Reviews added to http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=20910.0, or to this thread, will be compiled here! If I missed a review, let me know.

Basic cupcakes
Basic chocolate cupcake
another classic (willwolf)
amazing, especially with peanut butter frosting!! (jessacita)
edible, muffinlike and disasterous. nothing to rage about at all!they all tasted off to me. and i have good success w/ all  my own cupcake recipes, so i dont think its my technique. i dunno. has anyone else had failures like this? its gotten to the poiint where i have just thrown them out b/c no one will eat them! (LA)
(with peanut buttercream) knocked my socks off! (AP)
(with chocolate buttercream) DH loved them, the rest are going into work so I don't eat them! (ranu)
They aren't perfect (nothing to decorate with, really)..and they stuck a bit..but they are darn tasty...and they look ok, too! (AC)
made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream filling and chocolate ganache topping for Triple Chocolate Cupcakes.  (tryp66)
filled with peanut buttercream frosting, chocolate ganche on top, and a swirl of pb frosting on top pf that. it was for my omni-boyfriend's birthday and he LOVED them. (random4180)
I made basic chocolate cupcakes but added 2 tb peanut butter to the batter (I decreased the oil slightly too).  They came out great!  Then I frosted `em with peanut buttercream  (icephrosty)
Made them (which I've made before) into a cake, and it turned out beautifully! I used an 8x8 square pan, and it was pretty perfect. I think the 8" (?) circle pan would be great, as well as an 11x7. I think it baked for about 20-25 minutes. I added chocolate chips. Yum! (AC)
I use this recipe everytime for chocolate cake/cupcakes. Simple, easy, delicious. (sog)
Chocolate ginger cupcakes (rich chocolate ganache)
Delicious! I've made the basic chocolate cupcakes several times, and they've never failed. The ginger is great in these, and pairs very well. I had crystallized ginger chips, so they were maybe smaller than usual pieces, and maybe a more subtle flavor. The ginger is definitely noticeable, though. The ganache is so easy, and so good. I think they do need to stay in the fridge in a warmer environment, because the ganache might melt. I used chocolate extract, and a bit of almond. These are easy, overall, and really good. (AC)
Great if you reeeeally like ginger, which I do. Some people felt it overpowered the other flavor, but no one suspected they were GF when I added it to the chocolate gluten freedom ones, so maybe in some cases that's a good thing. (Lauuren)
These were delicious!  I loved the little "pockets" of crystallized ginger, but other than that, the ginger flavor was kind of subtle.  I think next time, I will use fresh grated ginger instead of ground.  I had fresh cherries so I decided to chop them in the processor and make cherry butter cream frosting.  It was tasty, but the cherries added WAY more liquid than I anticipated.  I had to play around with it A LOT to make a stable frosting.  I took these to a lake weekend with my college friends.  Everyone gobbled them up! (lotus)
Chocolate mocha cupcakes (fluffy buttercream)
very good (bumblb)
doubled it and made it into a bunt cake.  It was so good and so moist!  I topped it with the chocolate sauce from JOVB but subbed the soymilk with cold coffee.  OMG it was so good!  It got rave reviews! (biodancer)
This didn't work so well for me. I made an 8" round cake. It's ok, but just mediocre. I can't really taste the coffee much, and it's just kind of an aftertaste. I didn't do the buttercream, however, and I'm sure that would have made it better. I did do a coffee glaze that surprisingly didn't add much. Hmmm. (AC)
Chocolate orange cupcakes (orange buttercream)
edible, muffinlike and disasterous. nothing to rage about at all!they all tasted off to me. and i have good success w/ all  my own cupcake recipes, so i dont think its my technique. i dunno. has anyone else had failures like this? its gotten to the poiint where i have just thrown them out b/c no one will eat them! (LA)
awesome. Unfortunately it was very hot yesterday and the frosting had trouble staying firm, leading to some spillage; but they firmed up in the fridge and were fine. I used zest in the batter. Also, in anyone else's book, does the directions for the Orange Buttercream frosting not tell you when to add the lemon zest? Mine didn't, so I just added it with the extracts. (feelinsoreal)
I didn't enjoy these at all, but I'm not a fan of chocolate and orange together.  I made them for a coworker's birthday, at his request, and he liked them a lot.  The texture was nice. (icephrosty)
I made these with the Orange Buttercream, and homemade candied orange peel and chocolate shavings on top, and they were a hit! (Lauuren)
Cookies n cream cupcakes (fluffy buttercream)
made them (fee)
COOKIES N CREAM!!!!!!!!!!! (secondbase)
with mint joe-joes (ponycakes)
super rich and tasty (willwolf)
they were so good - and were gone super fast! I think they were the only things to sell out (they were definitely the only vegan treats there). people (vegans and non-vegans) loved them. woo hoo! (laurabs)
(With homemade chocolate ice cream!) the cookies are a great addition to the cupcake batter itself, AND in the frosting!  (jessacita)
one of my faves (secondbase)
Yummy!  Everyone liked them.  Of course. (KMK)
loved those! They were a huge hit, and I was the only vegetarian at the party. Tip - if you don't want to spend $5 for one package of cookies (seriously, Paul Newman?), the 365 Whole Foods brand of oreo-esque cookies are only $2.50/box and you get enough cookies for two dozen cupcakes, including the frosting and the half-cookie decoration. (feelinsoreal)
by far superior (feelinsoreal)
i. love. oreos. also, i like that the frosting *can't* be piped, so that I don't have to try and mess it up. bostom creme.pretty cool idea, though i wound up having more pastry creme than could fit, and the creme was actually not very sweet to me. i halved it, though, so the proportions might not have been precise. (fb)
were devoured!  i kinda messed those up, too, and thought they may not go over well.  how delightfully mistaken i was.  i swapped the entire cup of soy milk for kahlua, and i think that's why they sank in the middle.  i make up for it by dolloping a big ole smoosh of icing in the middle, so it wasn't so obvious. (queen bee)
really good. when i did the frosting for the C & C ones, i did like the frosting recipe suggests and halved the recipe (since it was just for topping - not topping and filling).  the  C & C variation doesnt mention halving it but it was definitely the perfect amount. (ppc)
My least fave probably.  I didn't dislike it, just didn't like it as much as the others.  Probably coz I'm not the biggest fan of buttercream frosting in large quantities and I think I put too much on.  I want to try them again, but make the mint icing instead and put the crushed up Mint Newman O's in that.  I think that would be to die for! (tryp66)
huge hit with kids (THHF)
LOVE. our absolute favorite. (bumblb)
definitely add to both the batter & the frosting! The cookies in the actual batter give the cupcakes a great texture. I wouldn't skip it. (jessacita)
I actually prefer them using the vanilla cupcake recipe & adding cookies to that to adding cookies to the chocolate cupcakes. Also, If you are piping the frosting, make sure to really finely crush up the cookies you put in the frosting or else they will clog your frosting tip. (lisa)
They were very successful. The people there weren't kids, but they loved it!  (melthibs)
used vanilla batter instead of chocolate as previously suggested.  My nieces and nephews and kids gobbled them up. Personally, however, I was just not impressed with them.  I generally make the vanilla cupcakes with canola oil instead of the margarine method because I find it more reliable, but the texture is more muffin-y than if I use earth balance and cream it with the sugar (although when I do that the cupcakes tend to sink). But I am finding that I am just not a fan of vegan buttercream frostings.  Even if I whip it until light and fluffly, to me they taste heavy and greasy and are lacking some flavor elements--very much along the lines of the stuff that comes in a can.  Maybe it comes out differently with lemon or chocolate, but I think I'm going to steer clear of vanilla in the future. (jkl)
rose nicely and had a nice texture. the kids wolfed down the Cookies N Cream Cupcakes within five minutes. (mdv)
Made them for Easter, a great cupcake enjoyed by the young and the young at heart. The chocolate cupcake, with crushed Oreos blended in, were light, fluffy, rose nicely and were not overly sweet. Chocolate cupcake texture and taste doesn't get much better than this. The buttercream frosting, with crushed Oreos mixed in, is very sweet. Alone this frosting is way too sweet for me. But a generous dollop of this frosting on a fluffy cupcake makes for the perfect cupcake-frosting marriage. (Saskia)
Despite it being almost 100 degrees out yesterday, and being crazy for wanting to turn on the oven, I made my first batch of cupcakes from WCTOTW! I went simple and whipped up a batch of the Cookies N Cream ones...followed the recipe EXACTLY, except that I ran out of sugar, so I don't think I got quite the 3/4 c. into the batter (no worries, they were sweet enough). I prepared the fluffy buttercream frosting and chopped up the cookies with my Pampered Chef chopper to mix in. Frosted them and placed them in the fridge so that the heat of the kitchen wouldn't affect them. After dinner, I had my BF test one..and he ended up eating two! They were really tasty, not too sweet, and the texture was perfect! I can't wait to experiment with more of these goodies over the weekend! (iowachick)
made them with strawberry creme oreos, per Meikmeikas suggestion(I am probably spelling that wrong). I'm not a huge fan of cookies and cream anything, but they were good. My husband and daughter liked them. I will say that I way prefer the chocolate cake recipe from JOVB. These fell in the middle and were a bit crumbly. I probably wont make them again. (nmpixie)
I have made these soooo many times and they are ALWAYS a crowd pleaser.  I even did an all-vanilla version using yellow Joe-Joe's. (icephrosty)
Amazing. The icing was like crack. I'm not sure I will add the cookies to the actual cupcake next time--I couldn't really tell they were there, and neither could my testers. I think they would probably be just as good without the cookies in the batter. The icing is where it's at, anyway. The omnis loved them, and one kid even ate one and looked at me and said "I want to be vegan." (veganrun)
They are just as good without the cookies in the batter.  I forgot to add them the first time I made these, but added them the next time.  I don't think anyone could tell the difference. (lotus)
Awesome - how could they not be? Even better in my opinion when you add a little mint - but use extract, because we couldn't taste it when we just used the mint-flavored cookies. I always use Newman-Os and they're great.  (Lauuren)
This is the best chocolate cupcake I've ever had. I'm not a chocolate cake fan (in fact I tend to just be a frosting fan really) but I could eat this cupcake alone, maybe just with some powdered sugar. It was soft and richly chocolate, and right in between fluffy and dense. Yum. (aggplanta)
the cupcakes are gooood, the frosting is good (just two o's)  I used cake flour as I always do and the cupcakes were very delicate and soft. (eoberhauser)
after sitting even for an hour or so, the sugar melded into the frosting a bit and it was much better.  We can add some more ooooo's now. (eoberhauser)
Super awesome!! Very rich...wouldn't recommend eating more than one in a single sitting. Used a combo of Dutch and regular cocoa and also Newman O's. (kristinv)
SO. GREAT. I made them for my english class and everyone loved them. everyone needs to make these, now. (sog)
These are awesome. Cookies n Cream anything is awesome, so what do you expect? My only suggestion is to make these for an event or something where they're all sure to get eaten up at once. I had them sitting around in my kitchen for a few days and the cookies got soggy.  (algae)
Flavor extracts and liquors

German chocolate cupcakes (coconut pecan fudge frosting)
These are fabulous!  They are a variation under Your Basic Chocolate Cupcake recipe, using the chocolate cupcake with the Coconut Pecan Fudge Frosting. (willwolf)
I've used the frosting on vanilla cupcakes too, and it's wonderful - I really wish I'd had this recipe when I made a big German chocolate cake because it would have spread better than the one I used. (Lauuren)
Absolutely delicious! I've made the basic chocolate cupcakes several times, but I think this was actually the best batch. I followed the recipe exactly, but didn't use liners. The frosting is a perfect "German chocolate" type frosting, and tastes amazing. These are some of my favorite cupcakes! Mine took fewer than 18 minutes-about 16. (AC)
Peanut butter bombes (peanut buttercream, chocolate ganache topping)
just made these, sooo delicious (willwolf)
They are fantastic!!  These are the Your Basic Chocolate Cupcakes + Peanut Buttercream + Rich Chocolate Ganache.  Soooo good! (willwolf)
one of my faves (willwolf)
Peanut butter chocolate heavencakes (peanut buttercream, rich chocolate ganache topping)
spectacular!(tryp66)
very popular (melthibs)
another enthusiastic endorsement. I made them Tues for DH's birthday and they were even better the next day. Today, Thurs, they are starting to get a bitter taste; don't know why.  Followed the recipes exactly but used a simpler chocolate ganache topping. In the chocolate cupcakes I used almond extract as suggested but you can taste it in the finish and it doesn't go with the pb. So don't do that! (jkl)
Chocolate gluten freedom cupcakes
really good. Nice texture! I would make them again as-is. (pp)
I had to sub out almond flour instead of quinoa flour, but everything else was the same.  I only ended up with nine (but that could have something to do with me eating the batter with a spoon).  I didn't have time for a buttercream frosting, so I dusted them with powdered turbinado sugar and added a swirl of orange icing left-over from sugar cookies.  I have no idea if she liked them since I just handed them off to her, but my husband ate two and I ate one before I could rescue the six remaining ones for her.  Neither of us are gluten-intolerant, but seriously, you would never know they were gluten-free.  Yummy. (krs)
These have turned out more dependably than any other GF cupcakes I've made. I basically rely on this recipe every time I need something GF and just do a variation, like use a different flavor frosting, or one of the variations listed under the Basic Chocolate Cupcake. (Lauuren)
Golden vanilla cupcakes
classic (willwolf)
amazing (jessacita)
they're not as fancy as the ones in the book, or the ones posted on this thread, but they're my first try. I think I did a pretty good job for my first try. (laurabs)
edible, muffinlike and disasterous. nothing to rage about at all! they all tasted off to me. and i have good success w/ all  my own cupcake recipes, so i dont think its my technique. i dunno. has anyone else had failures like this? its gotten to the poiint where i have just thrown them out b/c no one will eat them! (LA)
good, but I didn't make any frosting, so it was very basic.  (melthibs)
tasty classic. really vanilla-y! and i hate yellow cake. (fb)
made up my own variation based on these- and it worked! I used the cinnamon icing from the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip recipe to make Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes, and they were awesome, if I say so myself. Here's what I did if anyone wants to try it out: -Prepare the Golden Vanilla Cupcakes with a teaspoon of cinnamon (as recommended in the Variations). I also made them Really Golden (with the turmeric) and used applesauce instead of canola oil, but those choices are optional -Prepare the Cinnamon Icing, adding an extra heaping TB or two of powdered sugar to make it thicker (mine was way too liquidy with the recommended amount; I just did a guesstimate measure with a regular spoon)
When cupcakes cool or are 95% cool, carve out a cone in the middle of the cupcake a'la the Tiramasu cupcakes (or other cupcakes like them; the technique is described with the Tiramasus) and set cone aside -Fill cavity with cinnamon icing, at least close to the top
Press cupcake cone back into cavity slowly so as to gradually press icing out over the top of the cake; spread spilled-over icing with a knife (the paper prevents icing overspill down the sides) (feelinsoreal)
I made french toast cupcakes with these, and added 1 tsp cinnamon to the batter.  I topped `em with the creamy maple frosting and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.  They were a huge hit!  Everyone kept asking me what I put in them and they all said it was the fluffiest frosting they'd ever had.  (icephrosty)
put them in a muffin tin. Out came 6 huge, delicious little bundles of  vanilla joy! I poked a hole in the middle and shoved in some sliced, fresh strawberries. I made the lemon buttercream and piped it into the middle and then topped it with even more frosting. Topped it off with another slice of strawberry and it was very tasty! (secondbase)
(with peanut buttercream) definitely another VCTOTW winner!  (willwolf)
with chocolate buttercream filling and chocolate ganache topping and those were wonderful as well! (tryp66)
good (bumblb)
fabulous (jkl)
I think this is my favorite vegan yellow cake. I just did an 8 inch round cake, and it worked well. It rose beautifully, and only fell very slightly with cooling. The texture is almost perfect, but still a large crumb. I added extra vanilla, and used the almond extract. Yummy with the vanilla buttercream. I used canola oil. (AC)
Why didn't anybody warn me that these are like crack? Dios mio! They're so delicious! I can't stop eating them. I used the oil variation, and it is so moist and chewy and awesome. This is the best cake I've ever had in my whole life. Period.  (veganrun)
wonderful!!! I know I have made them before but this batch came out absolutely moist and delish!!! (babysgotsauce)
I found the recipe online and am glad I tried it.  The first time I made them into cupcakes and my mom really enjoyed them.  The second time I made them into a 9" cake and it turned out well.  It is a nice simple cake that is perfect to dress up.  My dad really enjoyed it and could not believe it was vegan.  I so neen to invest in this book.  (monkey7)
I used this recipe to make cupcakes for a tiramisu flavoured 'cupcake-in-a-jar' for my sister-in-law for Christmas.  Nice simple vanilla-y cake, would be good to 'dress up' with icing and variations but plenty tasty just as it is.  My cupcakes rose really well and were nice and fluffy (oww)
The first time i made these, I failed miserably. I think I probably added too much baking soda. I made them again two days ago, but I only had white whole wheat flour, and they came out amazing! I frosted them with the chocolatey buttercream recipe in the back of the book, and they are gone now. They'd be even better with regular flour. (sog)
I made these this morning for my 40th birthday.  I usually go for chocolate cupcakes, but I felt like vanilla for some reason.  I thought these came out really well - moist with a nice vanilla flavor. (peaceablepalate)
Flavored golden cupcakes

Lemony vanilla cupcakes (lemony buttercream)
Simple and beautiful. The cake isn't very lemon-y, though - I'd recommend the Lemon Gems from VWAV (with VCTOTW lemon frosting) if that's what you want. I've added a little yellow food coloring to both the batter and the frosting, and it worked fine, but I think they're prettier with the paler natural color. (Lauuren)
Mix ins vanilla cupcakes
I've added chocolate chips, crushed oreos, and sprinkles (to make a "funfetti" cake) and all turned out great. (Lauuren)
Really golden cupcakes
did this for my Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes, and they were awesome (feelinsoreal)
Strawberry tallcakes (fluffy buttercream frosting)
I haven't tried one yet but the batter was good! I'm going to eat mine later; right now they're chilling in the fridge. I basically stuck to the recipe but I did add a teaspoon of strawberry extract to the batter. (feelinsoreal)
Definitely the easiest ones in the book that come out looking this fancy. The only downside is because the fruit is fresh, they won't stay perfect looking at room temp for very long. (Lauuren)
Sexy low-fat vanilla cupcakes (with fresh berries)
I used this to make the base for the lemon-blueberry cupcakes. It doesn't rise quite as magnificently as the golden vanilla, and the texture isn't quite the same. But, by itself it's still good. (it's just that the golden vanilla ones are amazing) (fb)
a favorite standby base recipe, then different flavored toppings and frostings.... i like that it's low-cal (dalida)
I don't know what I was expecting with "low fat," but these were quite terrible. They seemed dry and muffin-like. So, if I'm trying to lose weight or whatever, I think I'll just eat half of a real cupcake. Yuck. (veganrun)
Simple vanilla and agave nectar cupcakes
very tasty and no sugar (willwolf)
These are soo good. The texture is more sponge-cakier than the golden vanilla cupcakes, and the agave just makes the vanilla flavor better. I never thought agave alone had much flavor, and I'm not one into subbing agave for sugar everywhere, but these were just really really awesome. However, they dry out fast. When I make the chocolate version, I'll freeze them. (fb)
simple with a sweet, rich flavor. LF likes these and she isn't into sweets. i think they are a touch sweet from the agave and they def have an agave flavor. i like them with chocolate mousse on top! (baypuppy)
A pretty versatile recipe - it even turned out when I used all whole wheat flour. (Lauuren)
Chocolate agave cupcakes
Very chocolatey, nice texture, and not too sweet (good). I like these better than the regular chocolate cupcakes in here, and I think it's worth the agave nectar (it's really not that expensive). The agave itself doesn't seem to add to the flavor, but I think it just bakes well since the vanilla ones turned out so well too. (fb)
Everything I dislike about agave for making cookies turns into everything I like about it for cupcakes. I love the tender, moist crumb and soft, delicate flavor. This was one of the best cupcakes I've ever had. It's not in-your-face sweet, but I never felt like any flavor was lacking. I added the espresso powder to amp up the chocolate flavor, in addition to some chocolate extract. I topped with a chocolate ganache that I threw together, to get the chocolate party going. Quite different from the regular chocolate cupcake, but perfect in its own way. Yum. (veganrun)
Vanilla gluten freedom cupcakes
had a nice texture, but I thought they tasted like really really sweet cornbread, probably due to the corn flour. If I make them again, I might try potato flour or more white rice flour instead of the corn flour. They tasted more like you should eat them with chili instead of chocolate frosting. (pp)
(with lemon buttercream and toasted coconut) and they turned out delicious.  I used whole grain flours and didn't detect a "healthy" taste at all.  My picky husband couldn't tell they were GF. (icephrosty)
The only cupcakes I've made from this book that elicited multiple comments about tasting funny. I'm not too knowledgable about GF baking, so it might be my fault. However, I've found that by adding additional flavors to these (like any of the "mix-ins" options under variations), they pass the taste test better than when letting the vanilla stand alone. (Lauuren)