Candy Corn Cupcakes
October 15, 2008 at 5:33 PM | Posted in cupcakes | 87 CommentsTags: candy corn
After my cheesecake cupcake failure yesterday, I decided I needed something fail proof to boost my bruised ego.
Thank goodness for Duncan Hines. Yes. I said it. I used a cake mix. I said fail proof right?
Unlike some of my fellow bakers, I am not anti-cake mix. I like cake mix. The sweet smell when you bust open the bag reminds me of my childhood when I would help (translation: lick the mixer beaters) my mom make cupcakes for various occasions. It’s one of my earliest memories baking with my mom. Does scratch cupcakes taste better? Oh definitely. But cake mix as a nostalgic memory? Priceless.
While I was getting dizzy from the cake mix scent (Can you get high off cake mix powder?), I started thinking about what I wanted to make. Usually I am a planner. I have a little notepad filled with ideas of what I wanna bake complete with little sketches. Go ahead. You can call me crazy. I am ok with that.
But this time I didn’t really have a clue what I wanted to do beyond reading the box and adding the egg whites, oil and water. I was listening to my Kitchen Aid whirling away when I remembered a comment from a previous post. She suggested a candy corn cupcake and I absolutely loved that idea! Thanks for the comment, Jingle! You are my cupcake muse. ♥♥♥
Don’t worry! I have plans to make a future candy corn cupcake from scratch that also tastes like a candy corn! Just gotta put my thinking cap on. Until then…
Which picture do you like better?
(Original recipe and photos from me!)
Makes about 20 cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
For cupcake
1 white cake mix
red coloring gel (I used Wilton “no taste” red)
yellow coloring gel (I used Wilton lemon yellow)
For buttercream
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
7-8 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven 350F
To make cupcake—
Make cake batter as directed on box.
Divide the cake batter into 2 bowls. Color one orange (red+yellow=orange) and one yellow.
Fill the cupcake liners about 1/2 full (1/2 yellow and 1/2 orange batter, yellow first). Bake for 17-20 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
To make frosting—
Beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl. Add 5 cups of sifted powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla, beat until combined. Add more powdered sugar until you get to the consistency you want. Make sure its not too stiff to pipe.
[NOTES: I cut off my cupcake tops to have a level surface but you don't have to.]
To assemble cupcakes—
Using a 1M star, pipe buttercream on top of cupcake, to form the point of the “candy corn”.
Playing around: Using a 2A round tip, pipe buttercream on top of cupcake to form “ghost”. Chill in the frig to let frosting set before brushing on black coloring gel for eyes and mouth.
ENJOY!
Husband rating: N/A
Wifey rating: A
The cupcake is light and fluffy like you’d except from a cake mix. The buttercream is really good. A little too rich for me but still very very good. It’s amazing the difference between homemade and store bought frosting. Maybe next time I’ll use a marshmallow frosting. YUM!
87 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
Sponsored Banners
-
Copyright
Photos, Original Recipes & Text ©iheartcuppycakes! 2007-2010 unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved. If you repost any material from this blog, please give credit by including a link back to me. Thank you!Cupcake Hero
Iron Cupcake
Links I Love
Banner colorized by Courtney
(Thanks chicky!)Subscribe via email
-
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
Aww! That rocks!
Comment by roo — October 15, 2008 #
So cool! I’m definitely going to try this. Thanks for the inspiration. Keep up the good work!
Comment by Tiffany — October 15, 2008 #
extremely cute.
(thats all i am going to say. good day.)
Comment by L W — October 15, 2008 #
ROO, Thanks!
TIFFANY, Definitely let me know what you think after you make them, k?
LW, You anti-cake mixer! hisss… You can suck it. HAHA (Thanks for the “cute” comment”.)
Comment by CB — October 15, 2008 #
Totally cute!! And I’ve always got a box of mix in the closet. How else did people start baking?!?
Comment by food librarian — October 15, 2008 #
Um they may be adorable but I know you have good vanilla cuppy recipes you could have used. ENOUGH WITH THE CAKE MIXES
Comment by Nikki — October 15, 2008 #
Way cute cupcakes! I love the photos with the spider and the ghost buttercream. Looking forward to the candy corn cupcakes from scratch (although I am not opposed to cake mixes). :)
Comment by kamaile — October 15, 2008 #
Cute! I’m definitely going to make some this year for Halloween.
Comment by Erica — October 15, 2008 #
FOODLIBRARIAN, TY! I always have cake mix in my pantry. Whenever they are on sale I have to buy them esp when its 10/$10! I can’t pass up that deal ;)
NIKKI, Geebus! I didn’t know what I was making until I was already using cake mix. Cut me a break here. I am cupcake fragile right now :(
KAMAILE, My ghost is kinda silly but it was fun to make. Don’t you worry! I already started writing down notes for the scratch version ;)
ERICA, I hope you do! Come back and let me know what you think! :)
Comment by CB — October 15, 2008 #
Very cute…and when it a moment of just trying to have fun in the kitchen, I see nothing wrong with a cake mix.
Comment by zebe912 — October 15, 2008 #
ZEBE, TYVM. I am glad someone understands my kitchen fun cake mix moment. ;)
Comment by CB — October 15, 2008 #
So.Freaking.Cute! Not mention tasty looking :) I love me some candy corn!
Comment by BBKiddo — October 15, 2008 #
I made candy corn cupcakes for my work last week and instead of putting in water i added 3 of the mini cans of candy corn jones pop from target…they werent super candy corn flavored but they had that light touch of it…it was cool :)
Comment by Nichole — October 15, 2008 #
BB, You and me girl. I’ll send you some candy corn for xmas. nom nom nom
NICHOLE, What a cute idea!! Do you have a blog? I’d love to see pictures/recipe. Thanks for sharing with me.
Comment by CB — October 15, 2008 #
omg! those look so so so cool. wow, you have such great ideas. i must make these soon.
btw, where did u get the coloring gel? and i like the second picture better!
Comment by susan — October 15, 2008 #
SUSAN, Thank you! I get my coloring gel from Michaels Craft Store. I agree I think I like the 2nd picture better b/c that darn spider leg in the center of the first picture is distracting!
Comment by CB — October 15, 2008 #
Very, very cute! Candy corn is my favorite Halloween candy. Love the cupcakes.
Comment by Tanya — October 15, 2008 #
the little faces are priceless :) adorable!
Comment by steph — October 16, 2008 #
So cute! I saw your comment about htem being onsale for 10/$10… how much are they normally? Here they are only $1.09 normally.
Comment by NinaBeth — October 16, 2008 #
TANYA, Mine too! I think candy corn is one of those things you either love or hate. I love them. My hubs hates them. Oh well… more for meeeeeee!
STEPH, yeah those ghosts were kinda silly but I figured it might be fun to do with kids so I posted them. :)
NINA, Oh dang. You Okies get it cheap! Normally my grocery store is like $1.99-$2.79/box! It goes on sale alot though. The best sale is the 10/$10. That’s when I go nuts!
Comment by CB — October 16, 2008 #
Those are so cute. I agree that from scratch is so much better, but cake mixes do have a time and a place.
Comment by Jen — October 16, 2008 #
I love the candy corn! So cute and fun for the holidays!
Comment by Maria — October 16, 2008 #
oh poop. Here you go again making a super cute cupcake and I’m going to have to try it and it won’t turn out as good as yours and I’m going to be frustrated. It’s a vicious cycle. :)
I like the second photo better. You can see the yellow.
Comment by Mary — October 16, 2008 #
Okay, those are too cute!
S.W.A.K.
http://www.CuteStuffInside.blogspot.com
Comment by Marsha — October 16, 2008 #
these are darling, no shame in cute!
Comment by jain — October 16, 2008 #
these are so frickin’ cute! i am curious to see how you’ll make them taste like candy corn in your scratch version :)
oh and i vote for the horizontal pic, since you can see the color stripes better.
Comment by kim — October 16, 2008 #
JEN, Why can’t we all just get along? I like scratch *AND* cake mix. Maybe I am just a minority huh? hehe
MARIA, Exactly! I think it would be a fun recipe for a Halloween party or something.
MARY, You crack me up! Its a darn vicious cycle. My apologies but I love that you try my recipes. Make me all happy inside :)
MARSHA and JAIN, Thanks for compliments!
KIM, Hmmm… I was thinking maybe extracts. Coconut, lemon, orange but I am really not sure how to get that waxy sweet consistency in a cupcake. Might not be until next Halloween but its something to shoot for.
Comment by CB — October 16, 2008 #
Damn woman. I thought my lychee martini cupcakes were bad ass and here you go again with your creative mind! You definitely have more patience than me. Yeah, let’s have a lychee martini together . . it will change your mind! ;) I love the candy corn cupcake idea. The colors are wicked. You are the bomb but you already know that.
Comment by Sugar Betty — October 16, 2008 #
Love those! How cute… wonder if someone so NOT talented at decorating could make these work? Gonna have to think on that one for a bit, because my boys would LOVE these!
Comment by patsyk — October 16, 2008 #
SUGARBETTY, Oh your cupcakes were totally badass. I am happy to encourage more crunkcakes! HAHA.
PATSY, You could totally do it! Just takes a little patience and you don’t have to pipe on the frosting. You could spread it on with a spatula or butter knife too. If you make them with your boys definitely let me know!
Comment by CB — October 16, 2008 #
How cute are these?!? And although I prefer from scratch, I’m definitely not opposed to a cake mix. They work every time, unlike some from scratch recipes!
Comment by Deborah — October 16, 2008 #
Those are totally adorable, simple, genius!
Comment by J.P. — October 16, 2008 #
I love them! You could also reverse the coloring and flip the cupcakes upside down and ice them like that… so they make more of a conical shape. Just sayin.
Comment by e.h. — October 16, 2008 #
So cute! I have a recipe for actual candy corn if you want to somehow use it for your next batch! :)
Comment by Miss Marie — October 16, 2008 #
DEBORAH, Exactly! I needed fail proof! haha
JP, Genius? aaawww shucks. Making me blush.
EH, Oh that is a very cool idea! I’ll have to remember that for next time.
MISSMARIE, NICE! Is it on your blog? I’ll have to read the recipe and see if it gives me some ideas.
Comment by CB — October 16, 2008 #
You’ve done it again! These are so super awesome!
Comment by joythebaker — October 16, 2008 #
JOY, haha. Glad you aren’t a cake mix hater!
Comment by CB — October 16, 2008 #
I am a cake mix lover too! Like you said, it brings back childhood memories. I love these cupcakes! I want to make them for work!
Comment by Heather B — October 16, 2008 #
I love the ghost frosting. So cute!
Comment by pinkstripes — October 16, 2008 #
Those are adorable! what a cute Idea.. a definite recipe for halloween!
Comment by SugarSugar — October 16, 2008 #
have you done the marshmallow frosting yet once before? Do share (as always) Can’t wait.
Comment by Barbara — October 16, 2008 #
HEATHER, Finally! Someone who understands. HAHA. I hope you make them for work. Let me know what you think!
PINKSTRIPES, I had fun making the little ghosts. Those faces make me laugh. Glad you like them too :)
SUGARSUGAR, Thank you! Even though they don’t really taste like candy corn I think they would be great for Halloween party.
BARBARA, Oh yes! Its so yummy. Here’s the recipe I use. If you make it, let me know what you think!
Comment by CB — October 16, 2008 #
These are ADORABLE. I think I could even make these. Thanks for the inspiration. Yum!!!
Comment by Stacy — October 16, 2008 #
STACY, You totally can! Don’t sell yourself short. Just a little patience and you got yourself some Halloween inspired cupcakes. Easy peasy! ;)
Comment by CB — October 16, 2008 #
I do not like candy corn [I know, gasp gasp] but these I could definitely enjoy!
& there’s something on my blog for you
Comment by Nikki Jean — October 16, 2008 #
NIKKIJEAN, oooohhhh what you got for me?? ::off to read Nikki’s blog::
Comment by CB — October 17, 2008 #
I love dressing up cake mix! This is a great idea. On my blog you’ll find my orange & blue cupcakes in honor of the great University of Florida Gators. :) I’m adding you as a favorite link to my blog also! Great site!!
Comment by Dana — October 17, 2008 #
DANA, I do too. See…? Its not “just” cake mix if you do stuff with it right? Its not totally scratch but semi-homemade aint bad either! That’s my story and I am sticking to it. ::off to check out your blog::
Comment by CB — October 17, 2008 #
I love these! I’m going to make them for our Halloween party at the office.
Comment by The Blond Duck — October 17, 2008 #
cute, but shouldn’t they be upside down? to shape like candy corn.. hee hee hee.. just kidding.. these look great
Comment by Tricia — October 17, 2008 #
THEBLONDDUCK, Awesome! You have to take pics for me!
TRICIA, haha. Another commenter mentioned the same thing. I’ll have to try it in reverse next time ;)
Comment by CB — October 17, 2008 #
The one cake that I make from a mix is the one cake for which people consistently request the recipe. Go figure!
Comment by Madam Chow — October 17, 2008 #
MADAMCHOW, How’s that for irony! HAHA. Is the cake recipe on your blog?
Comment by CB — October 17, 2008 #
Those are so cute! My memories of cake mix are exactly the same as yours, it’s like I wrote that! Lol :D I still drool over the smell of it! We use it at the bakery where I work, and I’m licking the beaters on their way to the sink every day!
Comment by howtoeatacupcake — October 17, 2008 #
HTEAC, We’re totally cupcake-cake mix sisters ;)
Comment by CB — October 17, 2008 #
Aww, I love the faces!! Cute.
Hah…and I think the people who are anti-cake mix are just posers. Are they really THAT much of a cupcake connoisseur that they would be able to tell the difference between a cake mix cupcake and a from-scratch cupcake if they were decorated the exact same? DOUBT! lol. I love cake mixes. I used to eat just the powder when I was younger. Still do sometimes. But I’m weird.
Comment by Ley — October 17, 2008 #
LEY, You use to eat the powder? HAHA. Me too! My mom use to yell at me but I couldn’t help myself. I was only a kid. Its my duty to taste test it to make sure its not poisonous right? ;)
Comment by CB — October 17, 2008 #
These are very cute! Great idea!
Comment by Gretchen Noelle — October 17, 2008 #
GRETCHEN, Thanks! They turned out pretty darn cute if I do say so myself ;)
Comment by CB — October 18, 2008 #
Excellent idea! I’ll have to try this!
Comment by justJENN — October 18, 2008 #
JUSTJENN, If you try it, I’d love to see pics!
Comment by CB — October 18, 2008 #
Thanks CB, I’m going to make these closer to halloween for the office and my neighbors kids. They are going to love them. Will certainly share pictures with the marshmallow frosting.
Comment by Barbara — October 20, 2008 #
Okay, so I am dumb and totally missed this shout out, but I wanted to say THANKS! I plan on trying these out this weekend if I get a chance! I want to do the cake mix with a can of diet sprite and then add the color…it will add an interesting flavor, and the color will be fun, so I figure it’s worth a shot. I’m all about the doctored cake mix, so I’m going with it!
Comment by Jingle — October 23, 2008 #
JINGLE, No… thank you! I am shocked at the candy corn cupcake response so far. I can’t wait to see what you do with diet sprite!
Comment by CB — October 23, 2008 #
these are TOO CUTE!!! I’m not a baker, but I might just try to make these sometime!!!
Comment by pnogal32 — October 25, 2008 #
PNOGAL32, Thank you! If you make them I’d love to see pics!
Comment by CB — October 25, 2008 #
Tried these yesterday and although the colors kind of mixed together they looked cute! I also tried your marshmallow frosting, gotta say it’s my favorite of all the frostings I’ve tried, not too sweet and perfect consistency! LOVE IT! thank you for sharing.
Now to find a chocolate frosting that my husband will like-he only likes the pre made frostings-go figure! I’ll post pictures later on the blog. They flew at work!
Comment by Barbara — October 27, 2008 #
BARBARA, Thats awesome! Thanks for letting me know about the marshmallow frosting. Its one of my favs too. I can’t wait to see pics!
Comment by CB — October 27, 2008 #
Pictures are up on the blog! Thanks for sharing your recipe’s with us.
Comment by Barbara — October 27, 2008 #
yum! i’m going to try these this weekend.
Comment by Amy — October 28, 2008 #
AMY, Please do! Let me know what you think if you give them a try :)
Comment by CB — October 28, 2008 #
I literally squealed when I saw these! I made them for my Halloween party on Friday. Just so you know I will be linking back to your blog. Thanks for all of your beautiful ideas!
Comment by Carissa — October 28, 2008 #
CARISSA, So glad you liked my cupcakes! Definitely let me know when you have pics on your blog. I’d love to see!
Comment by CB — October 28, 2008 #
I’ve never baked cupcakes in condiment cups before… do you have to spray the cups with Pam? Does they pop out or do you cut them out of the little cups? Very cute!
Comment by Cin — October 29, 2008 #
CIN, I don’t spray mine. They don’t really pop out but you loosen up the sides by pulling the paper as you go around the cupcake. You can see what I mean on this post. HTH!
Comment by CB — October 29, 2008 #
[...] I Heart Cuppycakes, these yellow and orange cupcakes are of course inspired by the famous candy [...]
Pingback by The Candy Corn Debate | Chew On That — October 31, 2008 #
[...] http://iheartcuppycakes.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/candy-corn-cupcakes/ [...]
Pingback by I need some really cool fall themed recipes for a kids party? | For babies and kids — November 8, 2008 #
I love the graduated color in these! Delightful.
Comment by Stephanie — November 10, 2008 #
STEPHANIE, Thanks!
Comment by CB — November 10, 2008 #
I definitely have to try these. I agree with you, from scratch is best, but I don’t mind from a box once in a while.
Comment by Miss Wendy — October 6, 2009 #
Exactly.
Comment by CB — October 12, 2009 #
[...] return to the US from a summer in Ireland. But I Heart Cuppy Cakes put me to shame by coming up Candy Corn Cupcakes last October. The recipe if extra easy if you decide to make your cupcakes semi-homemade by using [...]
Pingback by Candy Corn Cupcakes | All Things Cupcake — October 12, 2009 #
Wow, these are adorable! And I love the name of your site!
Where did you get the white cups you baked them in? I have been looking everywhere!?
Comment by Shawna — October 12, 2009 #
They are called party nut cups or souffle cups depending on where you buy them. I buy mine at Smart&Final, 250 for $5. Hope that helps!
Comment by CB — October 12, 2009 #
I thought I could make these without using paper liners, directly in the pan. Bad idea. The outside of the cupcakes turn all light brown, and you can’t tell the colors. I just wanted to save others the mess up that I did!
Comment by melissa — October 16, 2009 #
These are so fun, cute and best of all delicious … i want to eat them all !
Comment by Jayne — October 27, 2009 #
I have to say I bake both from scratch and using doctored cake mixes and frankly…its not always that big a difference if one at all. I made the same recipe 2 ways; one box mix version and one from scratch. No one I gave them to could tell the difference. I think the only time you can really tell is on plain vanilla cake because cake mixes have more scent but otherwise…nah. Frankly, for me from scratch isnt worth the hassle especially when you’re trying new recipes or are preparing for a large group of people and need consistency.
I LOVE the book “The Cake Doctor” by Anne Byrnes…will change the way you look at cake mix. GURANTEED. I have friend who are “cake mix snobs” and they couldnt tell the difference on most of them.
I am def going to try these for Halloween this year-super cute!!!!
Comment by Jenni — April 15, 2010 #