Sunday, October 31, 2010

candy corn cupcakes with perfect cupcake frosting



Recipe courtesy of Our Best Bites

1 18.25-oz white cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup canola oil
3 large eggs
1 tsp. almond extract
Yellow and orange Wilton food gel (about a heaping 1/2 tsp. of each)
A double batch of Perfect Cupcake Frosting and Filling

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 24-cup muffin tins with white paper liners. Combine all ingredients except for food coloring in a large bowl and beat on low speed for 1 min. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat on medium for 2 additional minutes. Divide batter equally into 2 bowls: about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups of batter in each bowl. Mix about 1/2 heaping tsp. of yellow coloring into one bowl of batter and 1/2 heaping tsp. of orange coloring into the other bowl.

Divide the yellow batter evenly among the muffin tins, about 1 tbsp. Bang the tin a few times on the counter to level out the batter. Repeat the process with the orange batter. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes in the pan and then allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.

These "doctored up" cake mix cupcakes are sooo delish! And the frosting! It is divine. Definitely a little more challenging than a regular buttercream but worth it. So yummy!

Perfect Cupcake Frosting and Filling
recipe by ourbestbites.com

3 tbsp. flour
1/2 cup milk (whole milk is best, I used a combination of 1% and heavy cream and it worked great - the recipe writer said they have used skim before to good results)
1/2 cup real butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. Let it cook, while stirring, until it looks like pudding (you should be able to see the bottom on the pan when you stir it). Even though it's thick, you can still push it through a mesh strainer (whisk in the strainer to push the thick stuff through) and then let it cool completely to room temperature. If it doesn't cool completely, it will melt the butter in the frosting.

In an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy. Use the whisk attachment. Then while beating add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla. Beat on the highest speed possible without making a mess for 7 minutes, maybe even 8 or 9. It will look like a weird goopy mess and then towards the end it gets amazing.

Frost cupcakes and garnish with a candy corn.

Can store at room temperature in a sealed container.

Happy Halloween!!

5 comments:

Erica said...

Yummy! I want to see what they look like when you bite into them! What a cute Halloween treat!

Carrie said...

Looks yummy! I have tried to make frosting like that!!! But I didn't get good results...and now I know why! Where I got the recipe...I think at the time, it was from Pioneer Woman...anyhow it didn't say to beat for so long ~ and I don't have a stand mixer ~ only my handheld...and the beaters aren't enough of a whisk...I have been thinking that was a problem with other frostings...not getting enough of a whip. Wish I could try yours because I wasn't so impressed ~ even though I've seen numerous people rave about that frosting!

Karen M. said...

Yummy! They turned out-I would have felt guilty if they didn't since you were talking to me. Obviously you can multi-task quite well. I will try these next year as I love candy corn!

Amy said...

Where were these last week!!?? They look so good! Do you have a pastry bag and tips? You're incredible. I wish these were in my mouth right now :)

Jer and Cam said...

They look so yummy! This post just barely popped to the top of my blog list today though and I see I've missed a lot of yummy recipes! So glad you are posting cuz I need some nikki luv in my kitchen bad!