Buddy The Elf's Favorite Cupcakes
Buddy the Elf's Favorite Christmas Cupcakes are the ultimate holiday treat for kids! These fun and colorful cupcakes, inspired by Buddy’s love of sweet treats, are easy to make and decorate. Perfect for family baking days, Christmas parties, or cozy movie nights!
Equipment
- 1 cupcake pan
- 18 cupcake liners
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Silicone spatula
- 1 electric mixer or stand mixer - while the cake can be mixed without an electric mixer, you absolutely need an electric mixer to make the frosting.
- 1 Measuring cups and spoons
- 1 frosting tip 233 = also known as the grass tip, this makes the frosting look like spaghetti, no coupler is needed for this tip. (the piece that holds some frosting tips on the bags)
- 1 frosting piping bag
Ingredients
Ingredients For the Cupcakes
- 15.25 ounces white cake mix we used Duncan Hine's perfectly moist
- 1 cup flour
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs whites only
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup water
Ingredients For The Frosting
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 cup butter softened to room temperature, salted is fine
- 4 cups powdered sugar also known as confectioner's sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- yellow food coloring we used gel
Optional Toppings - see notes at the bottom for more
- mini marshmallows
- mini chocolate chips
- mini M&M’s
- sprinkles
Instructions
Making And Baking The Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake liners in pan and set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl add the cake mix, flour, granulated sugar and salt. Mix well until combined.
- Separate the eggs and place just the egg whites in a medium sized bowl. Add the sour cream, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and water to the egg whites. Mix until combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the large mixing bowl. Stir until a smooth cake batter forms. Pour cake batter into the cupcake liners in the cupcake pan, dividing evenly between about 18 cupcakes wells.
- Place the cupcakes in the oven. Bake for 17-18 minutes or until cooked through. The tops of the cupcakes will be lightly golden brown. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting or the frosting will melt off.
Making The Frosting
- In a clean large mixing bowl, add the butter and shortening. Cream together butter and shortening with an electric mixer until smooth, about 3 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar to the butter mixture a cup at a time, mixing on low well in between each cup until the frosting begins to thicken. Then add the milk and vanilla extract and mix again with the electric mixer until combined.
- Place a little of the food coloring in the frosting and mix with an electric mixer until combined. Keep adding food coloring until you get your desired color.
- Load the frosting tip into the end of the frosting bag. (see notes) Fill the bag with frosting. Pipe frosting to look like spaghetti all over the tops of the cupcakes. Top with sprinkles and candies to decorate, then enjoy!
Notes
Optional Toppings
I've included the toppings I used in the ingredients, but Buddy the Elf loved all kinds of holiday candy and sweets! You can use whatever kind of holiday candy and toppings you prefer or just have in your pantry.Filling The Frosting Bag
To fill the frosting bag, start by placing the metal tip in the bottom corner of the bag. Place the frosting bag in a tall glass with the tip at the bottom of the glass. Pull the sides of the bag carefully apart to open the bag, and down the sides of the glass so the glass helps hold the bag open. Then you can easily load the frosting into the bag. Be careful not to full the bag too full, you want to fill it about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Then twist the top of the bag so it is closed and the frosting stays inside. With scissors snip the plastic tip of the bag so you can pipe the frosting through the frosting tip. Cut only a little of the frosting bag at first, as you can always cut more of the plastic if you need to. Then top the cupcakes with frosting, it will come out of the tip looking like "spaghetti!" To refill the bag you can then place the frosting tip down in the glass, and use the glass again to help you open the bag. This can help you to refill the bag without things getting super messy.Nutrition
Calories: 505kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 400mg | Potassium: 67mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 47g | Vitamin A: 457IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 82mg | Iron: 1mg