Celebrating Mardi Gras with king cake cupcakes.
It is difficult not to celebrate Mardi Gras when you live in Louisiana. To be honest, I am all about celebrating Mardi Gras. The parades, the food, and all the fun the surrounds Mardi Gras has made it into a family fun event every year. One thing that will always be present during Mardi Gras: king cake. Then there are these king cake cupcakes that are perfect for all.
Throw me somethin’ Mister!
The amount of beads and other random treasures my kids catch during Mardi Gras parades is unbelievable. We still have majority of their catches from last year. Why? Because we are still all about Mardi Gras even when it is all over. My kids love to have pretend Mardi Gras parades around the house and in the backyard. Put on some fun cajun or Mardi Gras music and start the bead tossing.
There is something about catching something during a Mardi Gras parade. You feel seen when one of the members of a krewe tosses you something. It can be anything from beads to a blinking crown. I am more than grown and still find myself yelling
Throw me somethin’ Mister!
Mardi Gras calls from king cake, king cake cupcakes.
There is not one Mardi Gras that is celebrated without the presence of the magnificent king cake. There are king cakes for all: sugar free, gluten free, keto, plain, bavarian creme filled, etc. King cake makes its way around here in Louisiana. There are even coffees and smoothies noted to be of king cake flavor. Did you know that Mardi Gras officially begins on January 6th or the “Twelfth Night” aka “Epiphany”. Epiphany comes from the Geek word meaning ‘to show’.
Jesus first showed himself to the three wisemen and to the world on this day. This is where the tiny plastic baby in each king cake comes from. The colors: purple, green and gold also have significance. The purple signifies ‘justice’, the green for ‘faith’, and the gold represents ‘power’. For anyone who finds the tiny plastic baby, they are named ‘king’ and are to provide the next king cake.
See for yourself why you should have king cake during the Mardi Gras holiday!
King Cake Cupcakes
Nothing else like King Cake, especially during Mardi Gras. These king cake cupcakes bring all that king cake flavor with a cinnamon vanilla cupcake that is filled and top with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
- FOR CUPCAKES
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- FOR CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 1 cup cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups of powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Prepare the cupcake pan by placing the cupcake liners into the 12 empty cups.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir well with a spoon and set aside.
- Add the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and oil to a large mixer bowl. Beat together until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Add the eggs one a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Once eggs are incorporated, add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
- Slowly add the milk. Mix until it is well combined.
- Add the remaining of the dry ingredients. Mix until all is combined and it is smooth.
- Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 full and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.
- Remove the cupcakes and allow them to fully cool before carving out center for filling.
CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1. Sift the powered sugar with the ground cinnamon and set aside.
2. Cream the softened cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
4. Turn off mixer, and add the powdered sugar/cinnamon mixture to the bowl. 
5. Starting at a low speed, incorporate the powdered sugar mixture into the cream cheese and butter.
6. Once incorporated, increase speed to medium high for another minute.
7. Place the frosting into a ziploc bag and place in refridgerator until ready to use. 
FILLING AND FROSTING
1. Once the cupcakes are fully cool, you can carve out the center for the filling. I used a melon ball scooper, but you can use something smaller if you want. 
2. Remove the frosting from the fridge and make sure you have it all pressed down to the bottom of the bag. With a pair of scissors, cut a small corner of the bag.
3. Gently squeeze the ziploc bag, putting more pressure to the end of the bag, and fill each cupcake. 
4. Lastly, go back and top each cupcake with the frosting and add the colored sprinkles! 
5. Keep these cupcakes in the fridge for up to 5 days and in an air tight container to keep the fresh! 
Have your cupcakes and cake too.
Take it from me, you are going to want to have these cupcakes a long with your traditional king cake! King cake cupcakes are the way to go this year, and we are here for it!
More Mardi Gras recipes: https://www.thesproutingminds.com/easy-mardi-gras-king-cake-macarons/
Hugs!
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