Crazy Cupcakes: One Easy Recipe with Endless Flavor Variations!
Save RecipeMy Crazy Cupcakes recipe is so easy! Make flavors like Birthday Cake & Red Velvet or create your own: it’s my best-ever cupcake recipe with endless possibilities.
Hi Bold Bakers!
Amazing, over-the-top cupcakes have been popular for years but my Crazy Cupcakes are a real game changer! Why bake a whole cake and slice it up when you can have little handheld cupcakes, piled high with frosting, filled with unique flavors?
I am 100% on the Crazy Cupcakes train and I am taking it all the way with this master recipe for Crazy Cupcakes! Just like my Crazy Cookie Dough and Crazy Dough Recipes, this recipe for Crazy Cupcakes is one easy recipe with endless possibilities.
Where To Start With My Crazy Cupcakes
My Crazy Cupcakes start with a classic sweet sponge. This recipe acts as your Master Cupcake recipe, your Best Cupcake recipe. No matter what flavor you are making you will never need another cupcake recipe again. This cake is fluffy, moist, and sweet, making it the perfect canvas for whatever flavors you and your family crave.
What flavor cupcake can you make?
After you prepare the sponge you simply add in your choice of mix-ins. From classics like Red Velvet and Carrot Cake, to fun flavors like Chocolate and Peanut Butter, I have you covered. My personal favorite is the Birthday Cake Cupcake!
[ Speaking of Birthday Cake, here’s a recipe for my big vanilla one! ]
What flavor frosting can you make?
All of these flavors are topped off with everyone’s favorite part, loads of frosting and extra toppings.
These Crazy Cupcakes are a sight to behold, and perfect for any party or just to bring to a friend. If you want to see all the flavors of frosting you can pair with your cupcakes you have got to check out my Crazy Frosting Recipe! I’ve got a recipe for all your favorite frosting flavors from mint chip or coffee, to strawberry and of course chocolate!
Below are just a few of my flavor ideas but you can make so many more. Let me know in the comments below what you make!
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Red Velvet is a classic combining moist cake, a hint of cocoa powder, and cream — usually a cream cheese — based frosting. The result not only looks so fun but tastes like milk chocolate heaven!
Lemon & Blueberry Cupcakes
Tangy lemon and sweet berries are one of my favorite combinations! This is a great one to make when berries are in season, but if they aren’t you can always use frozen berries.
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Carrot cake happens to be one of my personal favorite flavors! I love the lightly spiced cake combined with the sweet grated fresh carrot. This is a great way to get in those extra veggies!
Cookies & Cream Cupcakes
Do you know what’s better than a cupcake? A cupcake combined with an Oreo! That is exactly what this is and it’s divine! They are RICH, creamy and of course chocolatey!
Birthday Cake Cupcakes
Another classic, these Birthday Cake Cupcakes are so festive! I love to go crazy with the sprinkles here, there’s no such thing as too much!
Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cupcakes
This has to be one of the Biggest and Boldest cupcakes I’ve made. Kevin loves chocolate and peanut butter, so this one was a must. These are a little salty, sweet, and pack that chocolate punch. They are addicting!
How to store cupcakes
After the cupcakes are decorated you can cover them in an airtight container and store them for up to 3 days. If you’d like you can freeze the baked and un-frosted cupcakes for up to 3 weeks. To thaw, allow them to sit at room temperature until soft and fully defrosted. Once defrosted you can frost and enjoy!
Check out these other cupcake recipes!
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My Crazy Cupcakes recipe is so easy! Make flavors like Birthday Cake & Red Velvet or create your own: it's my best-ever cupcake recipe with endless possibilities.
- 1 cup (8oz/225g) sugar
- 1 cup (8oz/225g) butter, softened
- 4 eggs
- 1 ⅔ cup (8oz/225g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons milk
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- 1/2 tablespoons grated carrot
- 1 teaspoon raisins , chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon walnuts , chopped
-
Cream cheese frosting for topping
- 1 -2 teaspoons cocoa powder , sifted (depending on taste)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- Peanut butter frosting for topping
-
Reeses peanut butter cups for garnish
(optional)
- 1 Teaspoon of lemon zest percupcake
- 2 tablespoons fresh blueberries
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Buttercream frosting for topping
-
Lemon zest for garnish
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon sprinkles
- Buttercream frosting for topping
-
Sprinkles for garnish
- 1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder , sifted
- Red food coloring
-
Cream cheese frosting for topping
- 2 Oreo cookies , crushed
- Extra Oreo cookie for garnish
- Buttercream frosting for topping
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Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners.
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In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment beat your butter until fluffy.
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Add your sugar and cream together the sugar and butter until light and pale in color.
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Add your eggs one at a time, being sure they are fully incorporated between each one. Then add in the milk.
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Add the dry ingredients and mix until a smooth batter is formed. Do not over mix.
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Scoop a 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) of crazy cupcake batter in a bowl.
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Next, depending on which flavor you'd like to make, mix in your add-ins.
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Bake for 16 to 18 minutes then remove from the oven and allow to cool fully before frosting.
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Enjoy!
Watch the Recipe Video!
For peanut butter frosting: One tablespoon of peanut butter should flavor 4ozs/125g of buttercream frosting, but this depends on your taste. I suggest you taste as you go.
This amount should frost 4 cupcakes depending on how you use it.
Get My Crazy Cookie Dough Recipe!
Meet Gemma
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Hello!
I’ve done the red velvet cupcake ( as a whole batch…it’s 2 tablespoon cocoa powder right? ). It tasted AMAZING! But it kind of had a strong egg smell…so can I reduce the eggs to 3 or should I add a bit of vanilla essence to reduce the egg smell? Planning to make them on Sunday.
Thanks for all your AMAZING recipes!!
It is normal for egg based cakes to smell a little. But it is the quality of the eggs that matter. If you use fresh eggs, it should not smell as eggy. Happy baking, Sivakhami! Gemma 😊
Hi Gemma,
I’m a homemaker and I simply love your recipies and the way you explain things. I wanted to know if Cadbury or hersheys cocoa is ok to use or is Dutch processed cocoa better?
If substituting one for the other,does the quantity remain the same?
Secondly can one use dried blueberries in the cupcakes instead of the fresh/frozen ones ?fresh/frozen are not so easily available India.
Hi Gitika! Thanks for dropping a line.
For this particular recipe of frosting, you can use either kind of cocoa powder in the same quantity. The flavor and color will be different. You can use this guide on the different kinds of chocolate for reference in the future to help you https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/types-of-chocolate-guide/
And you can use dried blueberries in the cupcakes for sure if you do not have fresh / frozen ones where you are.
Happy baking!
Gemma 😊
How can I make this with gluten free flour and vegan?
Thanks
Hi Miriam,
If you needed to make that many changes to the recipe then I would suggest using a recipe that is actually gluten free vegan cupcakes. I have some chocolate ones here . Theses are gluten free and you could sub the eggs with apple sauce.
Best,
Gemma.
Hi Gemma, thanks for this! Really looking for a recipe and/method on making good tasting cupcakes w/c are also soft and fluffy.. Can you please give your thoughts on first mixing the egg whites with cream of tartar and sugar until foamy before adding into the batter? Do you think if that would be applied on your recipe would make the cupcakes more fluffy? Thanks in advance.
Hi,
You could try whipping the egg whites separately but just not it doesn’t always make a huge difference. It won’t hurt though.
Best,
Gemma.
Hi Gemma
I love your baking recipes. I tried this and it was a hit in my home with my husband and kids. Thanks for sharing these wonderful baking ideas.
You rock😘
Thrilled to hear that, Regina!
Definitely try the Crazy Cookie Dough’
Kids LOVE this recipe.
Best,
Gemma.
Hey Gemma try cupcakes and they came out beautiful, but I find the frosting to be too sweet and my butter stayed yellow. How do I cut down on the sweet, and getting my butter cream to be more white.
Hi there,
whipping the butter well makes it lighter in color, however, butter from grass-fed cows tends to be yellow and will give more of a cream than sparkling white finish.
The ratio of butter to sugar is 1:2 for buttercream. It is sweet and it is best at that ratio. The idea is to have a little with the cake. If you taste it on its own it will always feel too sweet. It is a traditional recipe, hard to make it less sweet without using a different recipe. Google ERMINE frosting, this is a cooked flour frosting and it tends to be less sweet.
I hope this is of help,
Gemma 🙂
Hi
I just love your simple recipes. Been baking for long and when I try your recipes they always turn out great. I have done these cupcakes loads of times but today I accidentally ended up using salted butter and the cupcakes ended up not being cupcakes at all… They seem to have a bit of cookie taste and the top fell flat and even looked like cookies.
I have not experienced something as such before…can salted butter really affect baking so largely?
Hi Steffi,
I tend to use salted butter in all of my recipes. This was not the issue, I suspect something else here, perhaps the oven temperature! I am not too sure. The balance of this recipe is important too, you need to have that right or the recipe will not work.
I am sorry, I am guessing, I cannot be sure,
Gemma 🙂
Thank you so much for replying…
Well I have done this recipe before and that turned out well… Still not sure what happened. But the cupcakes were really salty too. Wil have to try something else in the oven to make sure it’s working well.
Thank you so much for your time.
Steffi, Is there any chance you use self raising flour to make the cupcakes?
It can already contain salt. That paired with extra raising agent would make it almost inedible.
Gemma.
Hi Gemma,
I never use self raising flour..I always do my baking from scratch.
Well something went wrong from my side… 🙂
I do have a query though..
Cakes, muffins and cookies have a ratio of flour to liquid.. is there a ratio like that for making breads… Cause I make buns and am often afraid that I might end up with a dough too dry or sticky.
Am from India and I make dough almost every single day for rotis, naans, poori and paratha, but their consistency is very different and do not require yeast and stuff.
The crown of my buns often tend to tear up due to dry dough..
Could you please help.
Hi Steffi,
Flour in different places behaves in different ways, depending on how, where, when, and even the type of wheat being milled. It absorbs liquids differently too, depending on humidity, temperature, etc. It is much easier to add more than to take some out! So, next time stop when the dough comes together into a clean ball. This is what you want. Add 3/4 of the liquids in one go, then the remainder more slowly, until the dough comes together. Yeast bread dough does not like to be too dry. That is the secret! I hope this makes sense to you. Do not give up!
The bake too changes according to the ingredients. The enriched dough bakes quicker, that is dough which has additions such as butter/milk/eggs. A lower temperature helps here 200c/400f works well.
The crazy cupcake recipe is proportional for sure, but not all recipes are.
I hope this will help you,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gamma,
Thank you for your recipe! You cupcakes are so amazing!! I have a question about beating ingredients. Can I use tje manual egg beater to beat egg, butter and others instead of the electric egg beater? And how long can I beat for each thing and the final mixture?
Thank you,
May
Hi May,
this type of recipe was made at home without any appliances for generations, a wooden spoon and elbow grease.
The secret will be to get the butter soft enough to cream nicely, it will change in color, becoming whiter as it goes on, and when you see this you can start to add the eggs. If you beat the eggs first it will be easier to incorporate it with the butter/sugar mix, just do this slowly. Then fold in the flour and all will be well.
Try it, that is your best teacher!
Gemma 🙂
Hi.. I plan to have this crazy cupcake activity with my toddle. Just a question for the butter should we use the salted butter or unsalted butter ?
Hi there,
either will work well for you. I tend to use salted butter in everything, but that is because it is what I grew up with. If you use unsalted butter then you can add a pinch of salt, but even that is not mandatory, ut just helps the flavor.
I hope your little one enjoys the process, kids usually love it, and they are so proud at the end!
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
My sis and I just started baking recently and we love your recipes. Have tried the crazy cookie dough and it was a success. Last week we did try doing this one. It tastes delicious but we ended up having a tough cupcake. We did try to follow your instructions and did watch the vid while making it even put timers on hahaha. Could you pls. advice us on how to have that moist and soft cupcake? Deeply appreciate your feedback on this. Lots of love from Philippines 🙂
Hi Monica,
I’m so glad you and your sister are trying my recipes. So the cupcakes being tough is something that can happen because the batter got mixed up too much. Mixing it too much toughens the gluten in the flour and you end up with harder, denser cupcakes. When baking we try not mix any recipe too much once we have added in the flour.
This is a very common mistake in baking and now that you know why you probably won’t do it again.
Thanks for your question,
Gemma.
Hi Gemma, I made an entire batch of red velvet cupcakes but something went wrong I guess coz the cupcakes look and taste more chocolatey than red velvet. They have a barely seen red colour that is only visible under camera and taste more like chocolate cupcakes. I added 10 drops red food colouring and 1& 3/4 tbspn cocoa powder. Is that the reason why they didn’t turn out correct.
Hi Sammy,
I think the issue is the color you are using. Back in time, the red velvet cake was colored only by the cocoa, which tends to have a pink color and the acid ingredient in the bake. Beets were sometimes used too. The color in recent times has been stronger because of the types of pastes/gels being used. You will not get a rich red without a strong artificial color. The addition of a little cinnamon gave the flavor too, other than that it is just chocolate, the color lends nothing to the flavor.
I hope this is of help to you,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
I noticed that you use a ballon whisk while you beat your batter. I usually use flat beater paddle when I beat my cake batter. Is there any difference in which one of the attachment I use?
Hi there,
If I were beating a heavy batter I would use the beater too. for this soft mix, the whisk will cream the butter and sugar, and then the flour is not beaten, just incorporated to give a tender result.
I hope this is of help,
Gemma 🙂
Thanks Gemma, that is very helpful, especially for novice baker like me.
Today I made all varieties that you mentioned and they were nice and moist and very enjoyable. One question, I whipped my butter for about 5 min. and and then slowly added the sugar. When I went to add the eggs the butter and sugar mixture looked curdled. Did I over beat the butter. They still tasted great but was just wondering why that happened . Enjoy your website Gemma, thanks for all your help.
Hi Diane,
I am delighted you liked this recipe.
The curdling was because the volume of the egg was too much for the butter to emulsify. If you have ever made mayonnaise you will know that oil and eggs need to be introduced really slowly so that the oil can be absorbed. Much the same principle here. My suggestion to you is beat the eggs together first, then add to the butter/sugar mix slowly as you whip. This will prevent the mix from curdling.
I hope this is of help. This is a traditional Victoria sponge mixture, really useful for all fo your baking,
gemma 🙂
Thanks so much, can’t wait to try them again..Happy Easter
Happy Easter to you too Diana, early morning here in California,
Gemma <3
Hi Gemma,
I love how diverse and creative this recipe is and planned to make lots of these for an Easter party. However, my oven just broke down! What rotten luck. I don’t want to give up just yet so I was wondering if there’s any way I can go extra BOLD and “bake” these in the microwave instead?
Do you have any advice? I looked over your Vanilla Mugcake recipe for guidance on microwave timings. Will the microwave time for cupcakes be different since they are smaller in size compared to the mugcake? I would really appreciate your help.
Hi there,
I cannot see why not! You will need to bake in small batches, perhaps in a circle on the tray to allow for good distribution of the energy.
I cannot be sure about the baking time, some may bake ahead of others so you will need to keep a good eye on this. I suggest you run a little batch at first, to be sure. When they feel barely firm to the touch they will be baked.
It will be an experiment, well baked in the microwave are best eaten freshly baked too, so make on the day!
Gemma 🙂
Thanks a lot, Gemma! My cupcakes came out perfectly and I experimented with a range of colours, flavours and designs. The outcome was amazing! I’ll be sending a photo soon.
Hi there,
yea! i am delighted with this lovely review, looking forward to seeing the photo too,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
I always look to your great advice for baking tips which never disappoints… Im trying these cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday on Saturday.. God bless you
Hi there,
Thank you for your kind words.
I think these cupcakes will be a hit at the party. I hope your daughter has a lovely celebration of her birthday,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma
I just watched the video of you making the cake mix, you added 2 eggs but the ingredient list says 4 eggs, Im confused, do I use 2 or 4 eggs. Thankyouuuu
Hi Marchelle,
The videos get edited so as not to be boring! This is a proportional recipe when measured in ozs/grams. 8ozs of sugar/butter/flour/4 eggs and a little milk. This recipe is easily reduced and increased as long as you weight the ingredients, cups throw this out.
I hope this helps,
Gemma 🙂
Can you make the cupcakes up ahead of time and maybe frost on the day of event?
Of course, that’s a great idea!
Hi Gemma!I tried to Bake the Cupcake..But why does my Cupcakes always peel from the Edges and shrink..What did i do wrong?Pls help!
Hi, it seems like you’re just not filling the liners up with enough batter.
Ohh…I see..Ok,i will try Bake again and i will Update u soon on the Outcome..Thanks Gemma for Replying…I love ur Baking sooo much,and i never give up in Baking it right..I had Bake ur Cookies Recipe and it turn out just right..Have a great day to you..
I’m delighted to hear that! Please do let me know 😀
Hi Gemma,
In the recipe for the lemon and blueberry cupcakes it says to add 1 tsp vanilla extract per cupcake. This seems like a lot so I just want to confirm this is correct.
Thank you! 🙂
Hi Jessica,
so it’s one tsp for the batter and not per cupcake. So your feeling was dead on.
Hope you like this recipe.
Gemma.
Hi Gemma,
How to bake a flat top cupcake? is there any tips?
Hi Maggie,
This crazy cupcake recipe will give you a flat cupcake, provided you change the oven temperature. I bake at 180C/350F, that means that there is a quick rise and I get a dome, which I like. If you drop the temperature back to 170C/350F, in a conventional oven then you will get a slow rise and a flat top! This of course depends on the oven you are using and how the thermostat is working. A fan assisted oven may need to be further regulated to 160C/320F though I suggest you try baking in a conventional setting if you have this. The pan will be on the middle shelf in this type of oven. I hope this is of help,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
Thank you for your reply. Appreciated.
Hi there,
This is the first time I am commenting on any webpage for the recipe. I tried your crazy cupcakes by changing into vegan version and they all came out great!! Thank you so much for your recipe. Whoever has tried it so far are impressed by the flavors. But, I have two questions for you.
1. One of my friend wants me to bake 9” single layer lemon-blueberry cake. Can you tell me how do I modify the recipe of lemon blueberry cupcakes into a cake?
2. Can you give me more ideas of cupcake flavors?
Thanks again so much for the wonderful recipe
Hi, i love the idea of making this into a cake, just add juice and zest of 2 lemons to the batter and 1/2 cup berries then bake in a cake tin for 25-30 minutes at 350 F. Other flavors could be chocolate and cherry, coconut, peanut butter and chocolate, nutella, salted caramel, strawberry, its endless 😀
Thank you so much Gemma for your quick reply. I will make the cake and share the feedback here and may be a picture if I can :). And, I am going to try all the cupcake flavors you suggested :). Is there a link in this website where you can find all the cupcake flavors?
Hi those we’re my suggestions but the best thing to do is use the suggested mix-ins in the recipe. Enjoy!
The taste was great! I noticed that in the video you add 1 tsp ea vanilla and almond extract but it’s not listed on the ingredients list. However, I made them twice and both times they were quite dense. I don’t know what went wrong? Suggestions? I made sure not to over mix the second time I made them. Please help!
Hi, that’s odd! Which flavor did you make?
Just vanilla. Do you have any suggestions?
Hi Desiree,
I do not have sufficient information to help! This is a classic butter sponge cake recipe, it depends on each of the steps to get it right. Creaming the butter, beating in the eggs little by little aerates the batter and gives a light open texture to these little cakes.Substituting any ingredient can change this. May i suggest you go back to the recipe/video and take another look, I think that will help,
Gemma 🙂
How many cupcakes does this recipe yield
Hi Tameika,
it depends on what you mean by cupcakes! Now the cupcake seems to have grown to a muffin size, in this case this mix will make about 12. If you are using old fashioned cupcake pans or liners than 18 +. It is quite a big mix.
I hope this is of help,
Gemma 🙂