Cupcakes seem uniquely suited to our modern sensibilities. They're portion-controlled, portable, easy to make in batches, open to lots of decorating strategies, tasty and can be inexpensive to make. To explore the murky history of the cupcake, though, it's first necessary to distinguish them from cup cakes (the space is important). It opens the door to a debate about which came first, a cake full of cups (of ingredients) or a cup filled with cake.
Cupcake or Cup Cake