Cupcakes are forever delicious. They’re versatile, individual, and oh-so fluffy. The best cupcakes start with a simple cake batter accompanied by your preferred flavors.
Try the recipe suggestions below to bake cakes that will outshine the ones at your favorite bakery.
1. Red Velvet Cupcakes
Red velvet cupcakes are miniature versions of the classic red velvet cake. While they’re popular around the holidays, there’s no reason not to make a batch over the summer. Start with your basic cake recipe and mix in red gel paste food coloring to get the color.
Decorate the cooled cupcakes with a simple, versatile, and tangy cream cheese frosting.
2. Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Take your love for chocolate to the limit with chocolate chip cupcakes topped with chocolate chip frosting. Bursting with melty chocolate spread throughout the fluffy sponge, you can replace the chocolate chips with nuts or cranberries if you’re counting calories.
Look for a rich, moist chocolate cupcake recipe, and you can easily leave off the frosting.
More: 10 Best Summer Chocolate Desserts
3. Raspberry Peach Cupcakes
Your summer cupcake toolbox must contain a few recipes that incorporate seasonal fruits. Tangy raspberry and sweet peaches blend well to make a tasty cupcake. Melted white chips and vanilla extract bring out the flavors. Top these cakes with lemon frosting, made from softened butter, lemon juice and powdered sugar, and delight your taste buds.
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4. Summer Banana Split Cupcakes
Inspired by the popular dessert, banana split cupcakes are so insanely delicious you won’t be able to put them down. Squeeze in banana cream filling and top with vanilla frosting, chocolate sprinkles and a cherry on top.
Vegans can adapt the traditional recipe to make a dairy-free version that tastes just like the real thing.
More: 8 Grilled Banana Bread Ice Cream Sandwiches
5. Strawberry Lemon Cupcakes
Strawberries take center stage in these popular summer cupcakes. The recipe takes inspiration from the cooling strawberry lemonade. You can build the recipe in one of two ways: Include chopped strawberries in the cake batter and the buttercream frosting, or bake a pure lemon cake and reserve strawberries for the frosting. Either way, the cupcakes are sure to bring back fond childhood memories.
More: 10 Quick and Easy Fruit Desserts
6. Fluffy Coconut Cupcakes
Break away from the dense coconut cupcakes with boring coconut flakes topping. Instead, infuse the entire cupcake with coconut flavors by replacing regular milk with coconut milk. Mix shredded coconuts into the batter. Prepare a coconut cream filling to swirl on top, and sprinkle colored flakes to make it fun.
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7. Spiced Apple Cupcakes
Marzipan apple cupcakes topped with a generous amount of maple frosting will fly off your kitchen table. Fold in chopped apples, ginger, and cinnamon into your standard cake mixture. Frost the cakes with maple buttercream made from butter, maple syrup, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and kosher salt.
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8. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Sometimes, an insanely good cupcake is all about the frosting. Rich and moist chocolate cupcakes taste great on their own. But when you top them with peanut butter frosting, they’re out of this world. What’s the secret to moist chocolate cakes? Melt the chocolate and whisk it into your eggs and sugar, and then fold in the flour. The mixture looks like a tasty mousse, and the baked cakes are light and fluffy.
Whisk peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, butter, and vanilla with your electric mixer to make the frosting and pile on the cooled cakes.
More: 10 Kid-Friendly Summer Party Food Ideas
9. Pina Colada Cupcakes
Moist pineapple coconut cupcakes will brighten your day. You don’t have to use alcohol in these cupcakes, especially if you need to make a kid-friendly version.
Start with a vanilla cupcake recipe and mix in pineapple juice and coconut milk for a tropical flavor. Frost the cake with a delicious coconut frosting.
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10. Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
Everyone loves chocolate cupcakes, which is why there’s another chocolate recipe on the list. This time, Oreo cookies hit the spotlight to double the chocolate fun. Break up pieces of Oreos in the batter before baking, and mix some crumbs into the frosting. Decorate each cake with a whole cookie on top.
Try these recipes this summer, and some of them will become your absolute favorite. And don’t forget to share your own summer cupcake recipes in the comments section.
