Difference Between Cake and Muffin

We all love cakes and muffins as they are so delicious that we forget the fact that they make us “fluffy”! Well, to all the dessert lovers out there, we know that life is too short to ignore the delicious beauties. But there’s a question that is always in the minds of people. What is the difference between a muffin and a cake? Well, there’s a lot of difference between cake and muffin and these two are not at all the same.

Most of you must be confused in between the cupcakes and muffins as they both look so similar and are of the same shape and size. One thing noticeable from their appearance is that cupcakes or cakes like a chocolate cake are generally frosted and muffins are not.

History of Cakes And Muffins

The difference between muffin and cake is evident in terms of the past, they had. Cakes date way back to many centuries ago. Firstly, people of Ancient Egypt were said to bring cake baking skills and sweetened breads into the picture. Then cakes got attached to the people of Greece who enjoyed their cheesecakes and thereafter, the Romans who enjoyed their fruitcakes.

Then came a time wherein Britishers made it a culture of serving tea cakes. And by mid 17th century, French people introduced a whole lot variety of cakes and desserts including it as gateau. On the other hand, muffins derived from the French word “moufflet” which somewhat meant soft bread. English muffins were said to date back to the 10th and 11th centuries in Wales.

From there to now, the USA has made blueberry muffin as their official muffin of Minnesota, apple muffin is the official muffin of New York and corn muffin is the official muffin of Massachusetts.

Differences in Ingredients

One similarity among cupcakes and muffins is the ingredients used. Both generally contain flour, eggs, sugar, butter, and milk. Although, muffins often replace all-purpose flour with the whole wheat flour, oat flour or even different nut flours. Muffins can likewise be loaded up with an assortment of delectable mixtures, for example, chocolate chips, nuts, and dry fruits. Moreover, muffins may replace the butter with a fluid type of fat, for example, vegetable oil. The quantity of sugar and butter is higher in cakes/cupcakes than in muffins.

The blending procedure and the consistency of the batter separates cakes/cupcakes and muffins. Cupcakes are made by creaming the sugar and butter together to make a smooth, cushioned batter. Cupcake batter is beaten essentially longer than muffin batter; this makes consistency of air bubbles all through the cupcake. On the other hand, muffin batter is beaten quickly and remains moderately uneven. This makes for a more dense product.

They might appear to be the same but are quite different when it comes to their list of difference between muffin and cupcakes ingredients. Cakes are usually baked with sugar, flour, starch; egg, gluten, fat like butter, margarine, shortening, fruit puree; liquid like milk, water, fruit juice, flavours and baking powder or yeast. Cakes are further frosted with marzipan, buttercream and crystallized fruit.

Whereas muffins have similar kinds of ingredients but their proportions are very different. Muffins are less in sugar and fat, whereas more in flour and liquid, which is very unlike the ingredient proportions in cakes. Muffins are baked with just one egg, whereas cake requires two or more eggs to be baked. Yeast is never used as a raising agent in muffins, but baking powder is used. For toppings, muffin bakers use some healthy fruits and berries. Nutrition-wise, muffins are said to be heavier than cakes.

Muffins are widely accepted to be the healthier choice, which is the reason it is satisfactory to have them for breakfast. Although muffins are not generally the more healthier choice. You can, nonetheless, have savoury biscuits, but not savory cupcakes.

The most visual difference between muffin and cake is obviously, the icing. Cakes or cupcakes are topped with rich, flavorful icing. On the other hand, muffins may have a sugared top or a slight coating. Normally the fillings inside the muffins are so yummy that there is no need to put any frosting on the top.

Varieties of Cakes and Muffins

The cake vs muffin difference seems even more legit when we discuss the varieties available under both of these categories. A plethora of cake options have been made available by bakers, these days which differ on the basis of their ingredients and cooking techniques. There are yeast cakes (which are the oldest and are baked with yeast, as their names suggest), cheesecakes (which are baked more with some kind of cheese, for example, mascarpone, cream cheese, ricotta etc than the regular flour), sponge cakes (cakes which contain eggs but not yeast for leavening purposes; they are more decorative kind of cakes), butter cakes( for instance, pound cake and devil’s food cake) and Ruske Kape.

On the other hand, muffins are precise of two kinds English muffins and American muffins. English muffins are baked in a flat-sided disc-shaped tin and are leavened with yeast. Muffins can be further distinguished as toasted, buttered and served hot. Cornmeal muffins are also a major hit variety that is made with cornmeal and which are sweeter than its other kinds. Nowadays, muffins have also been classified as per the various flavours in which they are made available like blueberry, chocolate chips, etc.

So, that was the difference between a muffin and a cake. Hope you all learned something new regarding the scrumptious desserts that you love so much. The next time you order cake online or have a muffin, you will be knowing that there are so many differences between the two. We think that we can assume now that your cake vs muffin fight is finally over. Happy eating!

P.S. - If you think that removing the frosting from the cupcake will turn it into a muffin, you are wrong my friend!