Cotton Candy Cupcakes
An easy vanilla cupcake recipe that is topped with a cotton candy buttercream and fluffy cotton candy to make for the perfect treat that kids and adults will love!
Servings: 30 cupcakes
Ingredients
For The Cupcakes
- 3 cups (360 grams) cake flour
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 16 tbsp. (226 grams) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 cups (396 grams) granulated white sugar
- 5 large eggs at room temperature
- 1¼ cups (336 grams) buttermilk at room temperature
- 2 tbsp. vanilla extract
For the cotton candy buttercream
- 2 1/2 cups (5 sticks, 565 grams) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 5 cups (568 grams) powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar
- 4 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 teaspoons cotton candy flavoring
- food coloring
- optional: cotton candy for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°/180oC F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Set aside. This recipe makes about 30 so you will need a third pan with 6 liners or simply reuse one of your first cupcake pans once the first pan is done.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
- Add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light and creamy in color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for one more minute.
- Add the sugar to the butter mixture, ¼ cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Mix in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Combine the buttermilk and the vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
- Divide the batter between the prepared paper liners, filling each about 2/3 of the way full (you will likely have batter left over after filling 24 wells.I managed to make a full 3 dozen cupcakes) Bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Replace paper liners and bake remaining batter if desired. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.
- To make the cotton candy buttercream frosting: Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add in your powdered sugar 1/2 cup at at time with mixer on low. Cream until combined. With mixer off, add your heavy cream, vanilla extract, cotton candy flavoring and then mix on low until combined. Then mix on medium to medium high speed for 8 minutes until light and fluffy. If coloring frosting, add your gel food coloring now. I made a two-tone frosting. If you want two-tone frosting, seperate out half the buttercream and color one half baby blue, the other half light pink. Use right away on cooled cupcakes. If not using right away, then store in a closed container in the refrigerator. You will need to mix the frosting again when ready to use to bring it back to that light and fluffy texture!
Notes
- Be Sure To Measure Your Flour The Correctly Way- by scooping with a spoon and levelling.
- Use properly softened unsalted butter for the cupcakes and the buttercream. Here are 3 easy ways to soften your butter quickly if you are like me you forgot to take it out ahead of time!
- Prepare your pans with your cupcake liners before you start busting out those mixing bowls. These are the cupcake liners I used.
- For these cupcakes, you could stick with one color buttercream or swirl your buttercream with multiple colors. Learn how to swirl your buttercream here. I even included a video to help you swirl!
- Use gel food coloring so as not to add more liquid to the buttercream. I used Wilton Color Right system, but Americolor gel food coloring is a great gel food coloring option as well!
- You can use toothpicks for the cotton candy on top of the cupcakes or these fun pastel paper straws which is what I used
- I included a double batch of the buttercream frosting in order to swirl on top the cupcakes a LOT of frosting. If you don't like that much you can cut the recipe in half.