Description
Celebrate Mardi Gras with these festive King Cake Cupcakes featuring a moist buttermilk batter swirled with cinnamon sugar, topped with rich cream cheese icing and colorful purple, green, and gold sanding sugars. Perfect for a party or any occasion that calls for a sweet, spirited treat.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cinnamon Swirl:
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
For the Cream Cheese Icing:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1-2 tablespoons milk (optional, for consistency)
For Decoration:
- Purple, green, and gold sanding sugars
Instructions
- Preheat & Prep: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners to prepare for baking.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and homogenous.
- Combine: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold together with a rubber spatula until just combined, being careful not to overmix to keep the cupcakes tender.
- Create Cinnamon Swirl: In a small bowl, mix the light brown sugar with the ground cinnamon to create the cinnamon sugar swirl mixture.
- Assemble Cupcakes: Spoon about 2 tablespoons of cupcake batter into each paper liner. Sprinkle a generous teaspoon of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the batter in each cup. Top with the remaining batter, filling each liner approximately two-thirds full.
- Bake: Place the muffin tin in the preheated oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool: Allow the cupcakes to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature.
- Make Icing: In a large bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Gradually add sifted powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract and lemon zest. If needed, add milk one tablespoon at a time to achieve a light, fluffy consistency.
- Decorate: Once the cupcakes are completely cool, generously frost each cupcake with the cream cheese icing. Immediately sprinkle with purple, green, and gold sanding sugars for a festive Mardi Gras finish.
Notes
- Be careful not to overmix the batter to keep the cupcakes light and tender.
- Use room temperature eggs for better batter consistency.
- Ensure cupcakes are fully cooled before icing to prevent melting.
- Adjust powdered sugar quantity in icing to achieve desired sweetness and texture.
- For a richer flavor, you may toast the cinnamon sugar mixture briefly in the melted butter before assembling.
