Cupcakes, Cupcakes & More Cupcakes by Lilach German definitely helped cut the costs of treating ourselves to one $3 cupcake, by featuring a lot of the flavors we love in a homemade version. I tried three different recipes over the past couple of months with pretty good results.

In the "Cupcakes for Kiddies" section, I tried the Oreo cupcakes, which were delicious and definitely kid friendly. They were easy enough to make that your kids could help with the process. The frosting was ridiculously yummy and really messy...as a good cupcake should be!

In the "Classics" section, I gave the Ginger Orange cupcakes a try, because I had some leftover ginger hanging out in the fridge. These were delicious, as well, though I omitted the garnish. My glaze was definitely very pretty and looked nothing like the photo, but it tasted great!

And finally, in the "A Cupcake for Your Health" section, I tried the Vegan Dark Chocolate Cupcakes and they were, by far, my favorite. They had a thick, brownie-like texture and the frosting was creamy and had great flavor. Being the pregnant lady that I am, I left out the coffee liqueur and instead, mixed some instant espresso granules with warm water to give that added coffee flavor without the alcohol.

I do have a couple of complaints about the book, though overall I was pretty satisfied with the results. I had to pick the recipes I chose carefully, because a lot of them included ingredients that I could not easily find or were what I would deem "expensive" for cupcakes. If I were making something for a fancy occasion, I might splurge on rosewater (if I even know where to find it), but if I were hosting an event that called for that fancy of an ingredient, I would be purchasing my cupcakes from a professional in the first place!

Most of the recipes with the difficult ingredients were in a section meant for "Cupcake Connoisseurs," so that was really the only portion of the book I didn't touch. Maybe as I get better at this whole baking thing, I might venture into the harder section.