Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
In honor of everything being green and rainbow today, I’d like to share a simple yet festive cupcake recipe. It’s so easy to make either from scratch or using white cake mix and a can of frosting. Kids and anyone with a a sweet tooth will love these mini cupcakes and the candy surprise inside.
I came up with this recipe while trying to think of ways to use a ton of cake sprinkles, small candies and nonpareils. I grabbed my rainbow assortment of treats and sprinkled them into the traditional cake batter. Once topped with a classic American-style buttercream, the result was yummy and colorful bite-sized treat.
Without further adieu, two quick recipes to create these little mini cupcakes. If you’re short on time, you can always use a cake mix and can frosting. My favorite brand is Pillsbury :)
Rainbow Candy Cupcakes
Prep time 30 minutes – Bake time 20 minutes
Cake Ingredients
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup of granulated sugar
2 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of milk
1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar
Rainbow confetti sprinkles
Small star candies (similar consistency of Runts)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Prepare your cupcake baking pan by inserting liners. This recipe will make about 20 regular and 48 minis. Separate the eggs into whites and yolks.
Mix the sugar and gutter with a hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment. Beat until creamy and smooth for 3-5 minutes at medium speed. Add the egg yolks one at a time and beat until completely mixed in. Add the vanilla extract and mix well again.
Combine the flour, baking power, and salt in another bowl. Measure the milk and turn the mixer on to a low speed. Alternate pouring the flour mixture and the milk until just blended.
Whip the egg whites on high speed in a separate bowl. Add in the cream of tartar once they are foaming. Whisk until eggs whites form stiff peaks. With a rubber spatula carefully fold in the egg whites with the rest of batter until just blended.
Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 from the top. Sprinkle the sprinkles (aha!) into each cupcake and insert one small candy into the center. These will melt and add a sweet tang to the cupcakes! Bake for 15 minutes or until light golden.
Buttercream Frosting Ingredients
3 cups of confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of milk
Mix the sugar and softened butter with a hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment. Beat until creamy and smooth, about 3-5 minutes on medium speed. Add in vanilla and milk. Check the consistency and smooth of the frosting. It should spread easily with a knife. If not add a little more milk to thin or sugar to thicken.
After the cupcakes cool, frost using an angled spatula or knife. You can add the little flower topper for decoration. I found these green flowers at Michaels and use toothpick halves to stick into cupcakes.
There ya go! Enjoy this treat today in honor of St. Patrick or bake later this weekend just for fun. Happy baking :)
