The cupcake shape is so popular that people continually want to turn non-cupcake foods into things that look like cupcakes; see Chicago's The Meatloaf Bakery.
In a similar vein, The Shameless Carnivore author Scott Gold, who writes in The Faster Times (where there's more to the story and more photos):
It doesn’t even have to be formed into a patty. You could bake it in a pan and make a meatloaf. Or roll it into little merguez meatballs as an appetizer. I mean, hell, you could even pack the mixture into a cupcake tin and…”
Ding!
Thus was born the idea for Lamb Merguez Cupcakes. We discussed this on our drive back from the coast to New Orleans. It was actually kind of neat, now that we thought about it — individual sized portions, like little mini meatloafs disguised as cupcakes. Would you frost them? Not with sweet icing, of course - that would be a thousand ways wrong. Something savory, then…maybe mashed potatoes? No, we decided, too pedestrian. How about a white bean puree? That could work — after all, it’s a classic French appetizer, usually served on sliced bread, and France is known as a haven for some brilliant North African cooks. Let’s see, what else…maybe decorate the top with some paprika or a few dots of ketchup? Again, still too plain. “How about a single grape tomato on top, masquerading as a maraschino cherry?” suggested my mother. “Now we’re getting somewhere!”
In a similar vein, The Shameless Carnivore author Scott Gold, who writes in The Faster Times (where there's more to the story and more photos):
It doesn’t even have to be formed into a patty. You could bake it in a pan and make a meatloaf. Or roll it into little merguez meatballs as an appetizer. I mean, hell, you could even pack the mixture into a cupcake tin and…”
Ding!
Thus was born the idea for Lamb Merguez Cupcakes. We discussed this on our drive back from the coast to New Orleans. It was actually kind of neat, now that we thought about it — individual sized portions, like little mini meatloafs disguised as cupcakes. Would you frost them? Not with sweet icing, of course - that would be a thousand ways wrong. Something savory, then…maybe mashed potatoes? No, we decided, too pedestrian. How about a white bean puree? That could work — after all, it’s a classic French appetizer, usually served on sliced bread, and France is known as a haven for some brilliant North African cooks. Let’s see, what else…maybe decorate the top with some paprika or a few dots of ketchup? Again, still too plain. “How about a single grape tomato on top, masquerading as a maraschino cherry?” suggested my mother. “Now we’re getting somewhere!”
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