11 Ways To Upgrade Store-Bought Cupcakes

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Cupcakes should be great, but when you buy them from the store, they're not always as dreamy as you want them to be. Making them from scratch isn't always an option, though, due to time constraints, lack of equipment, or myriad other reasons. That's why it's good to know how to improve upon grocery store cupcakes, so you can pull out these techniques and make baked goods that are just meh taste closer to something homemade. 

It's always good to look at cupcake recipes when working out how to level-up the store-bought version. You can find some ingredients and embellishments that will make these taste more like homemade. So, when you're out to impress, or you just want a low-effort treat, there are some simple solutions to lean on. Some of these take more effort than others, so you can decide on your level of commitment, think about the ingredients and equipment you have on hand, and go from there. In some cases, you can make them look and taste better in just a matter of seconds.

Here are 11 of our favorite ways to upgrade store-bought cupcakes. Maybe you're planning a big party and there's no way you can bake everything from scratch or perhaps you'd simply rather be doing anything else. Whatever your reason for taking a shortcut, we have you covered. With a few extra ingredients, you can transform store-bought cupcakes into something memorable. You can even combine them to make things extra special.

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One of the sad things about some store-bought cupcakes is that they're lacking in frosting. However, it's an easy fix if you have a few ingredients and a piping bag. You can either scrape the existing frosting off and start from scratch (it normally isn't the best-tasting, anyway) or you can pile on extra. This is usually only worth attempting when there's a particularly flat layer of frosting.

The first thing to do is to decide what kind of frosting you want. An American buttercream is one of the simplest options, and it's a classic for a reason. However, if you really want to wow people, meringue frosting is a better choice. It's a little less sweet and has a lighter, airier texture. Cream cheese frosting is dense and tangy, and is particularly good with certain flavors, such as red velvet or chocolate. You can even use a ready-made frosting if you don't want to make it from scratch.

Perhaps the most daunting part for those not used to it is the piping. However, it's actually quite simple to get a nice swirl if you have a piping bag with a suitable tip. The trick for successful cupcake piping is to start with a nice flat top to work from. Luckily, store-bought ones tend to be flatter on top compared to homemade versions, due to having highly controlled recipes and cooking processes. This means it shouldn't be too much of a challenge to pipe a nice swirl.

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Maybe you've piped on some fresh frosting, or perhaps you've decided that whatever your store-bought cupcakes came with is good enough. How else can you take them up a notch? Well, one super simple way is to add some kind of sauce or drizzle. And, this can be as simple or complex as you make it. You'll find plenty of sauces that you can buy and use straight out of the jar if you don't have the time or inclination to make your own.

In a well-stocked supermarket, you should find caramel sauces, fruit coulis, chocolate sauces, and other tasty options that you can quickly and easily use to give your store-bought cupcakes a glow up. They might not be quite as tasty as homemade, but they're low-effort and there's nothing wrong with that. Think about the flavors of your cupcakes and what sauce would work the best. For instance, if you have plain chocolate cupcakes, add a caramel drizzle, and sprinkle on some chopped peanuts, you have yourself a Snickers-inspired cupcake.

If you're making a sauce from scratch, you have more options to branch out from what you might find at the store. For instance, a passion fruit coulis isn't going to show up in your local corner shop, but make one at home and you've truly upgraded your cupcakes. If you want to make a sauce, but you're hoping for a quick option, a classic chocolate ganache is easy and delicious.

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It might seem basic, but sprinkles and cupcakes go together like peanut butter and jelly. If your store-bought cupcakes don't already have sprinkles on them, you know what to do. Some might say it's unadventurous, but it's a classic combo for a reason. They look fun, sure, but they also add a pleasant crunch and an extra hit of sweetness.

If you think sprinkles are all the same, you've got another thing coming. There are the long, thin, rod-shaped ones called jimmies, tiny spherical nonpareils, larger spheres, beads, pearls, flat circles called quins that are less crunchy than other kinds, and all kinds of novelty shapes, like seasonal snowflakes or pumpkins. Plus, you can find sprinkle blends that mix various types. And, they come in all kinds of colors. So you have a true wealth of sprinkle options to pick from.

If you don't have any to hand, but you do have a pantry full of baking ingredients, our guide to homemade sprinkles might help you out. And, it's impressive to tell everyone at the table that you literally made the sprinkles on their cupcakes. It might detract from the fact that the cakes themselves came from the store. They're surprisingly simple to produce, although obviously it's more effort than just grabbing a tub and shaking them on top.

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You're not going to find marshmallow fluff on your average grocery store cupcake, but you can easily add it yourself. By doing so, you instantly elevate them and make them look like something that must have been whipped up from scratch. What's more, because the frosting can be where store-bought varieties fall down, you'll make them taste much better, too.

Our toasted marshmallow fluffernutter cupcakes are one example of cupcakes that use marshmallow fluff as frosting, but it works the same for store-bought varieties. Just scrape the frosting off and replace it with marshmallow fluff, either piled or piped. If you have a brulée torch, you can toast it, which looks cool and gives it an extra layer of flavor and texture.

The great thing is how easy this option is. Marshmallow fluff is something you buy ready to use, straight out of the jar, so it involves hardly any extra effort. The main thing to consider is how well the marshmallow fluff will work with the base layer of the cupcake, but it's fairly versatile, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue. For instance, put it on a lemon cupcake and you have a lemon meringue pie flavor (bonus points for adding a dollop of lemon curd or a drizzle of lemon sauce). While, on chocolate cupcakes, you get a nice contrast between the richness of the chocolate and the lighter, sweeter marshmallow fluff. So, it's hard to go wrong.

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Store-bought cupcakes are usually pretty uninspiring on the toppings front. You might get some sprinkles, if you're lucky, but that's about it. Luckily, adding an extra topping is about one of the easiest ways that you can do an upgrade. And, what makes a better topping than candy?

You can find all kinds of candy to use on your cupcakes, making it an easy way to customize them according to your preferences and those of the people who'll be eating them. Small pieces of candy, like M&Ms, jelly beans, or Reese's Pieces, are well-sized for topping cupcakes, as are mini versions of candies, such as peanut butter cups. However, you shouldn't let size restrict you, as you can always chop up larger candy bars.

You can also make the candy seasonal. We have a recipe for Cadbury Creme Egg cupcakes that uses mini versions of the classic Easter treat. And, that's just the tip of the iceberg for seasonal candies. You could use candy corn at Halloween, crushed peppermint bark at Christmas, and any other festive treats that strike your fancy. Whatever you choose, it's a super simple addition. Just sprinkle it over the top or press it in lightly and you've instantly made grocery store cupcakes so much more appealing.

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The easiest way to improve upon store-bought cupcakes is to add something on top, but with a bit of extra effort, you can add a filling. It's a more time-consuming, but since you're not baking from scratch, this might not be an issue.

First, let's talk about the type of filling you might put in a cupcake. Jams and jellies work well and have the bonus of coming straight from a jar. Fruit curds, such as lemon and orange are also delicious. You could also fill a cupcake with caramel or some kind of pastry cream. Consider the flavor of the cupcake and think about what might pair well. For instance, strawberry jam inside a vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting is reminiscent of a Victoria sponge, whereas a chocolate cupcake with a lemon curd is less of an obvious combo and might not turn out as great.

Once you've decided what you want to put inside, you need to get it inside. If you're happy to scrape off the frosting and start again, you can cut out a cone-shaped piece from the top, fill the void, cut the pointy bit off the cone, and use the remainder as a lid. Or, you can take a pastry bag, stick the tip in, and simply squirt the filling inside. If you want to keep the icing, remove the paper wrapper, cut the cake in half horizontally, and fill it as though it's a mini layer cake.

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Sometimes the best thing is to go all out with decadent toppings, but there are also times when a lighter approach is better. Another possible cupcake upgrade is to use fresh fruit. You might add it to balance out a particularly heavy combination. For instance, if you've got a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, a piece of fruit will help cut through the decadence. Or, perhaps you've got a kids birthday party coming up and you want at least a nod to healthy eating.

Berries work particularly well on cupcakes due to their size. A few blueberries, half a strawberry, or some raspberries, these all fit nicely on top of even a fairly petite store-bought cupcake. Plus, each has its own flavor that it works well with. Strawberry and vanilla, raspberry and chocolate, and lemon and blueberry are all classics for a reason. You don't have to stick with those combos, but they're a good place to start.

Other fruits you could consider include figs, mango, pineapple, or peaches. These would have to be chopped or sliced and you might need to top the cupcakes directly prior to eating for some of these fruits, to keep the moisture from seeping in.

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If the idea of topping your store-bought cupcakes with fruit doesn't feel like much of an upgrade to you, why not take it in the other direction? You could top your grocery store cakes with other baked goods; either mini ones or chunks of larger ones. Sure, it's intense, but why not have your cake and eat it too?

If you can get your hands on small enough mini donuts, these make extremely cute toppings for cupcakes. And, if they're too big, then half a mini donut also works. Tiny brownie bites are another delicious topping for cupcakes, and the beauty of this is that you can start with larger pieces of brownie and cut these to the perfect size. Mini Oreos and other cookies that come in tiny sizes also look adorable on top of cupcakes. And, with this kind of detail, nobody would think that they came from a grocery store. You can even mix and match, using a range of different baked goods across a batch of cupcakes.

To avoid overdoing it, it's a good idea to think about what kinds of pairing to opt for. If you want a brownie topping, for instance, that might be a bit intense if your cupcakes are chocolate on chocolate. Instead, you might want to pick ones that are vanilla cake with chocolate frosting or vice-versa. It's best to have a balanced pairing, to make the whole thing more enjoyable.

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If you're not necessarily trying to make your store-bought cupcakes taste better but just want them to look more impressive, edible flowers are the way to go. They instantly make any cupcake look high-end. So much so, that anyone but those with the most discerning palates would probably fail to notice that they came from a grocery store.

So, what should you know before you put flowers on your cake? First off, not all flowers are edible, so don't pick any old ones and hope for the best. Some common edible flowers include marigolds, cornflowers, nasturtiums, and pansies. Of course, they don't taste like nothing, but they're not going to add flavor to your cake the way a chopped candy bar or a mini donut would. For instance, pansies are grassy and a little sweet, while cornflowers have a slight spiciness that's almost clove-like. Ultimately, though, these notes are somewhat drowned out by the more intense flavors of the cake and frosting, so there's no use getting too hung up on the flavor notes.

If you're confident that you know what they are, that they're definitely edible, and that they haven't been sprayed with anything toxic, you can pick flowers from your own garden. Otherwise, you can pick them up in certain grocery stores or from some farmers markets.

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The right crunchy topping is a simple way to elevate store-bought cupcakes, which can be a bit texturally boring. The soft sponge paired with a thick, slightly stodgy icing that's typical of these types of bakes (probably because it's sturdy enough to survive transport) doesn't add much textural variety. So, when you pop something crunchy on top, it's an instant upgrade.

There are many crunchy cupcake toppings to choose from. Crushed store-bought cookies are an obvious choice, but far from the only option. Toasted nuts and seeds, popcorn, pretzels, granola, breakfast cereal, crushed potato chips, and toasted coconut are just some of the toppings that you can use for taste and texture.

It's worth thinking carefully about which flavors to combine cupcakes with and which other upgrades might complement them. For instance, a vanilla cupcake with a caramel drizzle and a few pieces of popcorn gives a caramel corn vibe, while toasted pistachios and finely shredded phyllo dough on a chocolate cupcake with a sweet tahini drizzle is reminiscent of Dubai chocolate. This level of thought about flavor and topping combinations elevates your cupcakes way beyond typical store-bought offerings with only a couple of simple tweaks.

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Sometimes the smallest of additions can make grocery store cupcakes seem more like homemade versions. A little sprinkling of cocoa, vanilla sugar, cinnamon, or other sweet spices can take a basic store-bought option up a notch. You can keep it simple or you can use this as a foundation and build other upgrades on top.

Of course, flavor matters, but an important part of this is also making your cupcakes look more impressive. As such, it's good to choose a flavor and dusting combination with some contrast. For instance, you should use cocoa or cinnamon on a cupcake with a pale frosting, such as vanilla, caramel, or cream cheese. Vanilla sugar, or, if you can't get hold of it, simply powdered sugar adds a nice contrast when your cupcakes have chocolate frosting or another dark color.

To get a nice even coating without any clumps, use a sifter or a fine mesh strainer and sprinkle it over. If you choose, you can then put sauces and other garnishes over this base layer.