Cakes & Cupcakes

How to frost cupcakes like a bakery — the right piping tips, how to fill a piping bag, and the swirl technique. Plus a no-piping-bag method anyone can do.

Silky chocolate buttercream frosting that’s rich but not too sweet — made with real cocoa. Easy to pipe, ready in 10 minutes, perfect for cakes and cupcakes.

Cream cheese frosting that’s tangy, smooth and thick enough to pipe — not runny. The right ratio and cold cream cheese are the secret. Perfect for carrot cake.

Easy vanilla buttercream frosting that’s silky, pipeable and not too sweet. The right butter-to-sugar ratio, plus how to fix grainy or runny buttercream.

Easy chocolate cupcakes that are deeply moist and rich — one bowl, no mixer. The hot-water trick blooms the cocoa for the best chocolate flavor. Ready to frost.

Easy cupcake recipes that bake up moist with flat-ish domed tops, ready to frost. Master vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, plus the fill-line trick for perfect tops.

Easy carrot cake that’s incredibly moist and spiced, topped with tangy cream cheese frosting. One bowl, no mixer, freshly grated carrots — the best from scratch.

Classic pound cake that’s buttery, dense and tender with a golden crust. The right creaming and room-temperature ingredients are the secret. Perfect with berries.

Easy lemon cake from scratch — moist, bright and bursting with real lemon, finished with a simple lemon glaze. One bowl, no mixer, ready for any spring or summer day.

Easy dump cake with just 3 ingredients — fruit, cake mix and butter, no bowl and no mixing. The cobbler-cake hybrid that’s impossible to mess up.