Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Funfetti Cupcakes



These cupcakes are the epitome of childhood. I will say that these guys are a slightly different texture than those fluffy store-bought cupcakes. They have more chew to them, and I'm down with that. They are slathered with a vanilla buttercream and sprinkles and no child (or adult) has ever turned that away! My five-year-old niece ate two in one sitting! (Don't tell her mother.) This makes 24 cupcakes (with a little extra batter- which I just pour into a small cake pan and that's my baker snack- you know if you're taking cupcakes somewhere and so you don't get to eat any of them because they're for a party? Well, problem solved.) This also can make three 8-inch round cakes.

For the Cake:
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs
2 c granulated sugar
2 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 c cake flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c buttermilk
Zest of 1 lemon *optional*
Sprinkles- measure these with your heart. I probably put like 1/3 cup, but I literally poured them in until I got the amount that I wanted.

1. Preheat oven to 350F and prepare 24 cupcake tins with liners.
2. Combine vegetable oil and butter in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment.
3. Gradually add in the granulated sugar and whip until light and fluffy.
4. Add in eggs and vanilla to the sugar mixture.
5. In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
6. Pour 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture and mix to combine.
7. Pour 1/2 of the buttermilk into sugar mixture and combine.
8. Pour another 1/3 of dry.
9. Pour second 1/2 of buttermilk.
10. Pour in the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients.
11. Add in lemon zest and sprinkles and stir to incorporate.
12. Divide the batter between cupcakes liners. Bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For the Buttercream:
4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
5 c (ish) powdered sugar, sifted
1 tbsp vanilla
Pinch of salt
*Again, you could put a bit of lemon zest in here. I did.*
**You could also add a splash of heavy cream to loosen it up if you like. I did not.*

1. Put butter into stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and start to mix.
2. Slowly incorporate the powdered sugar.
3. Add vanilla and salt.
4. Whip until light and fluffy. If you feel like it's too loose, add more sugar. If it feels too tight, add a splash of cream or milk.
5. Slather on everything. Everything.

Assembly:
1. I don't feel like this really requires explanation, but here you are.
2. Take cooled cupcake. Put on buttercream. Add sprinkles on top.
3. Here's a bonus picture of my niece with her funfetti smash cake on her first birthday!
Bonus:
I have also used excess cake and buttercream and made some cake balls. (I made too much cake for the party. I don't know what happened....)
1. Take leftover cake (that is not "dressed with buttercream yet"- although honestly, I bet you could do this just with leftover cake and cupcakes in general as well- let's try that and reconvene.) and crumble with your hands in a bowl.

2. Add leftover buttercream (mine was pink for this last round of funfetti cakes- it's whatever). You are looking for a consistency that can stay together when you ball some of it up in your hand.
3. Scoop out mixture with a cookie scoop and place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet (or you could just use a spoon- although the scoop does allow for more consistency).
4. Once you have scooped them, gently roll them in your hands to create a ball shape. Allow to cool in fridge for about 45 minutes to an hour. (That pink color kinda makes them look like meatballs lol).
5. Melt candy melts (or white chocolate- I did both because I didn't buy enough candy melts) in microwave at 15 second intervals. Be careful not to overheat. Stir after each interval. Take out of microwave when there's still just a few lumps in the chocolate. Stir til completely smooth.
6. Take cool cake balls and dunk in chocolate with a fork, knocking excess chocolate off before landing it back on the parchment. Immediately put sprinkles on top- the chocolate hardens faster than you would think.
 

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