Candy Cane Cupcakes

12 cupcakes
37 min

These cute and festive Candy Cane Cupcakes are the perfect Christmas or Holiday treat. Topped with homemade peppermint buttercream frosting, these cupcakes taste just like a candy cane! These cupcakes are super moist because they have butter and milk in the batter and little pieces of candy canes to add to the flavor and fun. The peppermint buttercream frosting is the perfect compliment to these minty and delicious treats. Make these cupcakes for your next holiday party or Christmas Dessert swap. They look as good as they taste and you can add a few fun sprinkles to the top for an even more festive look.

Candy Cane Cupcake!

Candy Cane Cupcakes

candy cane cupcakes cooling after baking

Recipe details
  • 12  cupcakes
  • Prep time: 25 Minutes Cook time: 12 Minutes Total time: 37 min
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Ingredients
Candy Cane Cupcakes
  • 1⅓ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¾ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
  • 2 large eggs, room temp
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup milk, room temp
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp peppermint extract
  • ¼ cup crushed candy canes, with (about 2 large candy canes)
Peppermint Buttercream Frosting
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
  • 2-3 cups confectioners powdered sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp peppermint extract
  • 2-3 tbsp heavy whipping cream or milk
  • red gel food coloring
  • sprinkles of choice (optional, but ALWAYS a good idea!)
Instructions
Candy Cane Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350° and prepare a cupcake pan with liners.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside. Combine the milk and the vanilla and peppermint extracts and also set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until smooth with the whisk attachment. Add the sugar and continue to beat until creamy and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, fully mixing them in each time. Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat in on low just until combined. Add the milk mixture and mix in. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and then the milk just until everything is combined. Don't overmix or your cupcakes will be dense! Use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is mixed in.
Crush the candy canes into small pieces in a bag. Add a small sprinkle of flour to the bag and shake to cover the candy cane pieces. This will help them float in the batter instead of going right to the bottom. Add the candy canes to the batter and give a few gentles stirs to mix in.
Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake liners until they are ¾ full. Bake for 12-14 minutes for mini cupcakes or 20-22 minutes for regular cupcakes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Remove the pan from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Allow the cupcakes to fully cool before frosting.
Peppermint Buttercream Frosting
In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, cream the butter for 3-4 minutes with the beater attachment. Add one cup of powdered sugar and 1 tbsp of cream or milk and fully combine. Repeat with another cup of powdered sugar and 1 tbsp of cream. Add the extracts and continuing mixing. Add more powdered sugar and cream to get your desired sweetness and consistency (I used 2 cups powdered sugar and 2 tbsp cream).
To get the swirl, you will need to place half of the frosting in another mixing bowl. Add the red food coloring and mix in completely.
Spread out a piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface. Take the white frosting and lay it out in a line. Do the same with the red frosting right next to the white. Gently roll the two frostings together creating a tube, hold each end of the plastic wrap and spin around until each end is nice and tight.
Cut off one end and place the entire plastic tube into the piping bag fitted with a tip. When you squeeze out the frosting you will have half red and half white! Add sprinkles if desired and enjoy!
Tips
  • This recipe makes 12 regular cupcakes or 30 mini cupcakes.
Emily | emilyfabulous.com
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