Candy Corn Cupcakes

Intensive Cake Unit
by Intensive Cake Unit
24 cupcakes
40 min

Don’t you sometimes (okay, or maybe a lot of times) want to make a Halloween dessert that’s EASY but also festive and cute?

These rich vanilla cupcakes are easy to color and swirl, and you honestly could skip the ‘color the cupcake batter’ bit! The orange/yellow/white frosting is easy to add with a few piping bags, and the sprinkles add a fun pop of extra color and sparkle! These have all the fun fall look of candy corn without the cloying over-sweet taste! Feel free to make OR buy your cupcakes / frosting – no wrong approaches here! Recipes + supply links below!

Recipe details
  • 24  cupcakes
  • Prep time: 20 Minutes Cook time: 20 Minutes Total time: 40 min
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Ingredients
Cupcakes
  • 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs (or ¾ cup egg whites if coloring your cupcakes)
  • 1 T pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
  • (Optional – food coloring! I used Americolor Lemon Yellow and Americolor Electric Orange).
Frosting / Decorations
  • 8 oz (one package) cream cheese, softened
  • 16 Tablespoons (two sticks) butter, softened
  • 6-7 c powdered sugar
  • 2-4 Tablespoons milk
  • 1 T clear vanilla extract
  • 1/4 t. salt (if using unsalted butter)
  • Save and add later - food coloring! I used Americolor Lemon Yellow and Americolor Electric Orange).
  • - Large piping bag & tip – I use this set of reusable large bags & tips more than almost any of my others! (I used my 1B large tip from the set I bought on Amazon, and Wilton’s 1M tip for the middle layer.)
  • Small piping bag & tip – this set has been one of my favorites – I used the small closed star tip ‘35’ in the set I bought online!
  • I also used Fancy Sprinkles ‘Pumpkin Cream' but I think the mix was sold out online last I looked – ‘Candy Corn’ by SprinklePop would also be a great option!
Instructions
Cupcakes
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F, and prepare 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners. Set aside. (Of note – after I’d already purchased ‘eyeball’ foil cupcake liners, I found these black foil liners with candy corn on them! These would’ve been SOO perfect if I’d known!
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine and set aside.
In a medium or stand mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugar until lightened. Mix in eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk – the mix will look clumpy and strange at this stage. This is normal Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined, then divide your batter into roughly thirds and gently fold in your food coloring if using. Don’t overmix! The batter will be fairly thick.
Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting / Decorating
Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add vanilla and salt if needed and beat until well combined.
Pipe your icing onto your cooled cupcakes – I used orange then yellow then white to resemble candy corn, but you could change up the colors if you want to use less food coloring!
Add your sprinkles – and you’re done!
Tips
  • Make this recipe? Let me know how it went - or find me on Pinterest or on Instagram and tag @IntensiveCakeUnit in your photo!
Intensive Cake Unit
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Comments
  • Renee Renee on Oct 31, 2021

    What is the two tablespoons of oil for?

    • Intensive Cake Unit Intensive Cake Unit on Oct 31, 2021

      I used egg whites for lighter batter that would color easier - the oil replaces some of the fat from the egg yolks I took out 👍

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