Description
Sweet cotton candy cupcakes deliver a nostalgic carnival treat with whimsical frosting and playful sprinkles. Delightful flavors and pastel colors make these cupcakes perfect for birthday parties and childhood memories.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1.5 cups (360 ml) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter (softened)
- 2 large eggs
- 3.5 cups (420 g) powdered sugar
- 0.5 cup (120 ml) whole milk
- 1.5 tsps baking powder
- 0.25 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 0.5 tsp cotton candy flavoring
- 23 tbsps (345 ml) heavy cream or milk
- Pink food coloring
- Blue food coloring
- Cotton candy (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Preparation: Position the oven rack centrally and preheat to 350F (175C). Line a standard muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Dry Ingredients: Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl, creating a uniform base.
- Butter Mixture: Cream butter and sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy, transforming into a pale, smooth texture.
- Wet Ingredients: Blend eggs one at a time into the butter mixture, ensuring complete incorporation. Fold in vanilla and cotton candy flavoring evenly.
- Batter Composition: Alternately mix flour mixture and milk into the base, maintaining a smooth, lump-free consistency. Divide batter into two portions and tint one pink, the other blue.
- Layering: Carefully spoon pink and blue batters into cupcake liners, creating a marbled swirl effect within each cup.
- Baking Process: Slide the muffin tin into the preheated oven and bake for 18-20 minutes. Verify doneness with a toothpick test and look for a golden surface.
- Cooling: Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack, allowing complete cooling to room temperature.
- Frosting Preparation: Whip butter until creamy, gradually incorporating powdered sugar. Divide frosting, coloring one portion pink and the other blue.
- Decorative Finishing: Fill a piping bag with both colored frostings side by side. Pipe elegant swirled peaks onto cooled cupcakes, then garnish with a delicate cotton candy wisp just before serving.
Notes
- Master Color Blending: Gently layer pink and blue batters using a small spoon to create stunning marbled patterns without overmixing, which could destroy the delicate swirl effect.
- Prevent Dry Cupcakes: Check doneness precisely at 18 minutes using the toothpick method, ensuring the center comes out clean but not overbaked, which maintains moisture and softness.
- Optimize Frosting Technique: Chill piping bag briefly before decorating to help maintain crisp, defined color separation when creating the two-toned swirled peaks.
- Temperature Control Matters: Allow cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack to prevent condensation and maintain frosting’s structural integrity when piping decorative swirls.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 13
- Calories: 408
- Sugar: 40 g
- Sodium: 80 mg
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated Fat: 15 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 80 mg