I'm...not sure I've ever actually had an actual cupcake

In England those little cakes are called fairy cakes, and are much smaller and...well, British. In other words, a bit mean.
Smaller, see, and fairy cake cases are a lot smaller than muffin cases. How big are cupcakes normally?
Here, if you're
really lucky people will put a little bit of icing on the top and maybe some sprinkles or those silver balls.
If they're
seriously pushing the boat out they might have turned them into butterfly cakes. >< Oh the decadence!
What the hell, buttercream
and jam! Disgusting extravagance!! Oh wait, the url for that image is .au. Australian not British! That explains it.