If you prefer cupcakes with a flat top (instead of a tall, domed top), be sure to first follow all the best practices in this article! The shape of your cupcake will also largely depend on the recipe you're using. That said, there are a few tweaks you can make that will help most cupcake recipes achieve a flatter top: First, use cake flour instead of all purpose (it will develop less gluten and help the cupcake rise more evenly). Next, avoid overfilling your cupcake liners: If a recipe came out too domed on top for your liking, try reducing the amount of batter in each liner the next time you bake it. Finally, you may want to experiment with the oven temperature: In many cases, reducing the temperature by 25°-50° Fahrenheit can slow the baking process down enough for a cupcake to develop a smoother, flatter top (adjusting the bake temperature usually requires a bit of trials-and-error, though, so make sure you give yourself a few test batches to experiment with!)