Hostess CupCake

A chocolate Hostess CupCake, showing the chocolate cake and icing, and the signature line of white squiggles
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Hostess CupCake is a brand of snack cake formerly produced and distributed by Hostess Brands and currently owned by private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co. Its most common form is a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing and vanilla creme filling, with seven distinctive white squiggles across the top. However, other flavors have been available at times. It has been claimed to be the first commercially produced cupcake, and has become an iconic American brand.

History

The Hostess CupCake was first sold on May 11, 1919.[1][2][3][4] According to author Andrew F. Smith, it was the first commercially produced cupcake, originally produced by the Taggart Bakery as the Chocolate Cup Cake.[2] Hostess has also claimed that it was "the first snack cake ever introduced to the market."[5] In 2004, rival Tastykake disputed this claim, claiming that Tastykake introduced the first snack cake.[5]

Originally, two cupcakes were sold for five cents.[4] Different flavors were offered during the early years, including cupcakes topped with vanilla or malted milk flavored icing.[3] During the 1940s, an orange flavored cupcake was developed, with orange cake and icing.[3] But until 1950, the Hostess CupCake did not have any filling or the white squiggly line across the top.[3][6]

In 1947, D.R. "Doc" Rice, who started his career at Hostess in 1938 with a job that entailed dumping baked cakes on a table, was given the task of developing the Hostess CupCake further.[3] These developments culminated in an updated cupcake in 1950.[6] A white line consisting of squiggles was added to the top in order to distinguish the Hostess CupCake from other brands.[3][6][7] The vanilla creme filling was also added.[3][6][7] Rice got the idea for using a creme filling when a new machine for injecting filling into Hostess Twinkies became available.[3] Improvements were also made to the cake mix and the chocolate icing in 1950.[3] According to Rice, the updated cupcakes were first produced and test marketed in Detroit.[1]

Other flavors of Hostess cupcake that have been available at times have been a golden vanilla and strawberry.[6]

In 1988, 400 million Hostess Cupcakes were sold.[1] As of 2011 Hostess sells over 600 million CupCakes each year.[7] Although Hostess Brands entered into bankruptcy protection in 2012, the company planned to continue making CupCakes and other snack cakes such as Twinkies and Sno Balls.[8] These plans have been derailed by the company's liquidation and announcement that they are going out of business on November 16, 2012.

Manufacture

A halved CupCake, showing the cream filling

The cakes were produced from a batter which includes flour, sugar, cocoa and water. It is baked in trays for 17 minutes in a 70-foot (21 m) conveyor oven that can turn out 11,000 cupcakes an hour. After cooling, the cakes are injected through the top with the vanilla creme, then taken by conveyor to be covered on top by chocolate icing. After a special machine lays white icing in the signature squiggle the cakes are cooled then wrapped.[7]

Branding

Hostess CupCakes were marketed for a time by the animated character of Captain Cupcake,[2] who was a companion in commercials to Twinkie the Kid and Fruit Pie the Magician. One marketing slogan that was used was "You get a big delight in every bite."[6] Numerous commercials featured the slogan "Hey! Where's the cream filling?"

Hostess Cupcakes are sold as Pinguinos (Penguins) in Mexico, and by extension the rest of Spanish-speaking Latin America, by local company Marinela (the pastries division of the breadmaking Bimbo brand).[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Inventor Honored on Birthday of Hostess CupCake". Daily Union. May 11, 1989. p. 4. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  2. 1 2 3 Smith, A.F. (2011). Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat. ABC-CLIO. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-313-39393-8.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Hostess Cupcake Marks 70th Birthday". The Vindicator. May 10, 1989. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  4. 1 2 Volland, V. (May 11, 1989). "The Hostess Cupcake Turns Sweet 70". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  5. 1 2 DeWolf, R. (May 14, 1989). "Hostess Cupcake Claim Crumbles Before Tastykake". Boca Raton News. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Hostess CupCake". Hostess Brands. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Stuffed". Unwrapped. Food Network. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  8. ↑ Smith, A. "Twinkies will keep coming despite bankruptcy". CNN. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  9. ↑ http://www.marinela.com.mx/productos/pinguinos
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