The Sweetest Summer Cupcake Recipes

Unfussy and delicious, these cupcakes have the same easy-going approach that makes traditional strawberry shortcakes so popular. There's no frosting necessary; just scoop diced, macerated strawberries into the center of the cupcakes, then spoon a dollop of whipped cream on top. 

Make any party more memorable with this mighty centerpiece cake that's shaped like a sunflower. A small round cake topped with blackberries sits at the center. Radiating outward are petals made of of mini cupcakes in three sunny shades of yellow.

There's orange flavor in every bite of these cupcakes: zest in the batter, homemade orange curd as a filling, and dried orange slices on top of the vanilla frosting.

Take a trip to Key West, Florida, without ever having to leave the kitchen. These cupcakes offer the best of both worlds—a soft, vanilla cupcake with the crispy graham cracker crust and zesty topping found in a key lime pie. It's like having two desserts in one!

Turn a classic cheesecake recipe into a portable, crowd-friendly dessert. These cupcakes use a cup of raspberries for vibrant color and sweet flavor so stock up at your local farm.

Sweet, juicy nectarines add fresh stone fruit flavor to these cupcakes which are simply frosted with whipped cream. Use peaches, plums, or apricots in place of nectarines if your prefer.

Everyone will go crazy for these festive cupcakes. You can show off your stars and stripes with blue frosted dots and red licorice. Make the cupcakes in advance and freeze so you can minimize prep time on the holiday.

There's no cake in this "cupcake"! It's actually a rosy-hued meringue baked in a paper-lined muffin tin. Each billowy cake is cut in half crosswise and filled with raspberry curd, fresh raspberries, and crème fraîche.

Mimic your spectacular summer garden with an array of colorful flower cupcakes. Arrange them on a cake stand decorated with green crepe paper leaves for a bountiful bouquet.

Graham cracker crumbs create edible sand to dust over frosted cupcakes. A starfish made out of marzipan completes the beachy feel.

With cupcakes as cute as these, you can feel good about bugs taking over your celebration. Gumdrop heads and licorice antennae transform innocent cakes into surprising insect creations!

Berries and cupcakes go together so well. Here we use huckleberries to top simple sweet cream-covered cupcakes but blueberries would be just as delightful.

Create a garden of roses—no green thumb required. All you need is a steady hand to pipe pretty pink roses; after they've chilled, carefully transfer each flower onto a cupcake.

A grown-up cupcake, these Margarita-inspired treats have tequila in the lime curd filling and plenty of lime flavor in the cake plus a dreamy cream cheese frosting, lime zest, and flaky salt on top. (You can omit the tequila for kid-friendly treats!)

Adorn homemade (or store-bought cupcakes) with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and easy-to-make marzipan bees (we promise they don't sting!).