Mouse Cupcake I

A cupcake is a small cake baked in a cup-sized baking pan with a frosting or cream topping. The name comes from the fact that the batter was originally baked in a cup. Cupcakes are considered an example of a food trend whose origins can be easily traced: Cupcakes were a rather commonplace pastry for a long time, but in the late 1990s, individual bakeries in New York began selling elaborately decorated cupcakes and met with lively customer interest. The trend was increasingly picked up by the media, and cupcakes became an "in" product in North America within a few years.

Cupcakes are considered the forerunner of the current cupcake trend. Cupcakes are sweeter compared to muffins, are made from sponge dough like muffins, but usually do not contain nuts or the like. They are also topped with frosting after baking. On the outside, you can tell the difference by the topping, because cupcakes usually don't have a cream topping.

The mouse (Mus) is a rodent genus from the group of Old World mice (Murinae). The genus comprises just under 40 species, of which the house mouse is the best known and most widespread. Most of the other species live in Africa and in South and Southeast Asia.

Mouse length ranges from 4.5 to 12.5 centimetres, with a tail of 3 to 11 centimetres. The weight, as far as is known, is between 12 and 35 grams. The coat is soft, rough or spiky, depending on the species, its colouration ranges from light grey to various shades of grey and brown to blackish brown on the upper side, the underside is lighter. The tail appears hairless but is covered with fine hairs.

The original range apparently included Africa, southern Europe and large parts of southern and south-eastern Asia. In the wake of humans, the house mouse has gained a worldwide distribution and is the only species to also live in America and Australia. Mice occur in a variety of habitats, including forests, savannas, grasslands and rocky areas. However, some species have become so specialised in their role as cultural predators that they are usually found near human dwellings. In addition to the house mouse, this is true for the African dwarf mouse, and to a limited extent also for the rice field mouse and the dunnock.

The wild species are predominantly nocturnal, whereas the cultivated species can be active at any time of the day or night. They are mainly ground dwellers, but can climb well and - at least in the case of the house mouse - also swim. Their resting places are crevices in rocks, burrows they have dug themselves or man-made shelters.