As a rule, a CTE will NEVER improve performance. A CTE is essentially a disposable view. There are no additional statistics stored, no indexes, etc. It functions as a shorthand for a subquery. In my opinion they can be EASILY overused (I see a lot of overuse in code in my job).
Check the cupcakes at the minimum baking time. If the recommended baking time is 18-22 minutes, check them at 17 or 18 minutes (just a quick peek, make sure not to let too much heat out of the oven). If the tops are rounded and no long appear wet, they may be done.
1 Mini cupcakes take about 2/3 of the time to bake compared to regular cupcakes. 2  For example, if you have a regular-sized cupcake recipe that says it takes 21 minutes to bake, it will take only about 14 minutes for mini cupcakes, give or take 1-2 minutes. Mini cupcakes take about 1/2 the time to bake compared to a recipe for a 9Ã13 (quarter sheet) cake. 2  For example, if you have a 9Ã13 cake that takes 30-35 minutes to bake, take the smaller number and divide it by 2.