I dragged my mom out to Ross in the afternoon on Black Friday, well after the early-morning shoppers had collapsed into their beds for a long nap. As we strode past the perfumes and workout gear, a Christmas display called out my name.
Not one to resist a little holiday cheer, I doubled back to gaze at the goods. As I turned away from the stockings and candles, a muffin pan swayed on the hanging rack as another customer walked past.
This wasn’t just any old muffin pan. No, this was a bright green silicon muffin pan with cups shaped like gingerbread men, stockings, and Christmas trees. Â
I had to have it. I didn’t even check the price tag before I practically sprinted to the cashier. (I was scared of someone trying to steal my prize in a fit of Black Friday greed!)
I puzzled over a recipe to fill it with for nearly four weeks, but finally in a moment of brilliance, I bought a tube of red and green sprinkles and poured them into my moist yellow cake batter. Even as an adult, I can never resist a festive funfetti cake!
modified from CL’s Yellow Sheet Cake
These adorable cupcakes are rather sweet and almost don’t even need any frosting! I used a simple icing instead, but feel free to use your favorite frosting or icing recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 350°, and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
- To prepare the cupcakes, whisk together the butter and yogurt until smooth. Stir in the sugar and vanilla, mixing thoroughly. Add in the egg, stirring well until the batter is smooth.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Alternate between adding the milk and the flour mixture to the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Be careful not to overmix! Gently fold in the sprinkles.
- Divide the batter between the prepared liners, and bake at 350° for 18-22 min or until light golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 min before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To prepare the icing, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and ½ teaspoon of milk in a small bowl. Add more milk as necessary to achieve the desired consistency. Drizzle or pipe over the top of the cupcakes to decorate.
Yum, they look so good!!!
Thank you! I was surprised at how well the icing stayed put — and at how moist the cakes turned out too!
Love it! They look adorable, so christmas-sy!
Thank you! They really put me in the holiday spirit!
I don’t know if it is the same cake recipe you use for the cupcakes, but here in Portugal we call it ” Bolo Rei” it really seems like the same think. And it looks so christmas like 🙂
Happy Christimas! *
Interesting! I just modified a simple yellow cake to include sprinkles, so I’m not sure. It’s fun to hear about other’s traditions though!
Merry Christmas to you too!
These are adorable! Simple but superb!
Thanks! I liked how a little bit of icing made them look so cute. We gobbled them up!
I love these..They are too cute for words!! (aren’t silicone pans just the best?!)
Thank you! Yes, I love silicon pans! I have silicon muffin tins, silicon loaf pans, silicon brownie/cake pans… And now a silicon rolling pin too!
Could these little guys get any cuter?!
If they were, they’d disappear the second they came out of the oven!!
These are so cute and look so tasty 🙂
Thank you! They really didn’t last long in our house; my guy bit off the head of a gingerbread man before I could even photograph them! Hence why there’s two of everything else… :]
Is it possible to make these without sprinkles for a regular vanilla cupcake?
Yes, that would work just fine! I hope you enjoy the cupcakes Keyanna! 🙂