Cotton Candy Cupcakes | FoodsOfOurLives.com
If you follow me on Facebook, you heard me announce I am doing a Spring cupcake series! Wahoo! Fun, right?
Cupcakes are the best. They are so fun and easy to make and everyone loves a good cupcake. Especially me.
So this is my first official Cupcake of the Week. I did do a lovely orange and lemon cupcake last week but hadn’t thought of continuing on with cupcakes at that point so we’ll go with this one as the first.
Cotton Candy Cupcakes | FoodsOfOurLives.com
This is a fun little cupcake to make. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I am not typically into loading as much sugar into a cupcake as possible, quite the opposite really, but being cotton candy…well that’s just what you do.
This did take quite a few tries to get right and I finally ended up going on Amazon and ordering flossing sugar….
I just couldn’t get it right with what I was trying to do, but this worked wonderfully! Plus it gave the cupcakes that fun pink color. You certainly don’t have to go such extreme lengths if don’t want to. Regular sugar will likely work just fine, with a little food dye for the color, but we really liked how they turned out with the flossing sugar.
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups pink flossing sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup half and half
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (preferably homemade, click here)
FOR THE FROSTING - 12 ounces soft butter
- 2 pounds powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup heavy cream, room temperature
- milk to thin
TO DECORATE - Some store bought cotton candy, I found several different types at Target. I think I have seen it at Walmart before as well.
- Preheat your oven to 350˚ (at high altitude bake at 315˚ I am at 5600') and line 2 muffin trays with cupcake paper liners.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and flossing sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- While the butter is creaming, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- In a small bowl, combine the half and half and the vanilla, set aside.
- Go back to the butter mixture, turn the mixer down to the slowest speed and add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl between additions.
- Once the eggs are mixed in you will add the flour and cream mixtures in 3 and 2 additions, respectively, starting with the flour.
- Once the mixture is smooth, turn the mixer off and scoop the batter evenly into the cupcake trays.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes (high altitude about 30 minutes)
- Let the cupcakes cool in the pan about 10 minutes and then remove them and cool completely on a wire rack.
TO MAKE THE FROSTING - Cream the butter on high for about 7 minutes, or until it is fluffy and white, this will give it a little extra vanilla flavor. I know it sounds weird but it works.
- Lower the mixer speed to low and pour in the powdered sugar. Once it is mixed in enough to turn the mixer up without exploding powdered sugar all over the place, turn it up a couple speeds to get it mixed in a little faster.
- Once it has become a paste, add in the vanilla and heavy cream and mix thoroughly.
- Use room temperature milk to thin it to piping texture.
TO DECORATE - Fill a pastry bag with the frosting and pipe a swirl on each cupcake and top with a little tuft of cotton candy. Do not put the cotton candy on if not serving right away, it will dry up and shrivel away as it is exposed to air and that's no fun.
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