Oh little cupcake. You’re as close to dessert perfection as it gets. You’re fun to make and decorate. You fit just right in my hand. You’re easy to eat. Delicious, too!
Our humble homage to the cupcake includes unique recipes that you and your kids can enjoy baking together. Whether you serve them at parties, bake sales, or as after-school snacks, we’re sure everyone will swoon over the tasty treats the way we do!
Honey Bee
Ingredients
- 1/2 stick butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp applesauce
- 3/4 cup self-rising flour
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp salt
Decoration
- 13 oz white rolled fondant icing
- Food coloring
- Black writing icing
- 12 almond slices
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Fill a muffin pan with 6 paper liners.
- Beat together butter, sugar, and honey until light and fluffy. In another bowl, beat together egg, vanilla, and applesauce. Beat this into butter mixture. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Fold into butter and egg mixture.
- Divide batter between paper liners and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until golden and firm. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes; then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
- Decorate! Knead a little food coloring into fondant to make a selection of colored fondants. To make bees, shape heads and bodies from yellow icing and gently squash together. Draw bee faces and stripes using black writing icing, and push almond slices into the sides as wings. Cut out flower shapes from pink, white, and lilac icing using mini cookie cutters. Press some sprinkles into the flowers.
Makes 6 cupcakes
Red Velvet
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2 tsp red food coloring
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup superfine sugar
- 3/4 stick (6 Tbsp) butter, softened
- 1 egg plus 2 yolks
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting
- 1/2 sticks softened butter
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- Warm the milk 30 seconds in microwave. Add food coloring.
- Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Beat sugar and butter together until pale and fluffy. Beat egg and yolks with vanilla; then beat into butter mixture, a little at a time.
- Beat in 1/3 flour mixture, 1/2 milk, 1/3 flour, rest of milk, then rest of flour. Pour into paper liners and bake 18 to 20 minutes.
- For frosting, beat butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth. Add sugar 1/4 cup at a time. Spread onto cooled cakes.
Makes 12 cupcakes
Plain Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter, softened
- 1/2 cup superfine sugar
- 1 cup self-rising flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, blending until smooth between each, with 1 tablespoon of the flour. Add vanilla extract and fold in remaining flour.
- Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups and fill each halfway.
- Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes, or until cakes rise and are firm and springy to the touch.
Makes 8 to 10 cupcakes
Puppy Cakes
Ingredients
- Plain cupcakes (recipe above)
- Chocolate drops
- Oval cookies
- Colorful candies
- Black writing icing
Attach cookies for ears and chocolate drops and colorful candies for eyes and noses, using the writing icing as glue. Then use the writing icing to draw a mouth and pupils for the eyes.
Marshmallow Sheep
Ingredients
- Plain cupcakes (recipe above)
- Butter frosting
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 stick butter, softened
- A few drops of vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp water
Decoration
- Mini and large marshmallows
- Black writing icing
- For frosting, sift confectioners’ sugar into a large bowl. In another, beat butter until creamy, then add vanilla. Slowly mix in confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth. Beat in water.
- Frost cakes. Arrange mini marshmallows in two circles around edges of each.
- Cut large marshmallows in half. Place one half on top for the face. Cut the other half in half again and place on either side of sheep’s face for ears. If ears won’t stick naturally (from sticky marshmallow insides), use a drop of frosting as glue.
- Arrange halved mini marshmallows on the top and behind the sheep’s head. Draw eyes and noses with the black writing icing.
