And precisely why are they better, you may wonder? That’s an easy one. They’re better because they’re cuter, and you can eat several of them without feeling guilty. After all, we all know that eating two full-size cupcakes is probably pretty bad for you calorie-wise, but who can really say how many calories are in mini cupcakes? They’re so small, so it can’t be a lot, right? (At least, that’s how I choose to look at it, anyway!) So if you’re in the mood for something tiny, sweet, and absolutely charming to look at, check out these 13 mini cupcake recipes.
1. Mini Vanilla Cupcakes
Another great thing about mini cupcakes is that you can usually make a ton of them in very little time. For example, you can make four dozen of these mini vanilla cupcakes in just 25 minutes! You’ll make them just like regularly sized vanilla cupcakes, and they have the same sweet, old-fashioned vanilla flavor. The only difference is that they’re tiny, and there are a lot more of them.
2. Mini Cheesecake Cupcakes
These mini cheesecake cupcakes may not look like conventional cupcakes, but that’s part of what makes them so fantastic. They’re unique and gorgeous enough to turn heads. You’ll make the bottom layer of the cupcakes with graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar; each one is like a tiny graham cracker pie crust. The next layer is the sweet and tangy cheesecake layer, which you’ll make with cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract. You’ll also top each one with either homemade strawberry sauce or homemade caramel sauce to suit your tastes. Stick half of a strawberry on each one to top it off, and you’ll have one gorgeous and yummy sweet treat.
3. Mini Chocolate Cupcakes
These are for the chocolate lovers in your life; each one is a triple dose of chocolatey yumminess. You’ll use both dark chocolate and cocoa powder in the cupcakes themselves. Then, you’ll ice each one with a rich, decadent buttercream frosting made from heavy cream, butter, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder. If you like, you can add even more chocolate by topping each one in chocolate sprinkles!
4. Mini Cupcakes Using Cake Mix
We all know that making homemade cupcakes is the way to go if you want the best taste, the softest texture, and the most compliments from your friends. But sometimes, they’re just too much work. That’s where boxed cake mix comes in handy. You can easily make mini cupcakes by following the instructions on the cake mix and pouring the batter into mini muffin tins instead of a cake pan. Then, ice them and decorate them however you like and to suit any occasion. The whole process shouldn’t take more than half an hour, tops.
5. Dark Chocolate Mini Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting
If you prefer a bit of salt with your sweets, then these dark chocolate and salted caramel cupcakes are the perfect dessert option for you. Each cupcake is light, moist, and full of rich, premium dark chocolate flavor. You’ll top that off with the sweet taste of caramel and plenty of coarse sea salt to give you that wonderfully unbeatable sweet and salty combination. Plus, these look stunning, as well.
6. Mini Oreo Cupcakes
These cupcakes are delicious with dense and crumbly Oreo cookies and cream batter and thick, sugary frosting made with butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, cream, salt, and Oreos. You can even make them look festive and party-ready by sticking half an Oreo on the top of each one. With or without that garnish, though, people will love these little cupcakes.
7. Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes
Whether you’re looking for the ideal Valentine’s Day treat or are just craving red velvet, these mini red velvet cupcakes are an excellent answer to both. They have all the flavor of a red velvet cake and vanilla cream cheese frosting packed into each tiny, two-bites cupcake. Best of all, you’ll make them entirely from scratch, and it’ll still only take 30 minutes to bake nearly four dozen cupcakes. That’s hard to beat.
8. Mini Pumpkin Cupcakes
I always get excited when fall gets here because it means people, myself included, can start rolling out the pumpkin, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, and other traditional fall flavors. These mini pumpkin cupcakes are the true embodiment of my favorite season. Everything – from the pumpkin pie spice blend and canned pumpkin puree to the cinnamon cream cheese frosting – screams autumnal bliss. The recipe, as written, makes two dozen mini cupcakes. However, you might want to go ahead and double that because once you start eating them, it’s tough to stop.
9. Mini Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
Here’s another easy-to-follow recipe to make standard vanilla mini cupcakes, but for this one, you’ll top them with smooth and super sweet chocolate buttercream frosting. And don’t let the homemade buttercream scare you off; it’s much easier to make than most people realize and requires only five simple ingredients. Even though you’ll create these from scratch, it should only take about 22 minutes to make them from start to finish.
10. Mini Brownie Cupcakes
These nine-ingredient confections are ideal for the days when you can’t decide between cupcakes and brownies. After all, why choose when you could have both? You’ll make the cake part of the cupcakes with fudgy brownie batter and top each one with simple but delectable chocolate ganache frosting. It doesn’t matter when, where, or why I make them. These are always a massive hit and are usually gone within 10 minutes of opening the dessert table.
11. Easy Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Here’s one of my favorite unwritten rules: If you can make a cake out of it, it can be made into cupcakes, too. These delightful, spiced carrot cake cupcakes are proof of that. They contain everything that makes carrot cake so yummy – cinnamon, nutmeg, applesauce, brown sugar, vanilla extract, carrots, cream cheese frosting, and more. But they’re smaller and much easier to eat. Plus, don’t forget my other unwritten rule. No one knows how many calories are in mini cupcakes, so those calories don’t count.
12. Mini Lemon Cupcakes
If you’re hoping to whip up a batch of mini cupcakes that are just as tart and tangy as they are sweet, you’ll have to try this recipe for mini lemon cupcakes. You’ll make the cupcake part with everyday baking ingredients and both lemon zest and lemon juice. It makes them unbelievably moist and gives them a bit of a kick. The lemon buttercream icing compounds on that kick with even more freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest. These may be small, but they pack a gigantic wallop of lemon flavor.
13. Mini Rainbow Cupcakes
All you’ll need to make these gorgeous rainbow cupcakes are standard pantry and baking ingredients and lots of gel food coloring to dye the rainbow layers. Despite their striking, multicolored appearance, they taste like sweet, delectable vanilla cupcakes, and that vanilla cloud frosting on top? 100% drool-worthy! These are perfect for pride celebrations, birthday parties, or even St. Paddy’s Day celebrations. (For that last one, use green icing and top each one off with an edible gold coin to complete the effect.) And don’t worry; even though they look like they’d be a lot of work, they aren’t. You can easily make 24 of them in under an hour. Click on a star to rate it!
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