Bonfire Cupcakes
Equipment
- 1 standard 12-cup muffin tin
- 12 paper cupcake liners
- 2 medium mixing bowls
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 Whisk
- 1 electric mixer or stand mixer
- 1 Rubber spatula
- 1 wire cooling rack
- 3 piping bags
- 3 piping tips (1 large round, 1 large star, 1 small round)
- 1 toothpick or cake tester
- 1 Oven
Ingredients
- 190 gram all-purpose flour sifted
- 150 gram granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 120 milliliter whole milk room temperature
- 80 milliliter vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 3/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 30 gram unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 200 gram unsalted butter for buttercream; softened
- 300 gram powdered sugar for buttercream; sifted
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream or milk for buttercream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract for buttercream
- 1 pinch fine salt for buttercream
- 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 Red gel food coloring as needed
- 1 Orange gel food coloring as needed
- 1 Yellow gel food coloring as needed
- 6 plain breadsticks or thin wafer sticks halved
- 4 plain digestive biscuits or graham crackers crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and line the muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk sugar, milk, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and melted butter until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk gently until just combined and no dry streaks remain.
- Divide the batter evenly among the 12 cupcake liners, filling each about two-thirds full.
- Bake the cupcakes for 16–18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Transfer the tin to a wire rack and let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
- Remove the cupcakes from the tin and cool completely on the wire rack for about 25 minutes.
- To make the buttercream, beat the softened butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing on low speed until incorporated, then beat in the vanilla, salt, and cream until light and smooth.
- Transfer about one-third of the buttercream to a small bowl and mix in the cocoa powder until evenly combined to make chocolate “embers” frosting.
- Divide the remaining plain buttercream into three small bowls and color each one with red, orange, or yellow gel coloring to create flame colors.
- Spoon the chocolate buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large round or star tip.
- Pipe a flat spiral or small mound of chocolate buttercream onto the top of each cooled cupcake.
- Sprinkle crushed biscuits over the chocolate buttercream to resemble ash and embers.
- Arrange 3–4 small pieces of breadsticks or wafer sticks in the center of each cupcake like a teepee or campfire logs.
- Fill separate piping bags fitted with small or large round or star tips with the red, orange, and yellow buttercreams.
- Pipe short flicks and small peaks of colored buttercream between and around the “logs,” layering the colors to resemble flames.
- Adjust or add more biscuit crumbs and logs if needed to balance the look of each bonfire cupcake.
- Chill the decorated cupcakes for 10–15 minutes to slightly firm the buttercream before serving, if desired.
Notes
For best visual effect, use gel food coloring instead of liquid so the buttercream doesn’t thin out, and build the flames in layers, starting with yellow at the base, then orange, then red at the tips for a realistic gradient. If the buttercream becomes too soft while piping, briefly chill it and try again for cleaner shapes. You can flavor the chocolate portion with a little instant espresso or extra cocoa for deeper “smoky” notes, and swap biscuit crumbs for crushed chocolate cookies if you want darker “coals.” Store cupcakes in an airtight container at cool room temperature for a day or in the fridge for up to three days, bringing them back to room temperature before serving for the best texture.
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