Thursday, August 28, 2014

funfetti cupcakes

Do you like cupcakes? What is it about cupcakes that bring so much joy to people?

Over the weekend, one of my friend's daughter, Mae Lynn, came over to learn to bake cupcakes. It was her brother's birthday and she really wanted to make some cupcakes for him. How sweet is that right? The best part of all is that she is only 8!

Since I was baking on Sunday anyway, and I have 2 mixers, I invited her to come over to bake with me.
Kids love sprinkles. I think if I were to add sprinkles to vegetables, I would probably be able to get Aden to eat them (fat hope, Mommy!) haha.

So since these cupcakes were meant for a little boy's birthday party, we made Funfetti Cupcakes.

Which are basically cupcakes with sprinkles.

I used my favourite yellow cake recipe to make the cupcakes. I love this recipe because the cake always turns out so tender!

So, in the bowl of a mixer, I creamed together butter and sugar until the mixture became light and fluffy.
Into this, I added the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition.
I sifted the flour, baking powder and salt and set this aside. Into a measuring jug, I added the vanilla extract to the milk. This was also set aside.

When the eggs had been incorporated into the batter, I added the flour and milk mixtures in the sequence flour-milk-flour-milk-flour.
Finally, the sprinkles were added, and mixed.
Once the batter has been evenly mixed, it is ready. (This should not take very long - do not over mix!)

I placed the batter into cupcake liners.
And baked them.

Once baked they were cooled in the pan for 10 minutes before I transferred them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

The cupcakes were frosted with my favourite buttercream but you can use any buttercream that you prefer.
And I sprinkled more sprinkles on top.
This is a great cupcake for a kid's party!
Little wonder! :)

A CELEBRATORY GIVEAWAY!
To celebrate winning The Best Cooking Blog at in this year's Singapore Blog Awards, I am giving away a set of Philips Jaime Oliver Stick Blender. Set includes hand blender, chopper and whisk.

"The new Philips Jamie Oliver hand blender features a strong 650W motor with a simple "on / off" button as well as a turbo button, ensuring that busy families can enjoy fresh, healthy food every night of the week. The compact chopper stands sturdy on any kitchen counter and is useful when chopping smaller quantities of onions, herbs or cheese. Homemade pesto and salsas are also really simple to make and add a completely fresh touch to your meals. It also includes a whisk that attaches easily to your hand blender top. It is useful when preparing fluffy whipped cream and homemade mayonnaise. The innovative ProMix technology represents the ultimate in speed and efficacy, to deliver only the finest and evenly cut results. The 1.0L beaker with lid keeps smoothies and batters fresh and is really useful when preparing homemade sauces, pancake batters or smoothies with your hand blender. If you don't finish the batch in one go, pop on the lid and keep it in the fridge for later. It couldn't be easier!" 

To take part in the giveaway, simply click on the icon below!

RECIPE
Funfetti Cupcakes (Makes 24)
Adapted from Great Cakes by Carole Walter

Ingredients:
3 cups (285g) sifted cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (225g) unsalted butter
2 cups (450g) caster sugar - I reduced this by 50%
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5ml) vanilla extract
1 cup (240ml) whole milk
1/2 cup sprinkles, and more to decorate

Method:
1. Position rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C).
2. Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and put them in the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with beaters or the paddle attachment. Soften on low speed. Increase the speed to medium-high and cream until smooth and light in color, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
3. Add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, taking about 8 to 10 minutes to blend it in well. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.
4. While the butter and sugar are beating, Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
5. Add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture, one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary. Blend in the vanilla.
6. Reduce mixer speed to medium-low. Add the dry ingredients in four batches, alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour. Mix just until incorporated after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for 10 seconds longer.
7. Spoon the batter into cupcake liners. Center the pan on the rack and bake for 18 to 20 minutes (I baked mine for 18 minutes), or until the cupcakes are golden brown on top. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out dry.
8. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
9. Frost with buttercream and sprinkle more sprinkles on top.

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY, and hosted by Diana from the Domestic Goddess Wannabe.

Kit from I-Lost in Austen will be the next hostess of September 2014 and her theme is APPLE! Her Little Thumbs Up event starts on the first Tuesday of August 2014 (2nd September) until the last day of the month. 

15 comments:

  1. Hi Diana,

    I wish that I'm a kid again... because I'm loving these!!! Fat hope to me :p

    My son loves to play my easy-bake oven apps and this is always the cupcakes that he bakes in the apps. Clearly, anything with sprinkles are obvious winners for kids... Well, including me :p

    Zoe

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    Replies
    1. LOL, I (secretly) love these myself also. But it is a secret lah :)

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  2. Diana, lovely funfetti cupcakes. Oh yes kids love these simple but pretty decor cupcakes .... I remembered when I baked my 1st batch of vanilla cupcakes, my girl loved to sprinkle some sprinkles + chocolate chips on the frosting.

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  3. Hi Diana
    These cupcakes look absolutely delicious and pretty! Can I ask if this yellow cake mix is suitable for those magic marble cake which you had made a while ago?

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  4. Hi Diana,
    Such lovely fun cupcakes! These are just so perfect to put a smile on a child's face! Lovely!

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  5. Hi Diana! Cupcakes bring a lot of joy just like babies! How cute that an 8 year old girl wants to bake cupcakes for her brother. And she got herself a great deal by having you as her teacher!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Phong Hong, She was so sweet!! I am glad I could help!! :)

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  6. These cuppies look so pretty and cheerful!

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  7. Hi! I tried making this cake mix twice but the batter looked curdled before adding the sprinkles. Do u know why?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Janet, what happened after you baked the cupcakes? Did they come out okay?

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    2. The cake has a wrinkled looking surface after cooling down. The batter looked ok after I added the flour-milk-flour. But when I added in the last batch of milk-flour, it went downhill. Will try again. Not giving up!!! :)

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