Traditionally, Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is the last day before a long stretch of fasting and Lenten. These days, it is filled with celebrating, cocktails and lots of rich, indulgent foods. A last day of getting in those sinful treats before a 40 day purge. Ever had a King cake, the kind with the toy baby inside? Totally a real thing. If you’re in a playful mood, shove a plastic baby into one of these cupcakes. Winner takes the baby! br
Ingredients
For cupcakes:
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
For icing:
2 sticks butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2-4 Tbsp. cream
food color in purple, yellow and green
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. In the bowl of a mixer, combine butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla and beat until combined. In a smaller bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Beginning and ending with flour mixture, alternately add flour and buttermilk in two batches. Beat until fully combined. Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin, 3/4 to the top. Bake for 20 minutes until golden and springy to the touch. Cool completely before frosting.
To prepare frosting, combine butter and powdered sugar in the bowl of a mixer and beat until fully combined. Add cream if needed to thin out the icing to a piping consistency. Separate the icing into three bowls. Add one to two drops of purple, yellow and green food dye into each bowl and mix until no streaks remain. Add additional drops of dye to increase the color if you would like more vi ancy. Transfer the icing to three piping bags fitted with a round tip. Pipe a circle of yellow icing on to each cupcake. Next, pipe a circle of green on top of the yellow. End with a circle of purple icing. Top with sprinkles if you choose.
Note - If you do not have three piping bags or tips, simple pipe the first circle on to each cupcake, then wash the bag and tip and dry thoroughly before moving on to the next icing color.
Makes approximately 16 cupcakes
--Kim Cooper--
