Sweet Summertime Cupcake Recipe

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Fun multicolored cupcakes that are made from a doctored up cake mix and topped with a simple but cute popsicle decoration. These cupcakes will have you singing sweet summertime!

Super cute cupcakes do not have to be a challenge to make. This recipe starts with a cake mix, but has all the good stuff added in to make them taste like they came from the bakery. A twirl of frosting and some cute little candy popsicles on top and they are ready for a party!

Summertime is when we do the most entertaining. Unfortunately it is also when we feel like spending the least amount of time in the kitchen.

It’s too hot too get too crazy with complicated recipes. Besides, I’d rather be outside throwing water balloons with everyone else.

That doesn’t mean I don’t still like to have fun homemade treats for our guests.  It just means that I try to cut myself a little slack where I can.

These fun summery cupcakes were the perfect way to find that balance of cute and basically homemade without too much time or worry. They were actually a lot of fun to make!

Making the multicolored cupcakes

This cake batter comes together super easily. I used a yellow cake batter because I didn’t plan on separating eggs.

That does mean you may have a slight yellow cast to your colors, especially if you choose lighter colors. If you want true colors, you can follow these steps but use our favorite doctored up white cupcakes recipe.

Choose whatever colors speak to you. I picked up a box of berry blend Mike & Ikes for the toppers, so I tried to coordinate with those colors.

You could easily make red white and blue cupcakes for the Fourth of July.   Or match whatever the color theme is for your party.

Gel food coloring is my favorite way to add color to batter or frosting. You can get vibrant colors without adding all of the liquid from regular food coloring.

The colors do tend to deepen a bit as they bake. So you can stop adding coloring a drop or two before you get to the color you are trying to achieve.

Usually I use a large cookie scoop to portion out batter. For this a not quite full medium scoop of each color was about perfect.

Using the scoops makes transferring the batter easy.  It also allows for pretty consistent portioning.

Decorating the cupcakes

Start by making your favorite decorating frosting.  I used pipable cream cheese frosting for these babies and it was delicious.

If you are wanting a more traditional buttercream you could try sweetened condensed milk buttercream or my perfect not too sweet buttercream.

For a soft and fluffy finish, Italian meringue buttercream would also be a great way to go. Just do whatever you like best.

If you are making a crusting American style buttercream, you will want to apply any sprinkles you are using right away.  Once the frosting sets, you won’t get the sprinkles to stick.

The meringue style buttercream gives you a longer sprinkle application window. (For more info on the different kinds of frosting, check out my frosting 101 guide.)

I thought I would like the rosettes the best on these cupcakes. But it turns out I like the swirly peaks a bit better.

Luckily you can get either from the same set-up. Just fit your piping bag with a large closed star tip (open stars work too).

To make the rosette, start in the center of the cupcake and swirl the bag around until you get to the outer edge. The swirl is the exact opposite. Start on the outer edge and swirl your way to the center overlapping slightly as you go to build towards a peak in the center.

Making the cute candy popsicle cupcake toppers

The cute popsicle toppers are super easy to make.  Just pick up a movie theater box sized container of Mike & Ikes.

There were a variety of color and flavor combinations at my grocery store, but I was drawn to the berry mix. The colors and flavors were calling to me.

Once you have your candy procured, get some plain wood toothpicks. Snip them into thirds.

Gently force a toothpick piece into one end of each piece of candy. Then pair two like colors together to make them look like popsicles.

Push lightly down into the frosting and voila! Summertime in cupcake form is born!

Add some coordinating sprinkles for an extra pop of fun color if desired. Then you will be ready to collect the compliments as you serve these fun treats.

For another fun summertime treat, try making beach brownie bites. They are cute and perfect for a pool party or any summer event.

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