Our 9 Best Cupcake Recipes

Who doesn't love cupcakes? (It's a cake, just for you!) These are our best easy recipes for cupcakes, from chocolate to elderflower.

By Chatelaine

Updated June 9, 2025

chocolate cupcake recipe with chocolate buttercream icing

Photo, Roberto Caruso.

Lemon-Elderflower Cupcakes

These easy cupcakes have a fresh, floral flavour that makes them perfect for spring. Get our lemon-elderflower cupcakes recipe.

Chocolate Cupcakes With Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Delicious in their simplicity: our chocolate cupcake recipe with chocolate buttercream icing are a bake-sale classic or a tasty treat for your lunch box. Get our chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream icing recipe.

Photo, Erik Putz.

Chocolate Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Icing

Topped off with peanut-butter cups, these are the pairing of your PB-loving dreams. Get our chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing recipe.

Chocolate-peanut-butter cupcakes. (Photo: Erik Putz)

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

Our classic vanilla layer cake recipe can easily be turned into two dozen cupcakes—follow the instructions at the end.

A yellow vanilla layer cake frosted with vanilla buttercream icing and topped with white chocolate shavings on a lace doily on a wooden tray

(Photography: Erik Putz; Food styling: Ashley Denton; Prop styling: Jennifer Evans)

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

These extra-coconutty treats are one of our favourite cupcakes to date! Get our toasted coconut cupcakes recipe.

a toasted coconut cupcake, topped with a swirl of buttercream icing and toasted coconut flakes, the cupcake wrapper just loosened slightly, on a wood table

(Photo: Roberto Caruso)

Pumpkin Cupcakes With Maple-Bacon Icing

Maple-bacon — you know you want it. (We've also got a gluten-free option, just in case.) Get this pumpkin cupcakes with maple-bacon icing recipe.

(Photo: Ryan Szulc)

Chocolate Cupcakes With Vanilla Buttercream Icing

Top these triple-tested classic chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing and colourful sprinkles for bakery-worthy treats. Get our chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing recipe.

Photo, Erik Putz.

Strawberry And Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Simple lemon cupcakes topped with tangy, easy three-ingredient cream-cheese icing are a fresh, summery treat. Get the strawberry and lemon cream cheese cupcakes recipe.

Tomato Soup Cupcakes

A post-war hack of using canned soup to flavour tea loaf became a baking craze in the ’40s and ’50s. We swapped the loaf tin for cupcakes. Get our tomato soup cupcakes recipe.

Cake design by Michelle Ashurov, Produced by Chantal Braganza and Sun Ngo, Photography by Christie Vuong, Prop Styling by Madeleine Johari, Food Styling by Michelle Lucas Larving

Watch: Make it Fancy: Cupcakes

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