It’s National Vanilla Cupcake Day. Invite friends over tonight for TV and a bake-along. Here’s a recipe for a yummy vanilla cupcake with cream cheese frosting.

The name “cupcake” is derived from the teacup. Before the advent of muffin tins, where they are baked with a paper or foil liner, cupcakes were often baked in individual tea cups (as well as ramekins). They are frosted and often decorated with sprinkles, candies, rosettes, coconut and other toppings. In recent years, cupcakes have moved beyond children’s party fare and have become popular with pastry chefs and consumers as sophisticated alternatives to large cakes at weddings and other celebrations, where cupcake “trees” stack the cupcakes in the shape of a large, tiered cake.

Happiness is a vanilla cupcake. Photo by Ben Phillips | IST.