Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Cupcake Recipes 15 Favorite Cupcake Recipes That Everyone Will Love From vanilla and chocolate to snickerdoodle and lemon meringue, these cupcake recipes are keepers. By Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the Martha Stewart recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years. Editorial Guidelines Published on May 22, 2024 Close Photo: Rachel Marek Our cupcake recipe collection brings together all our favorites. You’ll find the classics, like vanilla and chocolate, plus miniature versions of other popular cakes—red velvet and carrot cake, we’re talking about you. There are also creations inspired by other desserts; think cupcake versions of pies. We also have cupcakes that showcase seasonal fruits—and fruits that are always in season (bananas!). What these treats have in common is that they are easy to make. Many don’t require a mixer and use just a couple of bowls. All bake up much faster than larger cakes, making cupcakes a quicker route to dessert. Not only are they simple to make and easy to eat (no fork necessary), but they’re also fabulous for sharing. Bake a batch for a birthday, bake sale, or any kind of gathering—and see how they disappear. 30 Easy Cake Recipes Every Home Baker Will Love 01 of 15 Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes Moist, light, and sweet, these vanilla cupcakes are crowd-pleasers. Top them with Magnolia Bakery’s signature vanilla frosting for a truly sweet experience. View Recipe 02 of 15 Red Velvet Cupcakes Everything you love about red velvet cake but in miniature form, right down to the crown of cream cheese frosting. These cupcakes are another surefire winner. View Recipe 03 of 15 Carrot Cake Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting Yossy Arefi For lovers of carrot cake, we had to share these minis. They’re moist, sweet, lightly spiced, studded with golden raisins, and finished with the classic cream cheese frosting. View Recipe 04 of 15 Easy One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes Our go-to chocolate cupcake, this recipe makes a lot, so it's just right for bake sales or summer gatherings—or when you want to stash 12 cupcakes in the freezer. The batter is made with buttermilk and is quite loose before it goes in the oven—but bakes up tender and just right. View Recipe 05 of 15 Black Bottom Cupcakes Mike Krautter No frosting is necessary for these cupcakes. They’re chocolate on the bottom with marble-topped cream cheese filling—and they’re delicious. View Recipe 06 of 15 Banana Cupcakes With Honey-Cinnamon Frosting These easy-to-make cupcakes taste like your favorite banana bread in cupcake form. You don’t need a mixer because the simple batter comes together in two bowls. The honey-cinnamon frosting is equally a cinch to make and just the sweet finishing touch these treats need. View Recipe 07 of 15 Snickerdoodle Cupcakes For lovers of the chewy cinnamon cookie, we present this ode in cupcake form. Cinnamon-scented cupcakes are capped with "kisses" of seven-minute frosting and dusted with cinnamon sugar. View Recipe 08 of 15 Milk-Chocolate Pudding Cupcakes Con Poulos These cupcakes have four times the chocolate appeal. There’s a delicious chocolate cupcake made with melted chocolate—not cocoa as most are—and a chocolate pudding filling, a chocolate ganache glaze, and a crown of elegant chocolate curls. They just might be the ultimate treat for cacao lovers. View Recipe 09 of 15 Martha's Strawberry Cupcakes It's strawberries three ways with these seasonal treats. Diced strawberries are added to a delicate yellow cake batter; then the meringue buttercream frosting is flavored with strawberry jam, and a whole or half berry tops each cake. View Recipe 10 of 15 Hi-Hat Cupcakes Devil’s food cake is used for these cupcakes. It's a dark and delicious base just right for the ultimate contrast of fluffy meringue frosting encased in semisweet chocolate. View Recipe 11 of 15 Blueberry Cupcakes Rachel Marek A tender vanilla cake studded with blueberries and topped with a spiced brown sugar mixture before baking. You can enjoy them like that or finish them with swirls of blueberry cream cheese frosting. View Recipe 12 of 15 Lemon Meringue Cupcakes The light cupcake batter is flavored with lemon juice and zest for these cute cupcakes. They’re topped with lemon curd and finished with a seven-minute frosting that’s just like meringue. The finishing touch is using a kitchen torch to lightly brown the topping. View Recipe 13 of 15 Pumpkin Cupcakes Bryan Gardner Definitely the cutest fall dessert around, these easy cupcakes don’t require a mixer—all you need are two bowls. Pumpkin puree makes them moist and soft, and a tangy cream cheese frosting finishes them off in delicious style. View Recipe 14 of 15 Coconut Cupcakes With Seven-Minute Frosting and Coconut Flakes Calling all coconut cake lovers! These handheld treats are sure to satisfy your sweetest dreams. They have shredded coconut and coconut milk in the batter and are finished with billowy seven-minute frosting and a sprinkling of toasted coconut. View Recipe 15 of 15 Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes Con Poulos A next-level cupcake that’s sure to delight, these tender treats feature a delicate cake that’s sliced into two layers. The mini Boston cream pies are spread with a luscious vanilla filling and topped with a decadent chocolate ganache glaze. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit