National Give Someone a Cupcake Day is celebrated every year on May 8 by Americans across the United States. On this day people give either bakery-bought or homemade cupcakes to their coworkers, colleagues, teachers, bosses, and anyone else they share their life with.
History of National Give Someone a Cupcake Day
Cupcakes have been around for centuries, but their popularity and design are recent. The baking of cakes in cups — due to the lack of what today we call muffin tins — was what originated the name of the treat. These delicious sweets are meant for one person and can be frosted with vanilla or chocolate frosting and sprinkles. However, bakers have improved the decoration of their cupcakes by creating different flavors of frosting and utilizing other sorts of toppings, such as candies and even edible flowers!
Since 2005, cupcake-exclusive bakeries have opened in the United States. It’s estimated around 500 of them are spread across the country. These bakeries make cupcakes decorated in specific ways to be used as part of the decoration of parties, graduations, weddings, and other events. The decorations take more than just frosting and usually involve more than one baker to create toppings with rice treats and fondant, a sort of moldable sugar paste.
Cupcakes are filled with frosting itself, fruits, or other creams. Some of the most famous combinations of batter and filling are red velvet with cream cheese and carrot cake with chocolate frosting. Other bakers also use raisins, nuts, chocolate chips, and berries to add texture to the cake batter. There are also recipes for mug cakes, which are cupcakes you can bake in a microwave. Those usually aren’t decorated, though, and are eaten while they’re still hot. Some people like to add an ice cream scoop to the top to add extra flavor.
National Give Someone a Cupcake Day timeline
Baker Amelia Simmons first formally describes the cupcake in “American Cookery.”
Eliza Leslie includes a cupcake recipe in her cookbook.
Cupcake decorating involves chocolate or vanilla frosting.
Cupcakes get a final redesign.
National Give Someone a Cupcake Day FAQs
How did cupcakes get their name?
Before muffin tins, they were baked in cups or molds so they were called cupcakes!
How many cupcakes are eaten each year?
In the United States alone every year, about 800 million cupcakes are eaten!
What was the first cupcake flavor?
The first commercial cupcake was chocolate flavored and had white icing on top!
National Give Someone a Cupcake Day Activities
Give someone a cupcake
The best way to celebrate National Give Someone a Cupcake Day is to… Of course! Give someone a cupcake! You can either buy it at a bakery or make it yourself! Be creative!
Bake a batch of cupcakes
Why not get the dust off that old recipe book you have sitting on your kitchen counter and bake yourself a big batch of cupcakes? There are also plenty of recipes online for you to check out!
Eat a cupcake
You can always include yourself on your list of people to gift and get your own cupcake. Remember to get your favorite flavor!
5 Facts About Cupcakes You’ll Absolutely Love
They are popular at weddings
About 13% of brides choose to serve cupcakes instead of a wedding cake at their reception.
They can also be big
The world’s largest cupcake in 2009 weighed 1,224 pounds with around two million calories! Wow!
They are ancient
Cupcakes have been around for centuries though the only record was by Amelia Simmons.
There are cupcake A.T.Ms
Sprinkles Cupcakes bakery invented cupcake A.T.Ms that can hold up to 350 cupcakes.
Americans love them
On average, every year in the U.S. 800 million cupcakes are consumed!
Why We Love National Give Someone a Cupcake Day
We get to eat lots of cupcakes
It is probably the excuse of the year to eat a bunch of cupcakes in a single day! We have to be thankful for the gifts we receive, right?
We get to gift cupcakes
It is also the best day to go around your school or office giving cupcakes to everyone. Just don’t forget to save one for yourself!
We get together to bake
It’s a great day to get together with friends or family members to bake batches of cupcakes together and have some fun!
National Give Someone a Cupcake Day dates
Year | Date | Day |
---|---|---|
2025 | May 8 | Thursday |
2026 | May 8 | Friday |
2027 | May 8 | Saturday |
2028 | May 8 | Monday |
2029 | May 8 | Tuesday |