Cupcakes are a nice treat for parties, snacks and desserts. Here are 10 of the best cupcake recipes to give you a lot of tasty choices! Most of these recipes are from our Dining On A Dime Cookbook.
10 Of The BEST Cupcake Recipes
Easy Banana Cupcakes Recipe
- Yield: 12 dozen regular size cupcakes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup solid shortening or margarine
2 eggs (slightly beaten)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup sour milk
1 cup bananas (about 3) mashed, very ripe are best
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2–1 cup nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Add each ingredient in order, beating until smooth.
- Pour into greased muffin tins or tins lined with cupcake papers.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Test by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, it is done.
- Frost with buttercream frosting (canned vanilla or homemade).
The BEST Chocolate Cupcakes
1/3 cup cocoa, packed
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. shortening
1 cup boiling water
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour milk or buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Dissolve cocoa and shortening in boiling water. Mix all of the remaining ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes. Pour into well greased or lined muffins tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. This tastes just like the package mix. Serves 9 or makes 20 cupcakes.
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Homemade Vanilla Cupcakes
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp. vanilla
4 egg whites
Mix all of the ingredients except the egg whites together in a bowl. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl. Beat on high for 2 minutes until smooth. Add egg whites and beat on high for 2 additional minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally. Pour into greased muffin tins or lined with cupcake liners. Bake 20-25 minutes. The cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely. Frost with chocolate frosting. Serves 18.
Perfect Homemade Yellow Cupcakes
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 cups buttermilk or sour milk
3 cups flour
3 eggs
3 tsp. baking powder
Beat butter and sugar together in a bowl until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping the sides constantly. Add buttermilk, and beat well. Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add to butter mixture slowly mixing well. Pour into 1 well greased and floured 9×13 inch pan or three 8-inch or two 9-inch pans. Bake at 350 degrees for the times listed below.
- 9×13-inch pan – 40-45 minutes
- 8-inch pan – 23-28 minutes
- 9-inch pan – 30-35 minutes
- cupcakes – 20-25 minutes
Cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely, then frost. Serves 18.
Cherry Chocolate Cupcakes
1 pkg. Pillsbury fudge cake mix (This brand seems to work best)
21 oz. can cherry pie filling
1 tsp. almond extract (optional)
2 eggs, beaten
Combine all ingredients by hand, mixing well. Pour into a greased and floured 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
For cupcakes, pour into greased muffin tins or tins lined with papers. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Test by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, it is done.
When cool frost with:
Frosting
1 cup sugar
5 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup milk
6 oz. chocolate chips
Place everything but the chocolate chips into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir constantly and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the chips. Pour over the cake and smooth.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
3/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cocoa
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla
1-2 oz. red food coloring
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup buttermilk
Cream together butter, eggs and sugar in a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients except the flour and buttermilk. Mix well. Add flour and buttermilk alternately. Beat until all the lumps are out.
Pour into a greased and floured 9×13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
For cupcakes, pour into greased muffin tins or tins lined with papers. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Test by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, it is done.
Frost with Red Velvet Frosting.
Red Velvet Frosting
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Cook milk and flour until thick, stirring constantly. Cool thoroughly. Beat milk and flour for one minute until fluffy. Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add to milk and flour and add vanilla. Mix well. Frosts one Red Velvet Cake.
Creamy Pumpkin Cupcakes Recipe
1 pkg. spice cake mix
1 (3.4 oz.) pkg. vanilla instant pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
Mix the cake mix as directed on the package. Add dry pudding and pumpkin. Mix well. Pour into 24 paper lined muffin cups. Beat cream cheese, sugar and egg together and drop a spoonful into the center of each cupcake. Swirl gently with a spoon. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-21 minutes. Frost with Spiced Frosting.
Peppermint Cupcakes
Stick a couple of peppermint sticks or candy canes in your favorite regular frosted cupcake. You could use red frosting with this if you like, but white is also great because it looks like snow. I suggest crisscrossing the peppermint sticks just to add to the look.
If it’s the Christmas season, you could even make some small signs to stick on the cupcakes that say “North Pole”. You can also add a few drops of peppermint extract to your frosting.
Homemade Hostess Cupcake Filling
1/2 cup (1 stick or 1/4 lb.) butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup shortening
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer without stopping for 30 minutes. With a pastry bag and a long pastry tip, poke a hole in the center of each cupcake and fill.
Fills one cupcake recipe or makes a good center filling for layer cakes. This is just like the filling in the cupcakes at the store. Kids love to take them in lunches and they freeze well. Eat them right from the freezer, either thawed or frozen. Frost cupcakes as desired. Fills 20-24 cupcakes.
Pudding Frosting Recipe
This easy pudding frosting recipe is one of our easy frosting recipes that makes a delicious and creamy frosting from a pudding mix. This frosting can be used for cakes, cupcakes and other pastries. It also makes a great filling!
Instructions
- Mix the pudding mix as directed on the package, except using only half the milk called for in the box instructions.
- Combine with the 8 oz. container of whipped topping.
Notes
- Use this pudding frosting for frosting cakes, cupcakes or to use as filling in cupcakes, Long Johns and other pastries.
- You can many different flavors of pudding to make the frosting. Lemon, white chocolate, chocolate, banana, butterscotch (for spice cakes).
- You might try using just vanilla to frost a cake, including the layers, and then add things like fresh berries, sprinkles, crushed candy, dried fruit, coconut and nuts.
- Chocolate shavings and sprinkles are great on chocolate frosting. You can also try candied lemon peels on lemon frosting and banana slices on banana pudding.
- This pudding frosting is a great way to use up some that leftover holiday candy you may have. Just crush it and sprinkle on top of the pudding frosting for a quick but luscious looking cake or cupcake!
Just about any “cake” recipe can be baked in cupcake papers and pans to make cupcakes, or muffins. Just bake for less time, and watch the oven a little closer for the first batch. Muffins and cupcakes were a staple in our house when I home-schooled. They often rounded out a lunch, provided a healthy breakfast or an afternoon snack. Even if the muffins were on the sweeter side, I added healthier ingredients, and cut back the sugar a bit, so they were guilt free. A good muffin cookbook will have an assortment of savoury muffins as well as sweet ones. Thanks for all these great recipes.
Hi Jill: I’m so pleased we can now send recipes to our Pinterest board! that makes it so easy!, how cool is that!
It does make it handy and fun Donna.
Just made the chocolate cupcakes they smell so wonderful!
These cupcakes look wonderful! I never thought of making banana cupcakes before; I’ll have to try that recipe.
Question: RE: The frosting for the Cherry Chocolate Cupcakes and also the frosting for the Red Velvet Cupcakes. Do you use granulated sugar, for those recipes, OR confectioner’s sugar? Thanks.
It is granulated sugar that you use for both of these. Usually we will put powdered or brown sugar in the recipe if you are to use those but other wise if it says sugar we are talking about granulated. Hope that helps.
Thanks very much! :-D
Hello- Do you really beat the Hostess Homemade frosting for 30 min?
Yes Pam you do. I use a hand mixer so I usually grab me a book to read while I am doing it. Now sometimes if I am in a hurry I will cut it down to 20-25 mins. but once I did it for about 10 mins not thinking it would matter but it really does. It really fluffs it up and makes it light and airy plus if you don’t it it is a little grainy so you really need to and is so worth it. Now what I would do is make a double batch and freeze half of it. It freezes really well and for a really cool summer treat the cupcakes are so good eaten frozen straight from the freezer.