Cake and cupcake batters consist of the same basic ingredients. The difference between cakes and cupcakes is size. You can easily convert a cake recipe into a cupcake recipe. A one-layer cake recipe will give you about a dozen cupcakes. Cakes and cupcakes bake at the same temperature, but you’ll need to cut cupcake baking time. Most cupcakes will bake for 15 to 20 minutes.