Yellow Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream and DIY Candy Heart Toppers

Consider these cupcakes party-ready with their colorful frosting and confetti sprinkles. Candy necklaces can be fashioned into pretty heart-shaped cupcake toppers using this quick tutorial.

I once asked my friend what kind of cupcakes she wanted for her birthday and she replied “I’m boring, I like yellow cake with vanilla frosting.” I think I may have scared her because I got really excited and maybe shouted “I’m boring too! We can be boring together!”

What I meant to say was “I like yellow cake with vanilla frosting also and I’m going to make us a batch right now.”

I hadn’t planned a blog post for today, but yesterday morning I started craving yellow cupcakes. I whipped up a batch and decided to tint vanilla buttercream a rainbow of pastel colors. I think we all could use some happy colors to look at right now, don’t you?

I had a box of candy necklaces hanging around (which is normal business here) so I started thinking of ways to use them to decorate the cupcakes. I thought about using the individual beads as sprinkles, but I soon found they’re prettiest all strung together.

I ended up making some super cute candy heart cupcake toppers with the necklaces. They are so easy! I think kiddos would love to get involved, especially with stringing the beads together.

You’ll need coated wire for this project, around 30-50 gauge will be heavy enough to hold up the heart shape. I used some coated florist’s wire, but these white paper-covered wires are even better, because they are made for use with edibles (sugar paste flowers).

You’ll need one candy necklace per topper. Cut a 12-inch length of wire. Leave the candy necklace beads on the string while you thread about 3/4 of the beads onto the wire. Bend the beaded wire into a heart shape. When it looks like a heart, twist the two ends of the wire together. Cut the string and pull it away (eat the extra candy beads or save them for later). Trim away the excess wire. Use filament tape to cover the wire completely. You’re done!

These cupcakes are simple and classic – and definitely not boring! The cake recipe is soft and fluffy with a slight tang from the sour cream in the batter. This recipe makes about one dozen, which is nice when I don’t have a large crowd to feed. If you need more than one dozen, the recipe doubles well.

Yellow Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Heather Baird

These cupcakes are simple and classic. The cake recipe is soft and fluffy with a slight tang from the sour cream in the batter. See the blog post for instructions for the candy necklace toppers.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

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Yellow cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cups 150g all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup 113g unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup 150g granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup 4 oz. milk
• 6 tablespoons 85g sour cream

Vanilla buttercream

• 1 cup/226g unsalted butter softened
• 2 1/2 -3 cups/320 to 384g confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Milk or heavy cream
• Pastel food colors assorted
• Confetti sprinkles

Instructions

 

• Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Place paper liners in the cavities of a standard size cupcake tin.
• Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine. Scrape down the edges of the bowl and mix again. In a glass measure with a pour spout, combine the milk and sour cream.
• Beat in the flour mixture on low speed alternately with the milk mixture; begin and end with flour. Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full of the batter. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back when pressed in the centers. Remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Make the frosting: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the butter and confectioners’ sugar. Begin on low speed until crumbly, and then increase to high and beat for 3 minutes.
• Add vanilla extract and beat again for another minute. If you find the buttercream is too stiff, you may add milk or heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture is spreading consistency.
• Divide the frosting into separate bowls and tint as desired. Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large French decorator tip and pipe frosting onto the cupcakes. Immediately top with sprinkles if desired.

Keyword american buttercream, candy necklaces, yellow cake

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