Piñata Cupcakes
Piñata Cupcakes are super fun to make and can be customized to fit any celebration. Vanilla cupcakes are filled with Christmas sprinkles and topped with a pastel green mint buttercream to get these Christmas Cupcakes ready for the holiday!
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Equipment
- Pastry Bag
- Wilton 1M open star tip
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour 197 g
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 135 g
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup buttermilk 170 g, room temperature
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil 67 g
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 13 g
- 12 teaspoon Christmas sprinkles for filling, 48 g
- More sprinkles for decoration
Mint Frosting
- 4 oz egg white 115 g
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 135 g
- ¾ teaspoon vinegar
- 10 oz unsalted butter 283 g, room temperature, cubed
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- A pinch kosher salt
- Green gel food color
Instructions
Make cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Add kosher salt and mix with a whisk to distribute evenly. Set aside.
- Add buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract to a medium bowl. Beat together with a whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredient mixture and fold until just combined.
- Use a large ice cream scoop to divide batter into the previously prepared muffin pan. One flat scoop of batter for each cupcake cavity, or about 1/4 cup of batter each.
- Bake in the middle oven rack for 16-17 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to the touch, remove cupcakes from the pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Mint buttercream frosting
- Add egg whites and sugar to a heatproof glass bowl and place it over a pot of boiling water without allowing the bottom of the bowl to touch the water, reduce heat to keep the water simmering and not boiling over. Whisk the mixture constantly until all the sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches 160°F.
- Carefully remove the bowl from the pot and wipe the bottom and side dry. Transfer the egg white mixture into your stand mixer bowl and beat with the balloon attachment on medium speed. Stream in the vinegar, and continue beating until stiff peak forms and the meringue is shiny and smooth.
- Reduce speed to medium low and slowly add the room temperature cubed butter, one cube at a time and allow it to incorporate into the meringue. When all the butter is added it will look chunky, like cottage cheese.
- Add vanilla and mint extract, along with a pinch of salt, increase mixer to high speed and beat for 4-5 mins until the buttercream comes together.
- Dip a toothpick into a bottle of green gel food coloring and wipe it on the frosting, beat the frosting until fluffy and the color has incorporated.
Assemble the cupcakes
- Use the bottom of a piping tip to cut out holes on top of a cupcake, push down and twist. Use a chopstick to push out the plug inside the frosting tip. Repeat one more time to create a deeper hole so the filling goes right in the middle of the cupcake.
- Fill with 1 teaspoon of Christmas sprinkles and put the plugs of cake back on top to cover the hole. Frost the cupcakes using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.
Notes
- Make sure your mixing bowl is dry and free of grease before making the frosting.
- Use different sprinkles to customize your cupcakes, as well as flavor and color of the frosting.
- The buttercream may take longer than 5 minutes to form after you have added all the butter and extract. Be patient and continue beating, some have reported that it takes 20 - 30 minutes of beating.
- Liquid food color can be used but only in small amounts to avoid making the frosting runny. If a darker color frosting is desired, gel food color is recommended.
Nutrition
Serving: 101g | Calories: 398kcal
