Candy Corn Cupcakes!

Candy Corn is here to cheer us up as we gradually let go of the short summer we just enjoyed.

Even if you think candy corn is gross, you can't deny, it is a staple of the chilly..tingly..blissful Fall that lies ahead ♥ 

While making the candy corn cupcakes , I always ask myself..what color comes first in a piece of candy corn?  The yellow or the orange or the white?  Deep thoughts..

Or an excuse to shop the sprinkles aisle at my local Bulk Food Shoppe and do some yummy research.

If my dad doesn't eat all my research (he loves to eat my sweets from the bulk shoppe), I can use these gummi candy corns as cupcake toppers!

Tripled Candy Corn Cupcakes

(Candy Corn on the inside, Candy Corn Frosting Swirl, and GIANT Candy Corn Gummies on top).

Yellow on the bottom.

Orange in the middle.

White on top ♥

The inside even looks like a piece of candy corn. ♥

My candy corn cupcakes are vanilla almond, but when you eat one, your inner kid kicks in and believes that they taste like candy corn! 

This is how I turn a cupcake into a piece of candy corn.

I start with a white batter (see a delicious recipe below)

The two edible colors I use are from Americolor:  Electric Yellow and Electric Orange Gel Paste.

I divide the batter into two separate bowls and color each bowl a separate color a candy corn color story.

Using a small cookie scoop, I layer one scoop of yellow on the bottom of the cupcake liner,

I repeat with the orange on top of the yellow batter to make a "striped" effect, and fill the cupcake liner about 1/2 full.  I bake at 325 for about 22 minutes ♥ Sometimes I change it up and leave some of the batter white and add a white "dome" on top of each cupcake like real candy corn.

Super puffy candy corn cupcakes!!

The candy corn cupcakes look really good with rainbow owls on top too ♥

(almonds for the "feathers", white candy wafers, multi-colored m&ms for the eyes, and sunflower seeds for the beek!) For rainbow technique, see my rainbow cupcake blog here!

They also look good with Halloween costumes!

Maybe I'll dress up as Lucille Ball with my friend Alicia as Ricky again ♥

Or how cute would it be to be Lucille Ball wearing a cupcake costume?!

Fall Inspiration is everywhere.

And it all started with candy corn.

I've got a treat for you. (I'm more into the treat side instead of the tricks).

The Bake At Home Version of the Amanda Cupcake Candy Corn Cupcakes!

(I recommend these for this year's Halloween Party):

Ingredients Needed:
White Cake Mix (Betty Crocker works well if you buy in the local store)

1 1/2 Cups Buttermilk, room temperature (in place of the water on the box)

4 eggs, room temperature

3.9-4 oz White Chocolate Instant Pudding

1 1/2 teaspoons of Almond Extract

½ Cup Vegetable or Canola Oil

Light colored cupcake tin

White Cupcake Liners (this recipe makes about 18 cupcakes)

.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325.

2. Line your cupcake pan with cupcake wrappers.

3. In a bowl or a stand mixer cream eggs, vegetable oil, and dry box of pudding mix.

4. Gradually add remaining ingredients, little by little until everything is evenly blended, scraping bowl down in between to make sure all ingredients are evenly mixed).  I don’t dump everything in the bowl all at once.  When doctoring a cake mix, I treat this like I am mixing ingredients from scratch so that all ingredients are evenly blended/mixed.

5.  Take out 2 separate bowls, divide batter in half into each bowl.
6.  For Electric Yellow:  Mix a few small drops of Americolor gel paste in one vanilla batter bowl.

7.  For Electric Orange:  Mix a few small drops of Americolor gel paste in one vanilla batter bowl.
**The more color you add, the more vibrant it will get.
8.  Using a small cookie scoop for each color, scoop the yellow batter onto the bottom of the cupcake liner. Dip your second scoop into the orange batter and layer this orange batter on top of the yellow. Fill cupcake liner about 1/2 full and let bake for appx 325 min.

**Once cupcakes are cooled, frost to your heart's delight and top each cupcake with an candy corn gummy treat!  (I bought mine at Greenville Bulk Food Supply).

Frosting Recipe (for coloring, use same technique and colors as the candy corn batter technique):

13-14 oz Marshmallow Fluff or Cream

1 lb butter

1 T Vanilla Extract

Dash Salt (to lessen the sweetness a tad)

8 Cups Powdered Sugar (depending on how thick you want your frosting to be-use less for creamier frosting and more for thicker swirls)

• Use a spatula to scrape the fluff and the butter out into your stand mixer.
• Mix well until fluffy and well blended.
• Gradually add a pinch of salt and vanilla extract.
• Now add your powdered sugar, slowly until the frosting reaches desired consistency.
• (The more powdered sugar you add—the more stiff the frosting will be for decorating, so you will get a "point" that looks just like a piece of candy corn when piping on with a 1A round decorating tip.)

My Animal Cupcake Entourage♥

I may not be as classic as Little Debbie yet.
And no, I'm not a  fairy tale princess who has talented woodland friends.
...Someday I'd love to travel the world and sign my own recipe books but I am not followed like Lady Gaga by the paparazzi. ♥

But I have been entertained by an adorable entourage of my own.

Animal Cupcakes.

Beavers.

Deer.

Cows.

Frogs.

Owls.

I couldn't help but laugh while I was making the beavers. The tail is a nutter butter cookie.The ears are chocolate m&ms.  The nose is a heart shaped runt, and the teeth are pieces of Trident gum.  I used an edible ink marker to draw the center line down the piece of gum!

Some of them even wore black top hats.  I laughed when one of my facebook cupcake friends said that if the beaver cupcakes could speak, they'd speak in an English accent ♥

A Hereford Cow Cupcake Entourage. Would not be complete with out a mud pie ♥. (it's chocolate frosting)...

A Hereford Cow Variety Pack.

I made the cupcake toppers out of Oreos. Anything you dream of..you can fit on an Oreo. Even something as big as a cow!  That's my philosophy.

Do you remember the frogs with green m&m eyes? 

Or my ladybug cake pops with heart shaped lips and glittery red cheeks♥

I'm starting to think of....an Amanda Cupcake parade!

I made these chocolate peanut butter deer cupcakes for an avid taxidermist.  After seeing and then eating cute deer cupcakes he might feel too guilty and retire from taxidermy, don't you think?! ♥

The antlers are pretzel sticks I broke apart and "glued" together with candy melts.  Their noses are peanut butter candy melts.  I couldn't resist piping  on a little peanut butter frosting tail.

..and yes.. there's even a random one with a red nose. You know who that is, don't you?

More of my entourage...

Vanilla Almond Owl Cupcakes.

With Almond Feathers and Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds around the eyes ♥ Cashews for the Noses. Lifesaver Eyes.

An owl cupcake variety pack!

M&Ms & Peanut Butter Candy Melt Eyes.

Sunflower Seeds used for the noses or feathers.

Edible Glitter.

Of course.

The "Diva" in my cupcake entourage:

Peacock ♥ Cupcakes.

They made an appearance at a wedding shower.

..In my cupcake world, this is what a peacock looks like when getting all dressed up for an event as special as a bridal shower!

VIP Peacocks.

My not-so-secret ingredient I added to all of my animal entourage cupcakes:  Laughter. ♥