Minion Cupcakes
Equipment
- 1 standard 12-cup muffin tin
- 12 paper cupcake liners
- 2 medium mixing bowls
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 electric mixer or 1 whisk
- 1 Rubber spatula
- 1 set measuring cups
- 1 set measuring spoons
- 1 wire cooling rack
- 3 small bowls (for coloring frosting)
- 3 piping bags
- 3 small round piping tips
- 1 offset spatula or butter knife
- 1 pair of kitchen scissors
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened for frosting
- 2 cup powdered sugar sifted for frosting
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream or milk for frosting
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for frosting
- 1 1–2 drops yellow gel food coloring
- 1 1–2 drops blue gel food coloring
- 1 1–2 drops black gel food coloring or black decorating gel
- 12 large candy eyes or 24 small candy eyes
- 6 chocolate sandwich cookies separated and cream removed
- 2 tablespoon mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line the muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl beat the softened butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time to the butter mixture, beating well after each addition, then mix in the vanilla extract.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mix on low speed, then pour in the milk and finish with the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.
- Divide the batter evenly among the 12 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 pan to a wire rack and let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove them from the pan to cool completely.
- While the cupcakes cool, beat 1/2 cup softened butter until creamy, then gradually add powdered sugar, vanilla, and cream, beating until smooth and fluffy.
- Divide the frosting into three small bowls and tint one bowl bright yellow, one bowl blue, and a small amount black or gray for goggles and smiles.
- Fit three piping bags with small round tips and fill each with yellow, blue, and black frosting respectively.
- Once the cupcakes are completely cool, pipe a blue band of frosting around the base to resemble overalls.
- Pipe yellow frosting on the top portion of each cupcake to create the Minion’s head, smoothing gently with an offset spatula if needed.
- Cut chocolate sandwich cookie halves into thin strips to form the Minions’ goggle straps.
- Place one or two candy eyes near the center top of each cupcake and press cookie strips on each side to form a band around the head.
- Pipe a small ring of black or gray frosting around each eye to form the goggles.
- Use the black frosting to add small smiles and hair tufts on top, then sprinkle a few mini chocolate chips as “buttons” on the blue overalls if desired.
- Let the decorated cupcakes rest for about 30 minutes so the frosting can set slightly before serving.
Notes
For best results, make sure the cupcakes are fully cooled before decorating so the frosting doesn’t melt, and use gel food coloring rather than liquid to keep the frosting thick and bright; if your frosting becomes too soft from coloring, chill it for 10–15 minutes then re-whip. You can bake the cupcakes a day ahead and store them covered at room temperature, decorating them closer to serving time for the neatest Minion faces. Candy eyes come in various sizes, so mix one large and one small on the same cupcake for fun character variation, and if you don’t have piping bags, you can use zip-top bags with a tiny corner snipped off for simple but effective designs.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!