How to Bake Mini Cupcakes

Co-authored by Mathew Rice

Last Updated: December 22, 2022

Mini cupcakes are the perfect bite-sized treat, and they can be made just as easily as regular cupcakes with a few modifications. You'll need a mini cupcake pan and liners that fit the pan. Prepare a batter, either by using a recipe or buying a cake batter mix from the store. Remember that mini cupcakes won't take as much time as normal cupcakes to bake, so keep an eye on them when they're in the oven to ensure they come out great.

Ingredients

0.75 c (180 ml) butter at room temperature
1.75 c (410 ml) sugar
2 large eggs
2.5 tsp (12 ml) vanilla extract
2.5 c (590 ml) flour
2.5 tsp (12 ml) baking powder
0.5 tsp (2.5 ml) salt
0.75 c (180 ml) milk
0.5 c (120 ml) heavy cream

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Preparing the Batter

1
Use a mixer to beat together butter and sugar. You can use a stand mixer or a handheld one. Turn on the mixer and stir up 0.75 c (180 ml) butter and 1.75 c (410 ml) sugar in a large mixing bowl until they create a fluffy consistency.^{[1]
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- If you don't have a mixer, you'll need to mix the butter and sugar by hand using a spoon spatula.
2
Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture. Crack open 1 egg into the large mixing bowl and starting mixing it. Once that egg is mostly mixed, crack open the second egg and mix it together again. Pour in 2.5 tsp (12 ml) vanilla extract after both eggs have been added.^{[2]
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3
Mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. In the new bowl, pour in 2.5 c (590 ml) flour, 2.5 tsp (12 ml) baking powder, and 0.5 tsp (2.5 ml) salt. Use a whisk to stir these 3 ingredients together so they're well-mixed.^{[3]
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- Use a fork if you don't have a whisk.
4
Combine the milk and cream before adding everything to the large bowl. Mix 0.75 c (180 ml) milk and 0.5 c (120 ml) cream together in another separate bowl, and then start slowly pouring the dry ingredients and milk/cream into the large bowl. Do this in 3 batches instead of all at once, pouring half of the dry ingredient mixture into the large bowl, followed by all of the milk/cream mixture, and then the rest of the dry ingredients.^{[4]
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5
Beat the ingredients together in the large bowl for 1 minute. If you're using a mixer, turn it on medium-high and beat the ingredients for 1 minute. If you don't have a mixer, stir the ingredients together until the batter is smooth and ready to be poured.^{[5]
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6
Use a store-bought batter mix as an alternative to making your own. If you're low on time or ingredients, pick out a cake batter mix from your local grocery store. You'll have lots of options to choose from, such as chocolate, vanilla, or red velvet. Follow the instructions on the box to prepare the batter for pouring.
- Even though the directions may be instructing you on how to make a cake, the ingredients and directions for preparing the batter will be the same for making mini cupcakes.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Distributing and Cooking the Batter

1
Line a mini cupcake pan (or silicone baking cups) with mini muffin liners. Make sure that the liners are mini muffin liners and not candy cup liners—candy cup liners will be too small. If you have 2 mini cupcake pans, fill both with mini muffin liners, as you'll most likely be able to make 48 mini cupcakes.
- 1 mini cupcake pan makes 24 mini cupcakes.
- If you only have 1 mini cupcake pan, you can bake the cupcakes in batches.
- You can find mini cupcake pans at a big box store, home goods store, or online.
2
Use a cookie scoop or measuring tablespoon to distribute the batter. A cookie scoop works well because you can easily pour it into each liner. If you don't have a cookie scoop, you can just use a tablespoon or small spoon. Dip the cookie scoop or spoon into the batter to start pouring.^{[6]
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- You can also pour the batter into a sealable plastic bag and snip off a bottom edge of the bag, creating a unique piping bag that you can squeeze the batter from easily.
3
Fill ⅔ of each liner with batter. Scoop batter into each liner, going slowly around the entire pan until you've done all 24. You may need to experiment with how much batter you scoop up each time—it's better to fill the liners with too little batter than too much at once, as you can always add more.^{[7]
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- Filling the liners all the way to the top will cause them to overflow when baked.
4
Bake the mini cupcakes at 350 °F (177 °C) for roughly 15 minutes. Check on the mini cupcakes after 9 or 10 minutes, sticking a toothpick into the center of one. If the toothpick comes out clean, they're done! If batter shows up on the toothpick, leave them in for about 5 more minutes.^{[8]
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- The edges of the cupcakes will turn golden when they're done.
- Keep a close eye on the cupcakes as they're baking—mini cupcakes tend to cook very quickly, and you don't want them to burn.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Decorating the Cupcakes

1
Make your own frosting if you have all of the ingredients. Most frostings require simple ingredients such as butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream. There are lots of different recipes to choose from when it comes to creating a frosting, so peruse your pantry and see which ingredients you can turn into a frosting for your cupcakes.
- For example, you can create a simple frosting using heavy cream and semi-sweet chocolate.
2
Buy store-bought frosting for a quick fix. Visit your local grocery store to pick up a container of frosting, available in flavors like chocolate and vanilla. 1 container should be plenty of frosting to ice mini cupcakes.
- Buy vanilla frosting and use food coloring to make it a different color, if desired.
- Store-bought frosting works best when you spread it directly onto the cupcake with a spreading knife.
3
Create a piping bag to frost the cupcakes in a quick and elegant way. Fill a disposable decorating bag (or just a resealable plastic bag) with the frosting. Cut off the bottom tip of the bag, and then squeeze the frosting out in a swirl on top of the cupcake.^{[9]
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- Test your piping abilities out beforehand by squeezing the frosting out onto a napkin or plate before frosting the cupcakes, if desired.
- When cutting off the bottom tip, make a small cut. You can always make the cut bigger if you want more frosting to come out at once.
4
Use a spreading knife to decorate each cupcake with a flat layer of frosting. Dip a spreading knife into your frosting and start layering the frosting onto the cupcake. Smooth the frosting out over the cupcake so that the entire top is covered, going around in circles with your spreading knife until you're satisfied with how it looks.^{[10]
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- Since they're mini cupcakes, you won't need to scoop out a ton of frosting—1 small spoonful should do the trick.
5
Add any embellishments onto the mini cupcakes, if desired. You can add sprinkles, candies, or any other small edibles onto the cupcakes. It's best to add the embellishments right after you've added the frosting. If the frosting has already hardened, things like sprinkles or small edible flowers won't be able to easily stick to the frosting.^{[11]
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- You can find cupcake embellishments at your local grocery store, right next to the cake batter mix and frosting options.

Community Q&A

Question

How long does it take for mini cupcakes to bake at 350°F?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

This will typically take about 10-15 minutes. At around 10 minutes, take your cupcakes out to check them. They’re done if a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Question

How many mini cupcakes does a box make?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

A typical box of cake mix should make somewhere between 50 and 70 mini cupcakes. The exact amount depends on the size of your cupcake molds and how much mix is in the box.
Question

How do you fill mini cupcakes?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

Wait until the cupcakes are cooked and cooled. Put your filling in a pastry bag with a Bismarck tip. Poke the tip into the top of the cupcake and squeeze gently until the cupcake starts to expand slightly.