There are so many ways to decorate cupcakes. By using the basic cupcake recipe shown here, you will also see how to turn them into delectable creations.
These cupcake recipes are fun to make and even more fun to eat! Your kids will have a blast making butterflies, beehives, and ladybugs. Let's get cooking.
Basic Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1-1/3 cups sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add shortening, milk, and vanilla. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape side of bowl with a spatula.
- Add eggs to the mixture. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape bowl again. Beat on high speed for 1 minute 30 seconds until well mixed.
- Spoon cupcake batter into paper liners until 1/2 to 2/3 full.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool 5 minutes in pans then remove and place on wire racks to cool completely.
Butterfly Cupcakes
Ingredients:
- Cupcakes (recipe above)
- Vanilla frosting
- Green food coloring
- Fruit Slice candies
- Sour straw candy
- Skittles
Directions:
- Tint the vanilla frosting by adding one or two drops of green food coloring to make a minty colored frosting.
- Frost the cupcakes.
- For the wings, cut fruit slice candies in half horizontally.
- For the body, cut red sour straws in strips.
- For the head, put Skittles at the end of the strips.
- For the antennae, cut shorter strips of sour straws, snipping in half lengthwise. Place at the top of the head (see sample below).
Beehive Cupcakes
Ingredients:
- Cupcakes (recipe above)
- 2 cans vanilla frosting
- Yellow food coloring
- Tootsie Roll Midgees
- Yellow spice drops
- Toothpick
- Small zip-lock freezer bag
- Gallon-sized zip-lock freezer bag
Directions:
- Tint both cans of the vanilla frosting with yellow food coloring to get a bright yellow frosting. Spoon 3 tablespoons of this frosting into a zip-lock freezer bag. Spoon the rest of the frosting into a gallon-sized zip-lock freezer bag. Cut 1/2 inch off a corner of the gallon-sized freezer bag.
- Pipe frosting from the larger bag in a rising spiral on each cupcake.
- Cut a Tootsie Roll Midgee crosswise in half. Shape a half into an oval shape for the bee's body. Cut the oval lengthwise in half, leaving one end intact to form a "V" shape. Put the half of the Tootsie Roll aside for later.
- Cut a yellow spice drop crosswise in slices for the wings. Put two slices in the middle of the "V" and press the "V" together to hold the wings.
- Insert a toothpick on the underside of the bee's body.
- Cut a tiny snip in a corner of the smaller zip-lock bag. Holding the bee by the toothpick, pipe two small dots for the eyes and three lines on the body.
- Insert the toothpick into the cupcake to set the bee on the beehive.
- For the hive opening, from the other half of the Tootsie Roll (used in Step 3) into a rounded door shape and press into the frosting (see sample below).
Ladybug Cupcakes
Ingredients:
- Cupcakes (recipe above)
- Chocolate frosting
- Strawberry frosting
- Red fruit slice candy
- M&M Mini's
- Junior Mints
- Black licorice lace candy
- Small zip-lock freezer bag
Directions:
- Ice the cupcakes with strawberry icing.
- Place the chocolate frosting in a small zip-lock freezer bag and snip off one corner. Pipe a mound of chocolate frosting in the center of each cupcake.
- Slice a red fruit slice in half for the wings. Place on top of the chocolate icing.
- Attach M&M Mini's to wings using frosting for glue.
- Attach a Junior Mint for the head and two black licorice pieces for the antennae.
The copyright of the article Cupcake Recipes for Kids in Kids Cooking is owned by Denise Oliveri. Permission to republish Cupcake Recipes for Kids in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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