Final answer:
The cupcakes flew into the dashboard because of inertia, following Newton's first law of motion which states that objects in motion stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force. The sudden braking of the car led to the cupcakes' movement and unfortunate collision due to the lack of a direct force to stop them as well.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to the concept of inertia in physics. The cakes flew into the dashboard due to their state of motion. According to Newton's first law of motion, often referred to as the law of inertia, an object will continue in its state of motion unless acted upon by an external force. In this case, when the car halted abruptly, the cupcakes continued moving forward at the same speed the car was traveling just before stopping because there was no direct force applied to the cupcakes to stop them alongside the car. As a result, the cakes' inertia led them to move forward and collide with the dashboard, becoming 'smushcakes' due to the sudden deceleration of the car caused by the brakes.