Little Lamb Cupcake
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 1 cupcake
- Total: 50 min
- Active: 35 min
Ingredients
1 Vanilla Cupcake, taken out of the paper, recipe follows
About 1 cup White Fluff Frosting, recipe follows
1 large marshmallow
2 white candy eyes
1 small chewy purple candy, such as Jujubes
1 short 1/4-inch and 1 long piece 2-inch black string licorice
12 mini-marshmallows, halved
4 purple jelly beans
2 pink jelly beans
Vanilla Cupcake:
Nonstick cooking spray
2 2/3 cups sugar
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2/3 cup milk
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (see Cook's Note)
1 1/3 cups cake flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
Fluff Frosting:
1/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
Pinch fine salt
Directions
- Frost cupcake. Place the large marshmallow in the center. Lightly frost the back of the candy eyes and press them onto the marshmallow. Frost the back of the jujube candy and put below the eyes for a nose. Frost the short piece of licorice lightly and press underneath the nose to make the mouth. Press mini-marshmallow halves all around the cupcake and the face to make the lambs coat. Frost the tips of the pink jelly beans and stick on top of the lamb's head to make ears. Stick the purple jelly beans in the front and back of the cupcake for feet. Curl the long piece of licorice and press into frosting to make the lamb's tail.
Vanilla Cupcake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup cupcake tins with paper liners. (To avoid cupcakes sticking if they overflow slightly, lightly spray the tops of the pans with nonstick cooking spray.) Put tins on a baking sheet. Set aside.
- Process the sugar and butter in a food processor until very creamy, scraping the sides down as needed, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, pulsing after each addition. Add the milk, 2/3 cup water, and vanilla and process to blend.
- Whisk the all-purpose and cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture, in 3 batches to the butter mixture and pulse, scraping batter off the sides of the processor as needed after each addition. Process until the batter is very smooth and pourable like pancake batter, about 2 minutes.
- Evenly pour the batter into the prepared cups, filling them 3/4 of the way full. Bake until the cakes are just firm and spring back when gently pressed, and the tops are golden, 18 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly in tin until cool enough to handle. Transfer to a rack and cool completely before frosting.
Fluff Frosting:
- Whisk the milk and vanilla extract together in a small bowl.
- Slowly beat the butter and sugar, in another medium bowl, with an electric mixer until incorporated. Raise the speed to high and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes. (Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula.) Add the fluff and salt and reduce the speed to low. Add the milk and vanilla mixture, scrape the bowl down, and mix until fully incorporated. Raise the mixer to high and beat briefly until fluffy, about 1 to 2 minutes. Use right away.
Cook’s Note
When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)