Serving cupcakes at a baby shower has gained immensely in popularity, with the vast number of themes, designs, and colors that can be combined for the dessert table. There are a number of options to consider when preparing baby shower cupcakes. Cupcakes may be arranged to resemble a single larger cake, or may be individually decorated. Cupcakes may all be matching or entirely different, and can be personalized with names. Or, based on the gender of the baby, cupcakes may be themed for little baby girls and little baby boys.

Alternately, guests at baby showers may be required to decorate their own "baby" cupcakes which are then presented to the mommy-to-be for judging, making cupcake presentation a game as well as a dessert.

To fit the theme of the shower, cupcakes may also be made using baby food or can be made sugar-free (or free of other ingredients, depending on the dietary needs of the mommy-to-be).

Around the 19th century, cupcakes became a popular item because they were much easier to bake than regular cakes. The lack of conventional ovens meant much baking had to be done in hearths. Cupcakes were a quick treat to whip up. They were often referred to as number cakes because they were counted out by the number of ingredients one put together to make them. One of the earliest references to the word cupcake was around 1828. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring07/Ayers/history.htmlhttp://www.crazyaboutcupcakes.com/learning.htm

In the early twentieth century they became a popular treat to make for kids due to how easy they were to make. Today they are a cute solution for parties of all kinds, from weddings and birthdays to holidays and baby showers.http://www.crazyaboutcupcakes.com/learning.htm

Some popular ideas for baby shower cupcakes include:

• Make flesh-colored frosting and use a fine-tipped cake gel to paint different faces on each cupcake.http://www.baby-shower-guide.com/baby-shower-cupcakes.html
• Candy accessories like baby feet and pacifiers can be used to decorate cupcakes.
• Popular decorating colors tend to be pastels like baby-blue, pink, mint-green and soft yellow.
• Noah's ark themes are popular for cupcakes and cakes alike.
• For Girls: flowers, bows, polka dots/stripes, hearts, and colors including pinks, creams, white, brown, yellow, purple, and teals.
• For Boys: animals, sports, polka dots/stripes, cars and trucks, and colors including blues, greens, creams, white, brown, and yellow.http://www.baby-shower.com/