Easy Cotton Candy Cupcakes
Easy cotton candy cupcakes recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. Soft and moist devil's food chocolate cupcakes are decorated with vanilla buttercream icing and fluffy pink and blue cotton candy.
Servings: 12 Cupcakes
Calories: 386kcal
Ingredients
Devil's food cupcakes
- 1.5 cups All-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ½ cup Cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon Espresso powder
- ½ cup Brown sugar
- 1 cup Water Hot
- ½ cup Butter Unsalted, Room temperature
- ¾ cup Granulated sugar
- 1.5 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon Almond extract Optional
- 2 Eggs Large, Room temperature
- 2 cups American buttercream frosting
- 4 cups Cotton candy Pink and blue
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. This will be the flour mixture. Keep aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add cocoa powder, espresso powder, brown sugar, water and mix until smooth. This will be the chocolate liquid mixture.
- In another mixing bowl, cream together butter, granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add vanilla extract, almond extract and eggs and mix until smooth.
- Add half the flour mixture and half the chocolate liquid mixture and mix until partially combined.
- Add the remaining flour mixture and remaining chocolate liquid mixture and mix batter until just combined. Don't over-mind. A few lumps in the batter are perfectly fine.
- Pour batter in 12 cupcake liners and bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely.
- While the cupcakes are baking and cooling, prepare the frosting.
- Use a spatula to ice each cupcake.
- Just prior to serving, tear apart the pink and blue cotton candy and stick that on top of each iced cupcake. Enjoy.
Notes
- Don't decorate with cotton candy until just prior to serving or else it will dissolve from the moisture of the buttercream.
- Use dark cocoa powder for a more intense chocolate flavor.
- Water should be hot and not room temperature.
- Make sure you are using unsalted butter.
- Don't ice warm cupcakes.
- Recipe can easily be doubled to make 24 cupcakes.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days but the cotton candy will most likely dissolve.
- Read additional tips and variations above.
Nutrition
Calories: 386kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 240mg | Potassium: 129mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 45g | Vitamin A: 276IU | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 2mg