baking powder - 3 tsp.

How to cook?

• Place the dry ingredients in one bowl.
• Mix in a separate container liquid ingredients.
• Continuously stirring the liquid base, in small portions add the dry mixture of ingredients into it.
• Place the dough into prepared molds, covering only 1/3 of the muffins, since the muffins will increase in volume during cooking.
• Place the pan in an oven preheated to 200 degrees and bake for 15 minutes. If the baked goods are to be further decorated, reduce temperature regime up to 170 degrees and cook large quantity time.

As you can see, despite their visual similarity, cupcakes and muffins are very different.

Muffins and cupcakes: what are the differences between them? Cupcake is one of the most famous and revered desserts. Relatively recently, stores and delis began to sell baked goods that look like cupcakes, but with the unusual name “Muffins.”

Externally, cupcakes and muffins are similar to each other, but this is perfect different products , and they differ in methods of preparation, composition, structure and purpose.

What are cupcakes - baking features

Cupcake is sweet pastries, to which raisins, nuts, dried fruits, jam and other fillings are added. The name comes from the Old French word "Frui" - fruit and the English "Kechel" - pie. Cupcakes are baked from yeast or biscuit dough.

Sponge cakes taste like cakes.

Having decided to make a sponge cake, the housewife first beats the butter and sugar, then adds chicken eggs and continues beating. The better whipped ingredients, the tastier the finished product will be.

Add sifted flour to the cake dough, slaked with vinegar soda or baking powder, the above additives. Products are mixed in one bowl.

For cooking yeast cake The yeast is diluted in warm water with sugar and left to rise. Dry instant yeast immediately add to flour. Ready dough(basic ingredients - milk, flour, butter or margarine, egg, and then optional - raisins, nuts, alcohol, etc.) let rise several times.

Both yeast and sponge cakes have porous structure. Both are round, rectangular and ring-shaped. Well-baked muffins turn out quite tall. If desired, the products are decorated with glaze and soaked in rum.

A cupcake is considered a sweet pastry. It is served for dessert after lunch and dinner, for afternoon tea, at festive table. Sometimes cupcakes are prepared for Easter instead of Easter cakes.

Now let's find out what muffins are

The word "muffin" comes from the French moufflet - " soft bread", according to some versions, from the German muffe - a type of bread. Indeed, despite the fact that muffins can be sweet, this product closer to bread than for dessert, but many will disagree.

Unlike cake dough, muffin dough is kneaded using the “Muffin Mixing” method: first, dry and liquid ingredients are combined V different dishes , then pour the liquid onto the dry. Gently mix the resulting mass with a spoon, but do not beat it under any circumstances.

Muffins contain more liquid and less sugar than in cupcakes. If you stir the dough for a long time, a lot of gluten will form in it, so you need to work quickly with a spoon. During kneading, lumps form, which do not need to be destroyed.

The finished muffin is heavy, not as tall as a cupcake, loose structure with lumpy crumb. When baking, a crust and a “cap” appear on the surface of the product.

The height of the “cap” depends on the baking temperature and the amount of dough in the mold. At high temperatures(200 or more degrees Celsius), the upper part of the product “seizes”, but the inside of the muffin remains raw.

Over time, the dough in the middle bakes, rises and raises the baking surface. If you fill the mold not 2/3, but halfway, the “cap” will be higher.

There are muffins English and American. The former are prepared using yeast dough, while the latter are baked using baking powder or soda. If added to the dough Irish liqueur Baileys, no leavening additives needed.

Muffins – ideal products for breakfast and light snacks, as they are prepared very quickly. Used as filling sweet and unsweetened ingredients. Add to sweet muffins:

• berries
• fruits
• dried fruits
• nuts
• chocolate
• zest
• candied fruit

Muffins are not decorated with cream or glaze; in some cases, meringue is used. Unsweetened products are prepared using:

• ham
• cabbage
• carrots
• greenery, etc.

Muffins with the listed additives are an excellent alternative to bread for the first course.

Unlike cupcakes, which can be small or approach the size of cakes and pies, muffins are always small.

Some historical facts about desserts

Cupcakes and muffins also differ in origin. The birthplace of cupcakes - Ancient Egypt. The Egyptians made muffins to preserve ripe fruits for as long as possible.

Oranges, lemons and dates were added to the dough. Romans mixed pomegranate, raisins, nuts and barley puree. Such products were served in the houses of the nobility. The Egyptian cake was shaped like a flatbread, while the Roman cake looked like bread.

In the 1st century AD, cupcakes were baked on Middle East. The dough was kneaded with nuts and honey. During the period of the great migration of peoples and the food crisis (formerly the Middle Ages), sweet pastries were banned.

Cupcakes became very popular in the 16th century. Sugar imported from America made it possible to preserve fruit in the product, so fruit cupcakes quickly spread throughout Europe.

Muffins first appeared at the end XIcenturies on the shores of Foggy Albion. Servants of ladies and lords used the leftover dough to prepare food for themselves. Some time later delicious buns The owners became interested. So the newly invented dish began to be served for the breakfast of aristocrats.

The first muffins were made sugarless. Added to the dough cornmeal, wheat, oats, raisins, apples, nuts. Since the products were soft, they were heated like toast. Muffins were baked in ovens or on roasters. The yeast dough was placed several hours before baking.

Muffins were prepared not only at home, but also in public bakeries. On the streets of English cities of that time one could meet “Muffin men” merchants.

IN North America muffins appeared in the middle of the 19th century, when the British mastered New World. Modern American muffins are closer to the original version of the product, as they contain little sugar and are prepared with the addition of flour. coarse and bran. IN cookbooks USA muffin recipes are placed in "Bread".

Video report - the difference between a cupcake and a muffin

Cupcakes and muffins in other countries

U different nations formed their own traditions of making cupcakes and muffins. So, in the Bahamas they use rum, in which fruits, nuts, and raisins are soaked.

The German Stollen cake is baked 3 weeks before Christmas so that the delicacy has time to “ripen”. In addition to nuts, candied fruits and pears are added to Swiss muffins.

Muffins are popular among the French. French muffins are soft with a crispy crust and tender air test. Russian housewives add cottage cheese, cranberries, cinnamon and poppy seeds to their products.

What is the difference between muffins and cupcakes?

So, difference between cupcakes and muffins is that:

• The ingredients for the muffins are thoroughly beaten and mixed in one bowl, and the ingredients for the muffins are pre-mixed in different bowls without using a mixer or blender.
• Cupcakes have a porous structure, while muffins have a loose structure.
• A cupcake is a sweet baked product, while muffins can be savory.
• The sizes of cupcakes vary; muffins are baked exclusively in small molds.
• Cupcakes and muffins have different historical origins.