Birthday Party Cupcake Centerpiece
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 24 cupcakes for centerpiece
- Total: 50 min
- Prep: 35 min
- Cook: 15 min
Ingredients
1 box vanilla cake mix
1 1/4 cups milk
3 (12-ounce) containers vanilla frosting
1/4 to 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
Blue, red, and green food coloring
Large multi color nonpareil sprinkles
Directions
Special equipment:
24 picket fence cupcake liners (available online or baking supply stores) 4 pastry bags, or resealable plastic bags with 1 corner snipped Large star pastry tip (#885 or similar) 4 tier (23 count) cupcake tree (available online home stores)- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12 cup) muffin tins with white paper liners.
- Make the cake mix according to package instructions, substituting the milk for water. Pour the batter into the lined muffin tins and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 12 to15 minutes. Remove the tins from the oven and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the frosting with enough confectioners' sugar to create a stiff consistency. Divide the frosting among 4 bowls. Color 1 with blue, 1 with red, and 1 with green, leaving 1 white.
- When the cupcakes are cool, drop each into a picket fence liner.
- Fit 4 pastry bags with large star tips and fill each with a different color. Pipe a swirl of frosting onto 6 cupcakes with 1 color. Repeat with remaining cupcakes and colors. Arrange them on the cupcake tree, alternating colors and top with nonpareil sprinkles.