Fruit

Succulent blackberries, picked fresh from a farm or bought at a local market, are baked into golden cornmeal cupcakes for a delicious taste of summer. Serve the cakes warm from the oven or at room temperature, and pair with ice cream, if desired. Oven temperature is crucial here: If it’s any cooler than 375 degrees, the berries will sink to the bottom.

These brightly colored cupcakes are very simple to make—a food processor handles all the mixing. You’ll find slivered pistachios at specialty stores or online retailers; you may substitute chopped pistachios instead.

You can use any variety of jam to fill these versatile little cakes, as well as vary the type of citrus used in the batter and in the glaze. You could also substitute milk glaze (page 63) for the citrus glaze used here.

The mild and sweet flavor of Meyer lemon is one of Martha’s favorites; these zest-flecked cupcakes are filled with Meyer lemon curd, which peeks out from the tops. The fruit, which is actually a lemon-orange hybrid, is generally available at specialty stores in winter and early spring. If you can’t find Meyer lemons, use regular lemons instead. The recipe yields a lot of cupcakes, so you may want to consider these for a bake sale or large gathering, such as a shower or special birthday celebration.

Stripes of sweet crimson jam give otherwise ordinary-looking cupcakes a striking finish. The cupcakes are tender (thanks to yogurt in the batter) but slice easily into even layers. Serve these cheerful treats at an afternoon tea, or box them up for gift giving.

Cupcakes disguised as baby chicks are equally appropriate for a birthday party or an Easter celebration. To decorate them, the cupcakes are first inverted, then coated with generous layers of frosting and toasted coconut; features made of candy and almonds complete the disguise. Frosting anchors each cupcake onto a shallow dish to make it easier to keep the dessert in place while you finish it. If you don’t have vanilla beans, increase the amount of pure vanilla extract by one tablespoon.

This fruit-flavored buttercream is made using the same technique as Swiss meringue buttercream, so you can refer to the step-by-step photos on page 305 as you proceed.

Bake an unexpected alternative batch of treats using abundant seasonal zucchini from the farmstand or local market. Like their carrot counterparts, these are finished with cream-cheese frosting. For a more wholesome snack, forgo the frosting and lightly dust cupcakes with confectioners’ sugar instead.

It’s no secret that nearly everyone at Martha Stewart Living—especially Martha—loves meringue, and these billowy puffs, with their distinctive peaks and berries-and-cream filling, illustrate why. The cupcakes need to bake for about three hours, so plan accordingly. And avoid making meringues on a humid day, as they will never become crisp.

The summery combination of blueberries and whipped cream tops berry-filled cupcakes. The muffin-like cakes, which can also be served for breakfast or brunch, are delightful as standard or mini cupcakes.

These tropical cupcakes, scaled-down versions of the most well-known upside-down cake, have a retro appeal thanks to the flambéed fruit filling.

Baking a batch of these ultra-moist cupcakes is a great way to use overripe bananas; keep a bunch in your freezer (unpeeled) and thaw when you’re ready to use. You can substitute walnuts for pecans, or leave the nuts out entirely. Caramel buttercream makes a satisfyingly sweet topping; cream-cheese frosting (page 303) and chocolate–sour cream frosting (page 311) are also good choices. Left unfrosted, the cupcakes can be enjoyed any time of day.

Chocolate and cherries are a match made in heaven—or, in this case—the Black Forest region of Germany, where the original layer cake was created (and cherries are abundant). These miniature versions of the classic German dessert are saturated with cherry liqueur, layered with sweet pastry cream and preserved cherries, and drizzled with rich chocolate ganache.

Roasting the fruit before folding it into the batter gives these cupcakes a pronounced banana flavor and keeps them very moist. Honey, often paired with bananas, is added to the frosting.

Tender lemon buttermilk cake, tart lemon curd, and a lightly browned peak of seven-minute frosting combine in cupcakes inspired by Martha’s mile-high lemon meringue pie—one of her signature desserts.

A harbinger of spring, rhubarb flavors these deliciously sweet-tart cupcakes. Ruby-red stalks are diced, then mixed into the cupcake batter as well as a vanilla-flecked syrup that tops a puff of whipped cream. Save any extra rhubarb topping to serve with ice cream.