Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chocolate chip cupcakes

  • julesamomof2 on July 03, 2019

    These were sad cupcakes in just about every way. They were fussy to make, and the suggested dark chocolate frosting instructions did not work, and also made about 5 times more frosting then needed to frost the cupcakes. I was bummed I wasted my time and energy making these, but since they looked okay I figured I'd serve them to a crowd of hungry teenagers. When I realized most were untouched I tried one myself --sad and dry.

• Carrot cupcakes

  • swegener on February 01, 2015

    Very good--though I cut the oil and replaced it with shredded pineapple. It was the winner at the carrot cake cook off last year.

  • MsMonsoon on April 21, 2025

    Got rave reviews at Easter! Wonderful texture, perfectly spiced (I may have used a touch more spice than the recipe says) and a good amount of carrot. I used a food processor to grate the pound of carrots. The cream cheese frosting (also in the book) came out beautifully smooth and delicious, even though I forgot to add the vanilla. I had some frosting left over after frosting the 24 cupcakes with an offset spatula. Using a piping bag may use up the whole batch of frosting.

• Yellow buttermilk cupcakes

  • stef on November 04, 2018

    Always turns out great

  • MsMonsoon on May 13, 2025

    Makes a lot of cupcakes, about 36, so good for a party. These turned out well! Made with the fluffy vanilla frosting in the same book.

• Red velvet cupcakes

  • Salt on June 23, 2011

    Wow, these were surprisingly moist and quite excellent. Will make again.

• Devil's food cupcakes

  • vickster on March 07, 2015

    Delicious chocolate cupcakes. Made with Fluffy White Frosting and Valentine's Heart Sprinkles for Valentine's Day.

  • MsMonsoon on May 13, 2025

    Made a half recipe and got exactly 16 cupcakes. Nothing fancy but turned out well. Made with a half batch of the dark chocolate frosting (not the chocolate ganache frosting as suggested).

• Applesauce-spice cupcakes

  • rmorse on February 16, 2016

    I found these cupcakes a little tough. It is possible that I overmixed them, but they were not nearly as tender as I would have liked.

• Cookies and cream cheesecakes

  • Kmcatee87 on May 24, 2026

    The cheesecakes were good, but I wasn't blown away.

• Peanut butter-filled chocolate cupcakes

  • LaurenB on April 23, 2017

    4/5 - Taste was great, but would have benefited from less time in the oven. Says to bake for 40 minutes, only baked for 32 and could have cut that by about 4 more minutes (and we use an oven thermometer, so that was not the problem.) We topped with a peanut butter frosting from Serious Eats and it helped take these to the next level. Would make again.

• Roasted banana cupcakes

  • Frogcake on June 07, 2017

    Wow! The roasting of the bananas really intensifies the banana taste -delicious! The honey cinnamon icing is also very yummy.

• Fluffy vanilla frosting

  • MsMonsoon on May 13, 2025

    Turned out well and was good consistency for piping onto cupcakes. Quite sweet though!

• Dark chocolate frosting

  • MsMonsoon on May 13, 2025

    Fairly easy and makes a nice, glossy frosting. It’s a bit soft so piping didn’t hold its shape very well. Maybe it should be chilled a bit first? I ended up frosting by hand with a knife. A half batch was enough to frost 16 Yellow Buttermilk cupcakes (a half batch) and there was still at least a cup left over.

• Cream-cheese frosting

  • MsMonsoon on April 21, 2025

    Excellent frosting. Delicious and it looks pretty spread onto a cucpake -- smooth, not greasy looking or bumpy. Makes more than enough to spread on 24 cupcakes. Maybe exactly the amount for 24 if piping.