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Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone! (A little early.) When my daughters were small, “Lucky the Leprechaun” used to visit our home and leave small gifts for my girls. Now that my daughters are 17 and don’t believe in leprechauns anymore, I’ve found other ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day together! For today’s Tasty Tuesday, I am sharing a delicious and easy recipe for Rainbow St. Patrick’s Day Confetti Cupcakes – vanilla cupcakes topped with buttercream icing.
The fun part about these cupcakes are that they have a “confetti” surprise inside the cake, and that they are topped with marshmallow clouds and a candy rainbow.
Rainbow St. Patrick’s Day Confetti Cupcakes Ingredients
(Recipe from Food Network)
For my cupcakes, I used a vanilla cupcake recipe from Food Network. (I just added the sprinkles for the confetti inside the cupakes.) This recipe was easy to put together, and makes delicious moist cupcakes! I got 12 cupcakes out of this recipe.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
Sprinkles of your choice
Cupcake Frosting Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1?½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk
2-3 Drops of Food Coloring (Optional)
Sprinkles
1 Package Airheads Extremes Candy
Lucky Charms Marshmallows
Tools Needed
Muffin/Cupcake Liners (I used AmazonBasics Reusable Silicone, Non-Stick Baking Cups Liners)
Cupcake Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and position two racks in the middle of the oven. Line one 12-cup standard muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.
In another medium bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 minutes. While beating, gradually pour in the melted butter and then the vanilla.
While mixing slowly, add half of the flour mixture. Then add all the milk, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Don’t overmix the batter. Divide the batter evenly in the prepared muffin tin.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean, rotating the tin about halfway through baking time, about 18 to 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the tin on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool on a wire cookie rack completely.
Once the cupcakes are cool, carefully cut small circles in the center of each cupcake. (Save the centers.) Pour sprinkles into each center. Replace the cut out centers and frost the cupcakes.
Frosting Directions
Cream room temperature butter with an electric mixer until the icing is smooth and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar. Beat in vanilla extract.
Pour in milk a little at a time until you get a good frosting consistency.
Frost the cupcakes using a piping bag fitted with a frosting tip. (I mixed in a little blue food coloring into the icing with a knife in the piping bag to get variations of color in the icing.)
Check out this tutorial by Life, Love & Sugar on how to frost cupcakes. I could still use some practice, but I am getting better!
Top each cupcake with a Lucky Charms marshmallow or two, and a half strip of Airheads Extremes Candy.
Rainbow Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
These fun vanilla cupcakes are decorated with rainbow candy and Lucky Charms marshmallows and are filled with sprinkles that spill out when the cupcake is cut open.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk
- Sprinkles of your choice
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and position
two racks in the middle of the oven. Line one 12-cup standard muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together
in a medium bowl.
In another medium bowl, beat the eggs and sugar
with an electric mixer, about 2 minutes. While beating, gradually pour in the melted butter and then the vanilla.
While mixing slowly, add half of the flour mixture. Then add all the milk, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Don't overmix the batter. Divide the batter evenly in the prepared muffin tin.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center
of the cupcakes comes out clean, rotating the tin about halfway through baking time. Bake about 18 to 20 minutes, total.
Cool the cupcakes in the tin on a rack for 10
minutes, then remove from the tin and cool on a wire cookie rack completely.
Once the cupcakes are cool, carefully cut small
circles in the center of each cupcake. (Save the centers)
Pour sprinkles into each center. Replace the cut out centers and frost the cupcakes.
Easy Buttercream Icing
This simple but delicious buttercream frosting recipe is perfect for frosting cupcakes.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2-3 Drops of Food Coloring (Optional)
Instructions
Cream room temperature butter with an electric mixer until the icing is smooth and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Beat in vanilla extract.
Pour in milk a little at a time until you get a good frosting consistency.
Frost the cupcakes using a piping bag fitted with a frosting tip. (I mixed in a little blue food coloring into the icing with a knife in the piping bag to get variations of color in the icing.)