There are plenty of cupcake books out there, but most of them seem to focus on decorating the cupcakes, rather than just baking a great tasting cupcake. There is nothing wrong with this, of course, and it does help to set those cookbooks apart from being “just another cupcake book.” Sometimes, however, you just want to bake some great cupcakes without making elaborate fondant decorations for them, too. Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes is a great place to start, with 175 recipes for delicious little cakes.
The book is divided up into chapters by type of cupcake. There are simple cupcakes, swirled cupcakes, dipped, glazed, filled and layered cupcakes, as well as a number of cupcakes that are made and decorated for holidays, from Valentine’s Day to Christmas. With so many recipes, you will never get tired of all the options, whether you like chocolate chip cupcakes, coconut rum-raisin cupcakes or s’mores cupcakes. The recipes are well written and easy to follow, with great flavor in the finished product. Better still, all of the recipes have a photo alongside, so you know exactly what you have to look forward to.
This is the kind of book that will become a nice reference in your collection of cookbooks, a place where you can always find a reliable cupcake recipe for just about any occasion. There are actually so many ideas in here that you don’t need to experiment much to find new flavor combinations (all you need to do is turn a page), but if you’re like me and enjoy finding new flavors on your own, you’ll definitely find that the techniques and components used in the recipes are things that you will turn to when you’re coming up with your own ideas.