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50 Best Cupcake Recipes: Easy Baking Tips and How To

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Here are well over 50 of the best cupcake recipes imaginable. No matter what kind of cake you’re in the mood for, whether it’s fudgy chocolate, some unique flavor, or something with fresh fruit, I’ve got you covered with this list. Updated from the 2007, 2010, and 2015 versions!

Pinterest image for 50 best cupcakes - chocolate cupcake on a white and green plate -

Table of Contents

  1. What’s the Best Cupcake Recipe?
    1. Cupcakes Are Perfect for Transporting in a School or Work Lunch
      1. Tips for Perfect Cupcakes Every Time
        1. How to Make Cupcakes Step by Step
          1. Addictive Chocolate Cupcakes
            1. Comforting Spice Cupcakes
              1. Best Cupcake Recipes with Fruit
                1. Various Velvets
                  1. Best Cupcake Recipes for Holidays and Celebrations
                    1. Unique Cupcake Flavors
                      1. Tropical Coconut Cupcake Recipes
                        1. Not So Plain Vanilla Cupcakes
                          1. You May Need…

                            What’s the Best Cupcake Recipe?

                            Cupcakes have come a long way in the past few years. Plain chocolate and vanilla cupcake recipes have evolved into creative, unique bites of cake in a range of flavors. You can get them filled or unfilled, decorated to look like mermaids, or topped with mile high frosting. No matter how many cupcake recipes we have we eagerly hunt for more!

                            I am always looking for the my next favorite. The most creative, something with unique flavors…

                            Still, as soon as I find something I love I am off to look for more. There’s just something about them. Maybe it’s because they are cute? Maybe because they are single serving? Maybe because you can make them a lot of different ways?

                            Image of a cream filled yellow cupcake cut in half on a pink plate with more cupcakes in the background.

                            Maybe all of the above?

                            Over three years ago (over 10 years ago now!) I wrote a blog post that made it to the first page of Digg in less than 24 hours. It was phenomenal and continues to be my post with the most traffic to this day… The name?  50 Best Cookie Recipes on the Internet.

                            These are the ones that made the A-List for me. The most unique, the most delicious, and the most wonderful I could find.

                            three rich dark chocolate Black Forest Cupcakes with whipped white frosting, a sprinkle of chocolate shavings and a cherry on top. CLose up.

                            Cupcakes Are Perfect for Transporting in a School or Work Lunch

                            To me cupcakes are the perfect treat to pack in school lunches.

                            Why?

                            They are small and yet very popular with the back to school crowd. They show up at almost every classroom party or event. It’s just sort of the cupcake time of year. Look at the amazing variety of flavors and textures represented here!

                            Cupcakes are quick and easy plus they tavel well, especially if you have a carrier.

                            Experiment by changing the frosting flavors to come up with your own unique variations. Use different fillings. Add nuts or chocolate chips. Most of all….have a good time with them!

                            Tips for Perfect Cupcakes Every Time

                            A collage of 6 cupcakes with quote- I've never met a problem a proper cupcake couldn't fix - in the center.
                            from left to right – Top: Pink Velvet, Black Forest, Oatmeal Carmelita  
                            Bottom: Rolo Filled Chocolate Cupcakes, Peaches and Cream, French Vanilla
                            • Use real ingredients. Real butter, real vanilla, real fruit… you get the idea. Real flavors will make your cupcakes taste REAL good. (See what I did there?)
                            • All ingredients should be at room temperature. This ensures that they will mix smoothly and easily so your cupcake batter is just right.
                            • Use large eggs. Most recipes are made with these and smaller eggs may leave your cupcakes dry.
                            • Don’t over mix. When you over mix your batter it develops the gluten — which is great for bread but not for cake! Gluten will make your cake tough and dry. Plus, when you over-mix you break air bubbles. Air bubbles are what keep baked products light. Don’t break the air bubbles!
                            • Use a scoop so each cupcake is exactly the same size. That way they will bake all the way through all at the same time.
                            • Fill pans no more than 2/3 of the way full. 1/2 is usually better. This will make them rounded when baked.
                            • Make sure your oven heats to the right temperature. Some ovens become a couple of degrees off one way or another over time. It’s a good idea to have an oven thermometer and check temperatures often.
                            • Bake immediately. As they sit the baking powder to lose effectiveness and the air bubbles to deflate. You know that that means, right? Yep. Cupcakes that don’t rise and are tough.
                            • Put pans in the center of the oven and don’t open the door until it’s almost time for them to be done. This ensures that they will bake evenly.
                            • Experiment, then make a list of your favorites. Use these as the foundation of your own variations.

                            Ready? Deep breath…. here we go.

                            Cupcake paper is pulled away and you can see the tender interior of the white cupcakes

                            How to Make Cupcakes Step by Step

                            Time needed: 30 minutes.

                            Cupcakes are so simple that they are usually one of the first things we learn how to bake. Here’s quick step by step instructions in case you need the visual.

                            1. Line Pans

                              Line cupcake pans with paper liners, silicone liners, or spray well with bakers release spray.

                              Cupcake pans with paper liners in them

                            2. Mix

                              Mix ingredients as directed in the recipe.

                              Mix batter until well blended

                            3. Fill the Cups

                              Fill the cups just halfway and bake as directed

                              Baked chocolate cupcakes that are waiting to be frosted

                            4. To Fill

                              Once the cupcakes are cool you can remove the centers carefully and fill with fillings.

                              Cupcakes with the centers removed for filling.

                            5. Fill

                              Add the filling to the cupcake carefully.

                            6. Frost as Desired

                              Once the cupcakes are cool, and filled if you want to fill them, use your favorite frosting on top!

                              finished cupcake with frosting

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                            Here are over 50 of  my favorites for you try, from chocolate to vanilla and everything in between. In fact, I’ve added to this page over the years and there are now way more than 50 cupcake recipes of all kinds.

                            Addictive Chocolate Cupcakes

                            Is there anyone that doesn’t like a chocolate cupcake? You’ll find that recipes that include cocoa taste more chocolatey than those that use melted chocolate.

                            1. Chocolate Cream Filled Vanilla with Vanilla Bean Frosting
                            2. Chocolate Whiskey and Beer
                            3. Mocha with Espresso Buttercream
                            4. Chipotle Cinnamon Chocolate 
                            5. Devil’s Food 
                            6. Turtle Brownie
                            7. Death by Chocolate
                            8. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough 
                            9. Snickers
                            10. S’mores
                            11. Chocolate Rolo with Praline Frosting
                            12. Mexican Hot Chocolate

                            Comforting Spice Cupcakes

                            Spice cake remind me of fall! Apples, cinnamon, and pumpkin are warm cozy flavors that make great cupcakes! Cream cheese frosting is great on any of these – for an easy garnish dust with some cinnamon after frosting.

                            1. Gingerbread Hostess Copycat 
                            2. Carrot with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
                            3. Orange Clove
                            4. Chai Latte
                            5. Snickerdoodle
                            6. Pumpkin with Cream Cheese Frosting

                            Best Cupcake Recipes with Fruit

                            Fruit gives cupcakes moisture as well as flavor. Follow the instructions carefully or you could end up with a too-wet dough that won’t bake properly. If you’re using pie filling in the center gently press the bottom down on the inside after hollowing it out but before filling it so that it’s compressed. It helps the bottoms not get soggy.

                            1. Lemon
                            2. Apple Pie
                            3. Caramel Apple
                            4. Easy Black Forest
                            5. Strawberry Cream Cheese 
                            6. Strawberry Lemonade 
                            7. Bananas Foster
                            8. Browned Butter Banana Rum
                            9. Hummingbird
                            10. Lemon Meringue
                            11. Lychee Rose 
                            12. Orange Creamsicle
                            13. Peaches and Cream 
                            14. White Chocolate Raspberry
                            15. Vanilla Bean Fig

                            Various Velvets

                            There was a time when there was only red velvet cupcakes but these days you can find that velvety texture in almost any color imaginable. Most of the time the recipe will call for buttermilk. If you use a paste food color instead of a liquid you’ll get a deeper flavor without that weird chemical food color taste.

                            1. Classic Red Velvet
                            2. Red Velvet and Cheesecake Marbled
                            3. Black Velvet with Orange Filling
                            4. Pink Velvet
                            5. Green Velvet
                            6. Blue Velvet
                            7. White Velvet

                            Best Cupcake Recipes for Holidays and Celebrations

                            Cupcakes are perfect for taking to holiday parties or sending to classroom parties at school. Decorating them can be as easy as adding holiday-themed sprinkles.

                            1. EggNog Latte
                            2. Cranberry Bliss
                            3. Vanilla Candy Cane
                            4. Santa’s Hat
                            5. Christmas Lights
                            6. Raspberry Champagne
                            7. L’Opera 
                            8. High Hat 
                            9. White Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing (Wedding cake)

                            Unique Cupcake Flavors

                            If you can imagine it someone has probably made it into a cupcake. Use these unique flavors to come up with your own ideas! Be sure to check out the basic cupcake recipe at the end of this post – you can use it as a starting point.

                            1. Chubby Hubby 
                            2. Root Beer Float
                            3. Malted Milk 
                            4. Bomb Pop 
                            5. Dulce de Leche 
                            6. Earl Grey with Lemon Buttercream
                            7. Irish Cream  with Coffee Frosting
                            8. Cherry Coke Float

                            Tropical Coconut Cupcake Recipes

                            Coconut gets it’s own section because, well, coconut. Toasting coconut in the oven or microwave is easy and it adds extra flavor and texture. You can also substitute coconut milk (the thick kind in the can) for milk in the recipes to give them more coconut flavor.

                            1. Oatmeal Carmelita
                            2. Samoas
                            3. Coconut
                            4. Pina Colada
                            5. Blackberry Coconut

                            Not So Plain Vanilla Cupcakes

                            Ever heard the term plain vanilla? Well these cupcakes are anything but plain! If you really like vanilla flavor you can substitute and equal amount of vanilla sugar for the sugar called for in any recipe.

                            To make vanilla sugar just add a couple of vanilla beans to the sugar canister and let sit for a few days. You can actually do that with all kinds of things like orange zest, lemon zest, lavender… all kinds of things.

                            1. Vanilla 
                            2. French Vanilla
                            3. Copycat Twinkies (with spongecake, from scratch)
                            4. Black Bottom 
                            5. Caramel Macchiato 
                            6. Cream Soda

                            It’s an amazing list of recipes, isn’t it? Which are you going to try first?

                            You May Need…

                            The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

                            What’s new? Check out my Restless Chipotle & Co. Store on Amazon!  Thanks so much for being a part of Restless Chipotle!

                            Baking cups are one way to make your cupcakes prettier and more unique. These cute polka dot liners give them a retro look I think.

                            Wilton 415-2286 300 Count Polka Dots Standard Baking Cups

                            Remember I said that it’s important to keep the size consistent by making sure each cupcake is made from the exact same amount of batter? Well these scoops from Wilton make it easier than ever.

                            Wilton 2103-1112 Scoop-It Batter Spoons, Set of 3

                            Let's Keep in Touch! A creative collection of cupcakes from bloggers all over the Internet plus tips for making them. Easy \

                            About Marye

                            Marye Audet is an experienced freelance writer, editor and blogger who lives just outside of Dallas, Texas with her family. A published author, Marye believes that gathering friends and family around the table ultimately strengthens society as a whole - and there's no better way to do it than with Southern comfort food.

                            Comments

                            2. Anuradha Shastry says

                              December 23, 2012 at 12:10 am

                              Literally stumbled on this! Going to try each of these. Thanks so much for putting this up. Sharing this now 🙂
                              Happy Holidays!!

                              Reply

                            5. Alex says

                              August 26, 2012 at 9:33 pm

                              I have to say I made the strawberry cream cheese cupcakes and they were amazing came out moist and the frosting was delicious! Thank you for posting these cupcakes because I know I will be trying them all!

                              Reply

                            6. Eunice says

                              August 25, 2012 at 3:34 am

                              Irish car bomb cupcakes??? Hugely offensive when in fact they are chocolate whiskey and beer cup cakes. Why the name change??

                              Reply

                              • marye says

                                August 25, 2012 at 7:16 am

                                Well Eunice, sorry you are offended. I did not name them. When I linked to the post the name was, in fact, Irish Car Bomb cupcakes. It isn’t my post so I don’t know exactly why the title was changed. However, they are delicious whatever the name…

                            9. Amy I. says

                              July 10, 2012 at 12:21 am

                              Thank you so much for including my dulce de leche cupcakes on your list. I’ve had quite a bit of traffic from this post over the past couple years and I appreciate being among such great company!

                              Reply

                              • marye says

                                July 10, 2012 at 7:41 am

                                I am glad it has brought you traffic! It was an awesome looking recipe – although I have to admit it is still on my list of to try!

                            14. martha says

                              September 11, 2010 at 5:10 am

                              I made lucky # 13 and took to work for a co-workers birthday. These are the best cupcakes I have ever made. I made them exactly as stated. They were out of this world yummy. I received lots of great compliments. The cheesecake “topping” fell to the bottom when I baked them and were hardly visible. But the taste was awesome. This will be a recipe I repeat often. Thanks for sharing!

                              Reply

                            16. Lina says

                              August 18, 2010 at 12:29 pm

                              Since I’m clearly in a snippy mood today (blaming the cold yet again) I’d also point out that the Bomb Pop Cupcakes (#22) are actually made from a mix despite the author’s assertion that “there is no need to open a box to make a cake.” There. Bitching done I can now say that so many of these do look amazing and creative and that I especially can’t wait to try the Chunky Hubby Cupcakes (#4).

                              Reply

                            17. Lina says

                              August 18, 2010 at 7:21 am

                              Man, I wish that stupid peach cupcake (#41) had identified itself as vegan *before* I printed out the recipe and started to make it. Normally I’d be more thorough and prepared for a recipe but because I’m sick and only had the time/energy to make one batch of cupcakes last night I didn’t realize until it was too late. As a result I’m left with kind of bland cupcakes with a muffin-like texture that no one in my house wants to eat. Not sure why that one’s on the list at all other than that it seems like a good recipe in theory. Not knocking any vegans out there but I personally could never adopt a lifestyle that forces me to omit certain foods from my diet. Baked goods just aren’t the same without butter and eggs.

                              Reply

                            25. CDenise says

                              August 15, 2010 at 3:31 am

                              Which cupcake on this list is the one featured in the photo at the top of the page? It looks amazing and I would like to try it. Thank you!

                              Reply

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