Mardi Gras Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting
Laissez les bon temps rouler with these easy to make Mardi Gras Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting. Inside is a surprise that will delight even your most picky critic!
Servings: 18
Calories: 281kcal
Ingredients
Mardi Gras Cupcakes
- 1 (15.5 ounce) package yellow cake mix
- 7 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¾ cup half and half
- 3 large eggs
- Purple, green, and yellow gel food coloring (See Tip 1)
Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting
- ½ cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 cups (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 to 4 Tablespoons milk (See Tip 2)
Instructions
Mardi Gras Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Add all cupcake ingredients to large bowl. Beat on low for 30 seconds to combine. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 4 additional minutes.
- Divide batter into thirds. Color each with 5 drops gel food coloring, ending up with purple batter, green batter, and yellow batter. (See Tip 3)
- Add individual colored batter to piping bag. Snip off ¼-inch from tip. Pipe, yellow batter on one side; green batter on the other side, and purple batter in middle. (See Tip 4)
- Bake at 350° F for 18 to 20 minutes, or until center spri)ngs back when pressed.
- Cool completely on wire rack.
Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting
- Beat butter in large bowl on high until light and fluffy. Add cinnamon, beat to combine. Add 2 cups confectioners' sugar; beat until mixture comes together.
- Add vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon milk. Beat to combine. Add another cup of confectioners' sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.
- Add 2 tablespoons milk and remaining sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add more sugar or milk to achieve proper piping consistency.
- Pipe on cupcakes with 1M star tip. Decorate with purple, green, and yellow sprinkles. (See Tip 5)
- Yield: 18 Mardi Gras Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting
Notes
- I purchased the gel food coloring at Hobby Lobby. If you can't find gel food coloring, use paste food coloring that is more readily available. I would avoid using the liquid food coloring. Because of the quantity needed to achieve the desired color, it could impact the consistency of the batter.
- Use the amount of milk necessary to achieve the desired consistency of the frosting.
- Use more or less of the food coloring necessary to achieve the desired colors.
- If you don't have piping bags, you can use ziploc bags. With the ziploc bags, cut off about ¼-inch from one of the corners.
- If you don't have the equipment to pipe the frosting, you can just frost the cupcakes as you normally would.
Nutrition
Calories: 281kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 224mg | Potassium: 36mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 245IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 0.7mg
