Chocolate (pronounced /tklt, -lt/ (help�info); see below for etymology) comprises a number of raw and processed foods that originate from the seed of the tropical cacao tree. It is a common ingredient in many kinds of confections such as chocolate bars, candy, ice cream, cookies, cakes, pies, chocolate mousse, and other desserts. It is one of the most popular (or at least recognizable) flavours in the world. Chocolate was created by the Mesoamerican civilization, from cacao beans, and cultivated by pre-Columbian civilizations such as the Maya and Aztec, who used it as a basic component in a variety of sauces and beverages. The cocoa beans were ground and mixed with water to produce a variety of beverages, both sweet and bitter, which were reserved for only the highest noblemen and clerics of the Mesoamerican world. Chocolate is made from the fermented, roasted, and ground beans taken from the pod of the tropical cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, which was native to Central America and Mexico, but is now cultivated throughout the tropics. The beans have an intensely flavoured bitter taste. The resulting products are known as 'chocolate' or, in some parts of the world, cocoa. Today, chocolate commonly refers to bars made from the combination of cocoa solids, fat, sugar and other ingredients. Chocolate is often produced as small molded forms in the shape of squares, animals, people, or inanimate objects to celebrate festivals worldwide. For example, there are moulds of rabbits or eggs for Easter, coins for Hanukkah, Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus) for Christmas, and hearts for Valen
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A cupcake (or fairy cake) is a small cake designed to serve one person, usually made in a small paper cup container. As with larger cakes, frosting and other decorations are usually applied, such as sprinkles. Related to the muffins, cupcakes are often served during a celebration, such as children's classroom birthday parties. They are a more convenient alternative to cake because they don't require plates, utensils, or dividing into pieces because they are smaller. Cupcakes were first invented in the early 1800's. A simple cupcake uses the same ingredients as most other standard cakes - incorporating butter, white refined sugar, eggs, and flour. These are the main ingredients of a cupcake. The name 'cup' cakes or 'measure' cakes is believed to have developed because of the use of the practice of measuring the ingredients using a standard-sized cup instead of the previous practice of weighing the ingredients. The fact that these little cakes were baked in cup-shaped muffin baking containers gave double-meaning to the term 'cup cake', and was probably the main factor for 'cupcake' becoming the U.S. standard term. It is also possible that cupcakes came into being simply as smaller versions of the Victoria sponge cake, as the mixture required is exactly the same. The mixture is also the same as the quarter cake recipe, so called because it is made up of four ingredients in equal ratios; butter, self-raising flour, eggs and castor sugar.
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Chocolate cupcake
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