Of Cakes and Cups

• Sweet cakes of various kinds have been around for thousands of years, ranging from simple flatbreads with honey to the elaborate confections of 18th-century Europe. The lightest and most delicate varieties can be difficult to bake in large sizes, because the edges are usually overbaked by the time the middle has set. One way to counter this is by baking small, individual cakes. They can be baked in separate small cups -- the origin of the term "cupcake" -- or in more modern times, in pans manufactured for that purpose. They're a perennial favorite, providing one small and perfect portion of cake for anyone with a sweet tooth.

Dressing it Up

• Of course, the cupcake itself is only part of the picture. Like most cakes, cupcakes don't truly come into their own until they're decorated with rich, sweet, colorful icings or glazes. These can be simple mixtures of milk and confectioner's sugar or elaborate buttercreams using egg whites and sugar syrup. Most are made with a base of butter or a lower-cost substitute, such as margarine or vegetable shortening. The simplest way to apply icing to a cupcake is with a spatula or butter knife, but piping the icing from a pastry bag can provide more eye-catching results.

Put That in Your Pipe

• On clothing, "piping" refers to a cylindrical strip of decorative edging. It's used in that sense by cake decorators as well, and piped-on lettering is how birthday messages are placed on cakes and pastries. In a broader sense, any time you squeeze your icing from a pastry bag it's referred to as piping. Disposable and reusable pastry bags are available at most kitchen retailers, as well as hundreds of tips to make decorative designs in the icing. A simple star tip can be used to decorate cupcakes with swirls and rosettes, or more skillful bakers can use a range of colors and tips to create lifelike flowers or other decorative designs.

Keep it Cool

• When your cupcakes come out of the oven, perfuming the whole house with their warm, fresh smell, it can be hard not to sample one right away. Unfortunately, most icings are fat-based and will melt and become runny if you try to use them while the cupcakes are hot or warm. That's especially an issue if you're trying to pipe an elegant design on the cupcakes with your pastry bag. So, "pipe onto cooled cupcakes" tells you to wait patiently for the cupcakes to reach room temperature before icing them beautifully.