Mini Cotton Candy Cupcakes Recipe

There's not a better summer treat than cotton candy, so when you combine those with cupcakes, you get one big (or, in this case, little) bite of AWESOME.

Here's the mini cotton candy cupcakes recipe!

What you need:

Cake:

• 2 3/4 cups cake flour
• 1 2/3 cups pink vanilla cotton candy sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) softened unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 sticks
• 4 large egg whites, plus 1 whole egg
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 teaspoons vanilla

Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cotton candy flavoring
• food coloring
• 1 tablespoon whipping cream

Instructions:

1. As always, preheat your oven to 350ºF to get warm and cozy while you combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together.

2. Using a mixer on low speed, start adding the softened butter, one-half stick at a time, allowing the butter to mix well before adding the next.

3. Add one egg white at a time, followed by the whole egg. You want to ensure that all your eggs are thoroughly blended so you don't get a chunky cupcake batter.

4. In a separate small bowl, whisk the milk and vanilla extract together and then add it to the bowl of batter in small portions, allowing the mixer to combine the liquid entirely before continuing. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and continue to beat for an additional minute or two until the batter is fluffy.

5. If you wish to serve your cupcakes in a tiny teacup, as shown, you may choose not to use liners when baking. If you opt for this method, spray your mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray - unless your pan is silicon or already nonstick-coated.

6. Your other option is to bake with cupcake liners and remove them after they've cooled. Fill your mini cupcake molds until they are ⅔ of the way full. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean so as not to overbake. Set aside to cool. In a standing mixer, whisk together the sugar and softened butter on low speed. Once it becomes well blended, increase the speed to medium until the mixture becomes fluffy. Add vanilla, cotton candy flavoring, food coloring, and cream, and beat on medium until well incorporated – about 1 to 2 minutes. Garnish with pre-made cotton candy for a fun treasure troll effect!

Though, I doubt these cupcakes will grant you wishes if you rub their bellies. Be warned - the cotton candy will MELT after being in the open air for a prolonged time, especially in warm/moist conditions (how do you feel about the word "moist"? I know many people who hate that word.... MOIST). Serve your teacup cupcakes on Smartyware Coral Square Plastic Dinner Plates.

The Best Classic Vanilla Candy Cupcake Recipe

These homemade vanilla cupcakes are the best way to lift your spirits. They're moist, fluffy, and topped with the perfect buttercream frosting! Serve with a glass of cold milk or a cup of coffee, then grab one of these cookies for the full vanilla experience.

You can make these cookies casual or fancy, so they're an excellent treat for everything from birthday parties to lazy afternoons when you want something sweet. Everyone loves the combination of moist vanilla cookies with silky smooth vanilla buttercream.

These cookies are perfectly moist and light and without the use of cream. Instead, whole eggs are used, which makes them more velvety in texture, and they are made with butter instead of oil, which gives them an even better taste.

Cupcake Ingredients:

No need to make a stop at the grocery store for these cupcakes. They use essential ingredients that you most likely have in your pantry!

Here's what you'll need to make the vanilla cupcakes:

• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Unsalted butter
• Sugar
• Vegetable oil
• Vanilla extract
• Eggs
• Milk

Here's what you'll need to make the creamy vanilla buttercream frosting:

• Unsalted butter
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Water or milk
• Salt

How to Make Vanilla Cupcakes:

Preheat Oven & Prepare Dry Ingredients: Preheat your oven to 350°F and insert liners into your cupcake pan. In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder & salt and set aside.

Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, add your butter, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract, beating together until the mixture is light and fluffy. This will take no less than 3-4 minutes. You'll want to add your eggs next, one at a time, mixing after each until mostly combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure all ingredients are well incorporated.

Combine Wet & Dry Ingredients: Add half of your dry ingredients to the large bowl and mix until it's mostly combined. Before you add the next half, slowly add the milk and mix until well combined. The batter might look a little curdled, but don't worry! It's supposed to look like that at this stage.

Combine Next Half of Dry Ingredients: Add the rest of your dry ingredients, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix until smooth and combined, but make sure you don't over-mix the batter.

Bake Your Cupcakes: Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack.

Vanilla Buttercream for Cupcakes

This creamy vanilla buttercream frosting is super easy to make in one bowl. You may have noticed that these cupcakes are loaded with frosting. That's because I made one and a half times the frosting called for in the recipe. I think you can never have too much frosting, especially when it comes to this particular vanilla buttercream. So if you follow the recipe for these cupcakes, you'll have a more normal amount of frosting than what's pictured.

Directions:

Cream the Butter and Sugar: Add butter to a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add half of the powdered sugar and mix until it's smooth and well combined.

Add Milk or Water: Add the salt and 1-2 tbsp of the milk or water, mixing again until well combined. Then, add in your remaining powdered sugar and blend until smooth. You can add more milk or water to alter the consistency if you'd like.

Pipe the Frosting: Pipe or spread your frosting onto your cupcakes, decorate to your liking, and enjoy!

Party on Smarties! With Love, Smarty Had A Party!