Patent Application
20080135719
The present invention relates generally to baking and, more particularly, to baking cup with a novelty base to facilitate baking cupcakes and other food items and serving same.
The traditional baking pan for cupcakes is a tray with a number of cupcake depressions. The cupcake batter is poured into the depressions and the pan is placed in an oven for baking. A problem associated with using such a pan, however, is the sticking of the cupcakes to the depressions of the pan. This makes it very difficult to remove the cupcakes from the pan and very often results in breaking up of the cupcakes or the tearing away of the outer portions of the cupcakes.
These problems are alleviated by placing paper baking cups in the depressions of the tray and pouring batter into the paper cups. After baking, the paper cup and cupcake are removed from the pan as a unit. The paper cups feature sidewalls that are corrugated so that removal of the cupcakes from the paper cups is facilitated.
While paper baking cups may only be used a single time an then are discarded, baking cups may alternatively be made of high temperature, reusable materials such as silicone.
Cupcakes are often served at parties or in other situations where it is desirable to provide a decorative presentation of food items. As a result, cupcakes are often placed on decorative cupcake trays or stands. A need exists, however, for a baking cup that permits an individual cupcake to be presented in a decorative fashion. Furthermore, it is desirable for such a baking cup to be used without additional serving preparation steps, such as placing the cupcake on a stand or adding decorative attachments.
Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a support for a cupcake that allows the cupcake to cool rapidly after removal from the oven. More specifically, a base that elevates a baking cup over a surface so that air may flow under the bottom of the baking cup cools the cupcake, or other food item within the baking cup, more rapidly. It would be beneficial for such a base to be attached to the baking cup to facilitate handling. This requires that the base be capable of withstanding the high temperature associated with baking.
It is also desirable for the base to be integrally formed with the remainder of the baking cup so that no adhesives are necessary for attaching the base. Such an approach simplifies manufacturing and increases the durability of the baking cup as there is no adhesive or joint to fail.
An embodiment of the baking cup of the present invention is indicated in general at 10 in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
While corrugated sidewall 12 of the baking cup should be flexible, to allow for easy removal of baked items from the baking cup, foot portions 20a and 20b and leg portions 22a and 22b should be rigid enough to support the corrugated sidewall 12, bottom 14 and the contents of cavity 16. It is also desirable to integrally form the base with the remaining portion of the baking cup to simplify manufacturing and so that there are no joints or no adhesives to fail. This particularly adds durability to the product since it is exposed to the high temperatures of baking.
With reference to
The base 18 illustrated features a decorative novelty appearance with a pair of legs and feet supporting the cupcake or other baked good. The construction described above, however, permits baking cups to be manufactured with bases having a variety of alternative novelty shapes. Furthermore, while the baking cup of
While embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.
