CANDY CORN CUPCAKES

Candy Corn Cupcakes image

Provided by @MakeItYours

Number Of Ingredients 20

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs (or ¾ cup egg whites if coloring your cupcakes)
1 T pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
(Optional - food coloring! I used Americolor Lemon Yellow and Americolor Electric Orange).
8 oz (one package) cream cheese, softened
16 Tablespoons (two sticks) butter, softened
6-7 c powdered sugar
2-4 Tablespoons milk
1 T clear vanilla extract
1/4 t. salt (if using unsalted butter)
Save and add later - food coloring! I used Americolor Lemon Yellow and Americolor Electric Orange).
- Large piping bag & tip - I use this set of reusable large bags & tips more than almost any of my others! (I used my 1B large tip from the set I bought on Amazon, and Wilton's 1M tip for the middle layer.)
Small piping bag & tip - this set has been one of my favorites - I used the small closed star tip '35' in the set I bought online!
I also used Fancy Sprinkles 'Pumpkin Cream' but I think the mix was sold out online last I looked - 'Candy Corn' by SprinklePop would also be a great option!

Steps:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F, and prepare 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners. Set aside. (Of note - after I'd already purchased 'eyeball' foil cupcake liners, I found these black foil liners with candy corn on them! These would've been SOO perfect if I'd known!
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.
In a medium or stand mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugar until lightened. Mix in eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk - the mix will look clumpy and strange at this stage. This is normal Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined, then divide your batter into roughly thirds and gently fold in your food coloring if using. Don't overmix! The batter will be fairly thick.
Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add vanilla and salt if needed and beat until well combined.
Pipe your icing onto your cooled cupcakes - I used orange then yellow then white to resemble candy corn, but you could change up the colors if you want to use less food coloring!
Add your sprinkles - and you're done!