Meals I Can Make: Birdie's Birthday Cupcakes

This year, the JS Team wants to wish our sweet, lovable, hilarious Birdie a Happy 2nd Birthday! While everyone wishes they could celebrate her in person, we all decided to tackle some celebratory cupcakes instead!

xo

Team JS

Birdie's Birthday Cupcakes

Makes 14 cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 & 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

¼ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

¾ cup almond milk or regular milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

½ rainbow sprinkles (not nonpareils)

*You can either purchase a good quality frosting or see below for a simple homemade option!

Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients:

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

¼ cup heavy cream or half-and-half

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

salt to taste

Cupcake Directions: 

1.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.

2.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Whisk in sugar (the mixture will be gritty). Chill in the refrigerator for 1 minute. Next, stir in egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined.

4.
Slowly mix in dry ingredients until no lumps remain. Batter will be thick.

5.
Slowly stir in sprinkles, but do not over mix because the sprinkles will bleed their color.

6.
Spoon the batter into 12 cupcake liners, filling your liners about 2/3 full (about 3 scant tablespoons).

7.
Bake for up to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

8.
Frost cooled cupcakes and top with sprinkles.

*Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

Vanilla Buttercream Directions:

 1.

In a medium bowl, beat the softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat for about 3 minutes until smooth and creamy.

2.

Turn mixer off and add confectioners’ sugar, cream, and vanilla extract.

3.

Mix on low for 1 minute then increase to high speed and beat for 3-4 full minutes.

4.

Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if frosting is too thick. Add salt if frosting is too sweet (¼ teaspoon).

Notes & Tips:

Ideally, ingredients at room temperature mix together better, so if you have time, set out the cold ingredients ahead of time.

To eliminate any air bubbles in the batter, bang your cupcake pan on the counter before putting it in the oven.

For best baking, bake only 1 batch at a time in the very center of the oven.

If you’d like to make mini cupcakes, bake for 11-13 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

For the sprinkles used in photos, we used: unicorn splash sprinkles and pastel star sprinkles!

Recipe Developed by Sally's Baking Addiction & Styled By Kara Stout