Memorial Day Cupcakes

Meg Ray and Caitlin Alissa Williams usually bake this wonderfully rich cocoa crème fraîche batter in a loaf pan, but it bakes even faster in cupcake tins. If the amount of batter fills more than one standard 12-cup muffin pan, just bake the rest in sturdy foil baking cups set on a baking sheet.

These supermoist, gluten-free cupcakes have terrific pumpkin flavor and an irresistible topping of fluffy, creamy frosting and golden caramel sauce.

Joanne Chang makes her moist, lemony, fresh-tasting cupcakes with honey instead of refined sugar, which keeps the sweetness in check. This is the perfect grown-up cupcake.

Bill Yosses of New York City's Josephs (formerly Citarella) has a split personality. The flamboyant Bill, the boy-genius pastry chef, appeared at a local chocolate show in full 17th-century regalia. The geeky Bill, on the other hand, gets so sidetracked contemplating the differences between a peach cobbler and a peach betty for his book The Perfect Finish that they both burn in the oven. Bill's two sides make him push his desserts to the limit, whether he's adding black sesame powder to his meringues or doubling the butter in the delectable lemon curd that tops these cupcakes.

The cream cheese frosting on these moist carrot cupcakes is intentionally undersweetened to compensate for the sweet caramel topping.

Agave syrup adds a mellow sweetness to the batter of these delicious gluten-free cupcakes, which are slathered with a tart lime buttercream.

These darling coconut flour cupcakes are topped with a creamy vanilla bean frosting. Shredded coconut enhances the coconut flavor and adds extra texture to every bite.

Chef Bryan Vietmeier makes these terrifically moist and carroty cupcakes for Seattle's Take 5 Urban Market. He suggests freezing the cupcakes before frosting to firm them up, preventing crumbs.

To create her super low–fat version of a jelly doughnut, F&W's Grace Parisi fills vanilla–flecked angel food cupcakes with an easy homemade raspberry jam. The combination of sweet, fluffy cake and tart, gooey fruit is totally satisfying. The delicious jam filling is made with fresh raspberries, which are high in antioxidants and rich in vitamin C, folate, iron and potassium.