Crazy for Cupcakes

Updated June 02, 2008
Credit: Oxmoor House

From holiday celebrations to weddings to birthdays, cakes everywhere are moving to personal serving sizes. Dive into these delicious miniature cakes–no layering required.

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Strawberry-Blueberry Cupcakes

Credit: Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Hadas Smirnoff

Strawberry-Blueberry Cupcakes Recipe

Double the berries, double the deliciousness. These tender cupcakes can be made ahead and frozen; frost them before serving. Use smaller blueberries for better distribution in the batter. In a pinch? Use thawed, frozen blueberries. Cupcakes are a welcome treat at any occasion. This recipe makes 24, but go ahead and make two batches and freeze some for a future date. Both the cupcake recipe and the frosting recipe make delicious use of fresh, seasonal produce. The cupcakes, loaded with sweet blueberries, are good enough to eat unfrosted, and can stand in for a delicious breakfast or mid-morning treat. The frosting oozes with fresh strawberries. You may want to keep a bowl close by in the fridge; it makes a great dip for fruit and cookies.

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Mile-High Coconut Cupcakes

Credit: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Mindi Shapiro and Amanda Widis

Mile-High Coconut Cupcakes Recipe

These cupcakes are a mile high with icing and great coconut flavor.

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Red Velvet Beet Cupcakes

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Catherine Crowell Steele; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke

Red Velvet Beet Cupcakes Recipe

Beet adds natural color and sweet earthiness to these cupcakes.

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Peaches and Cream Mini Cupcakes

Credit: Oxmoor House

Peaches and Cream Mini Cupcakes Recipe

Petite and almost too cute to eat, these miniature cupcakes are infused with the sweet flavor of summer's juiciest fruit.

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Caramel-Mocha-Sea Salt Cupcakes

Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro

Caramel-Mocha-Sea Salt Cupcakes Recipe

This cupcake is a combination of salty and sweet blended with mocha and is one of the most requested flavors at Dreamcakes Bakery.

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Black Sesame Cupcakes

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Black Sesame Cupcakes Recipe

There's nothing artificial about these dramatically hued treats. Supermoist (and whole-grain) chocolate cupcakes get their blackout color from black sesame seeds and antioxidant-rich dark cocoa powder. These desserts are delicious and better for you, with every bit of fun, festive flair you crave.

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Coconut Cupcakes

Credit: Dan Goldberg

Coconut Cupcakes Recipe

Dense coconut milk, added right into the batter, gives these cupcakes all the flavor of the full-sized concoction, but with the added cuteness of individual servings. Top with traditional cream cheese icing and toasted coconut.

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Amaretto Apple Streusel Cupcakes

Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Cindy Barr

Amaretto Apple Streusel Cupcakes Recipe

We simply adore these apple streusel cupcakes -- and judging by all the five-star ratings, so do our users! The homemade cinnamon-flavored streusel perfectly accents the apples' sweetness, while the simple glaze pulls it all together. If you love amaretto, try adding a splash of liqueur to the glaze as well.

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Lemon Sherbet Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting (Pam's Citrus Cupcakes)

Credit: Hector Sanchez Styling: Heather Chadduck

Lemon Sherbet Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting (Pam's Citrus Cupcakes) Recipe

These bright and fresh cupcakes are topped with a tangy lemon buttercream.

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Robin's Egg Malt Cupcakes 

Credit: Gina DeSimone; Prop Styling: Kashara Johnson; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Robin's Egg Malt Cupcakes  Recipe

Inspired by an Easter basket favorite, these malted chocolate cupcakes are sure to be the cutest dessert you serve this spring.  The moist cake is a fun play on a chocolate malted egg; you can typically find malt powder either on your grocery store’s baking aisle or shelved near the canned milks. Once you top these rich cupcakes with a buttery, bright blue frosting, creating the signature Robin’s egg speckling is easy—and a fun project to let older kiddos help with. You simple thin out your brown food coloring with a little bit of water, dip a paint brush in, and then “flick” the brush’s bristles to splatter the dye on the surface of your frosted cupcakes. 

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Walnut Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

Credit: Randy Mayor; Styling: Cindy Barr

Walnut Cupcakes with Maple Frosting Recipe

Unlike their full-fat cousins, which get their softness from oil and butter, light cakes rely less on fat and more on sugar and liquids. More sugar minimizes the development of gluten proteins (the primary source of toughness in cakes), but it can also cause excess browning, especially if dairy products are present. Pull the cake from the oven when a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs still clinging to it.

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Red, White, and Blueberry-Filled Cupcakes

Credit: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Red, White, and Blueberry-Filled Cupcakes Recipe

Tender and moist cupcakes with a fruity filling and topped with a tangy cream cheese icing — all the best of summer in one little package. This recipe can easily be doubled if you need a dessert for a large gathering. The jammy blueberry filling is a sweet surprise inside each cupcake but, if you prefer strawberry, simply replace the fruit and preserves.

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Chocolate Almond Cupcakes

Credit: James Baigrie

Chocolate Almond Cupcakes Recipe

These rich chocolate cupcakes start from a package of cake mix and get a triple hit of almond flavor from almond paste, sliced almonds, and almond extract in the glaze. 

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Cupcakes With Browned Butter Frosting

Cupcakes With Browned Butter Frosting Recipe

When you need "tastes like homemade" in minutes, use this recipe. Top cupcakes, made with packaged pound cake mix, with a creamy, buttery frosting that's sure to have everyone begging for more. For added appeal, garnish with mint leaves and edible violas.

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Lemon-Blueberry Ice-cream Cupcakes

Lemon-Blueberry Ice-cream Cupcakes Recipe

Update the idea of ice cream cakes with these frozen treats. Layer crushed lemon cookies with blueberry filling and a creamy milk-and-frozen lemonade mixture. Dollop whipped topping on last, and freeze overnight then add sprinkles, jelly beans, and anything else sweet you can find.

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Devil's Food Cupcakes with Marshmallow Filling

Credit: James Carrier

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Marshmallow Filling Recipe

Bake chocolate cupcakes with a surprise inside. With a knife, hollow out the center of the baked cakes and fill with marshmallow cream. Top with a gooey chocolate cream cheese frosting for a sure-fire winner among kids and adults.

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Orange Marmalade-Ricotta Cupcakes with Marmalade Buttercream Frosting

Credit: James Baigrie

Orange Marmalade-Ricotta Cupcakes with Marmalade Buttercream Frosting Recipe

Boxed cake mix is the only routine ingredient in these creative confections. Orange juice, ricotta cheese, and orange marmalade add tons of rich flavor and keep the cupcakes moist. Top with Marmalade Buttercream Frosting for an event-worthy dessert.

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Sweet Potato-Pecan Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

Credit: Van Chaplin; Styling: Lisa Powell Bailey

Sweet Potato-Pecan Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Keep this family favorite around for the holiday season. Mashed sweet potatoes give the cakes extra moistness, while a myriad of spices including cinnamon and nutmeg, spice up the traditionally sweet dessert. A simple cream cheese frosting and a sprinkle of chopped pecans is all that's needed on top.

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Mississippi Mud Cupcakes

Credit: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Mississippi Mud Cupcakes Recipe

The chocoholic in your family will swoon for these s'more like treats. Chocolate cupcakes are topped with mini marshmallows and a thick chocolate frosting drizzle.

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Old-Fashioned Caramel Cupcakes

Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro

Old-Fashioned Caramel Cupcakes Recipe

Old-Fashioned Caramel is a cupcake that can't be rushed. It's a true labor of love. The caramel has to cool for a while before you can make the frosting, and then you need to use the frosting right away. If the frosting gets too thick to spread, add just a little cream or milk to make it spreadable. It is definitely worth the effort.

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Team Spirit Cupcakes

Credit: John O'Hagan

Team Spirit Cupcakes Recipe

Perfect for the Junior's bake sale, this recipe dresses up store-bought iced cupcakes. Simply pick up coarse sugar and lollipops in your school's colors. Add a ribbon around the stem of the sucker for extra color and package them individually.

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Thai Iced Tea Cupcakes 

Credit: Photo by Kaylee Dopkins

Thai Iced Tea Cupcakes  Recipe

Judy Lai was inspired to make these Thai iced tea cupcakes after eating at a Thai restaurant. Her bakery Silk Cakes is known for taking Asian flavors and incorporating them into American-style desserts, so it's a perfect fit. Lai is a first-generation Chinese-American, born in New York City to immigrant parents, and her baked goods reflect her heritage while also showing off the French pastry skills she learned at the International Culinary Center. These Thai iced-tea flavored cupcakes are really the best mix of that: a super delicate and fluffy cupcake that tastes exactly like Thai iced tea.

The trick to making these cupcakes nice and light, according to Lai, is not to mix the batter too much. "As soon as it looks smooth, you're done mixing, and over mixing will make them less fluffy," she says. That's also why the cupcakes are baked at a relatively low temperature. "We chose 275°F so it's a slower baking process at medium heat," to keep the cupcakes light and to ensure they don't get browned, "and we remove the cupcakes the second that a stick poked in the cupcake comes out clean."

"It's important to take the cupcake out of the cupcake tray immediately when it's out of the oven," Lai says, "because leaving the cupcake in the tray will cause it to flatten due to the heat of the cupcake tray."

Thai Tea Cupcakes

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Lemonade Cupcakes

Lemonade Cupcakes Recipe

Perfect for summer, these cakes get their name–and great flavor–from frozen lemonade concentrate. Balance the tart flavor with a smooth cream cheese frosting. Don't forget the sour gummies on top.

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Orange Sherbet Cupcakes

Credit: Hector Sanchez Styling: Heather Chadduck

Orange Sherbet Cupcakes Recipe

The cupcakes are topped with a lightly tangy orange sherbet buttercream.

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Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

Chocolate lovers everywhere will swoon over the super-rich chocolatey flavor of these luscious cupcakes.

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Lemon Angel Food Cupcakes

Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Lemon Angel Food Cupcakes Recipe

If you love light, fluffy, bright desserts, check out this cupcake concoction. Lemon rind and fresh lemon juice punch up the flavor and give your cupcakes true zing!

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Hummingbird Cupcakes with Candied Pineapple Wedges

Credit: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Hummingbird Cupcakes with Candied Pineapple Wedges Recipe

This whimsical take on our classic Hummingbird Cake recipe shrinks the moist, three-layer cake into cupcakes, garnishing with bright candied pineapple wedges in honor of the canned pineapples that give the cake batter its incredible moistness. There are a few rules for success in this recipe that make it truly stand out. First, vegetable oil is used instead of butter to get the moist, quick-bread-like texture of the layers. Second, you need a can of crushed pineapple in its juice (such as Publix Crushed Pineapple in Pineapple Juice), which you will NOT drain. The juices add so much flavor to the cake batter and keeps it incredibly moist. Lastly, always take the time the toast your pecans! When baking the cupcakes, some of the oil may leach through the paper liners and into the muffin cups themselves. Grease-proof or aluminum foil muffin cups will help, or you can forgo the paper liners altogether and grease and flour the individual cups.

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Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

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Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes Recipe

Loaded with toasty fall flavors, a batch of these easy PSL cupcakes will have you in sweater weather mode faster than hitting the Starbucks drive-thru.  

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Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting

Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting Recipe

Chocolatey cupcakes paired with a peppermint-flavored frosting and chopped peppermint candies are perfect for Christmas parties.

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Bunny Face Cupcakes

Credit: Mark Thomas; Styling: Karen Tack

Bunny Face Cupcakes Recipe

Decorate store-bought cupakes for Easter by making cute bunny faces with marshmallows, coconut, pretzels, and an assortment of candy.

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Lemon-Scented Blueberry Cupcakes

Credit: Howard L. Puckett

Lemon-Scented Blueberry Cupcakes Recipe

Flavor basic buttermilk cupcake batter with grated lemon rind and fold in fresh or thawed blueberries for these sweet-and-tart cupcakes. Spread a dollop of cream cheese frosting on top and serve with extra blueberries.

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Bunny Cookie Cupcakes

Credit: Mark Thomas; Styling: Karen Tack

Bunny Cookie Cupcakes Recipe

Kids will love decorating these simple bunny cupcakes. Start with boxed or grocery store cupcakes then decorate each with vanilla frosting, green coconut, and bunnie cookies. Kneading together refrigerated sugar cookie dough and flour make it easer to cut out the bunny shapes.

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Orange-Glazed Strawberry Cupcakes

Credit: Charles Schiller

Orange-Glazed Strawberry Cupcakes Recipe

A hint of orange juice and chopped fresh strawberries give these cupcakes their wonderfully fruity flavor. Top with a glaze made from orange juice and confectioner's sugar, and garnish with a strawberry half for pretty presentation.

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Sweet Li'l Bunny Cupcakes