These Cotton Candy Cupcakes are SO much fun, they will instantly remind you of childhood! The base is a light and fluffy vanilla cake with the perfect amount of Cotton Candy flavouring. Once baked, the cupcakes are topped with a pretty, pink and blue swirled, Cotton Candy buttercream that smells aaamazing. Sprinkles and fluffy cotton candy are totally optional, but truly finish these cupcakes off perfectly!
What you will need to make Cotton Candy Cupcakes
Aside from your standard ingredients, there are a few extras needed to make these cupcakes extra delicious.
Cotton Candy flavouring – This one is pretty obvious. You only need 2 teaspoons total for this recipe. I used Lorann Oils but you could use any cotton candy flavouring that you can find.
Cake Flour – If you bake a lot, I’m sure you have all-purpose flour on hand, but maybe not cake flour. I prefer cake flour for a lot of my vanilla cake-based recipes because it gives the crumb an extra light and fluffy texture.
If you don’t have any and would prefer not to go and get some, you can make an easy substitute. Measure out 11/2 cup of flour. Remove three tablespoons and replace it with three tablespoons of corn starch. Then sift this mixture twice. Sifting twice not only mixes the two ingredients together properly but also aerates it so the consistency is similar to cake flour.
Sour Cream & Buttermilk – I like using both sour cream and buttermilk in these cupcakes because they add extra moisture.
Cotton Candy – These cupcakes are not complete without some cotton candy on top. You can find cotton candy at most dollar stores, grocery stores or specialty candy stores. Be sure to top the cupcakes with cotton candy right before serving or it will melt on top of the buttercream!
Sprinkles – Sprinkles are optional but I think they add some extra fun to these cupcakes. I used “Mermaid Glam” by Sprinkle Pop.
How to Make Cotton Candy Cupcakes
In the bowl of your stand mixer or hand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and oil together until smooth and creamy. This combination makes for the perfect buttery flavour and amazing moisture from the oil.
Add the sugar and continue creaming together until light and fluffy. About 2 minutes.
Next, add the eggs and mix until combined. Add the vanilla, cotton candy flavouring and sour cream, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Don’t worry if your mixture looks curdled at this point.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet a little bit at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Start and end with the dry ingredients. This ensures that you do not over-mix the batter.
Fill lined cupcake tins about 2/3 of the way full with batter.
Bake for about 18 minutes at 350 degrees F.
The cupcakes are done when the tops are a golden yellow colour and they spring back when lightly touched.
Let the cupcakes cool on a wire rack.
While the cupcakes are cooling, you can start making the buttercream.
For the Buttercream
In the bowl of your stand mixer or hand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on its own until well dispersed throughout the bowl.
With your mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated with the butter, add the vanilla, cotton candy flavouring and whipping cream. Mix on high speed for 3-5 minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy.
Divide the buttercream into two bowls. Colour one with pink food colouring and the other with blue. I like using the Wilton Color Right and Americolor gels.
How to prepare your piping bag
There are a couple of different ways you can prepare your piping bag in order to achieve this fun swirled and colourful look. First of all, place your piping tip into the piping bag. I used a Wilton 6B piping tip.
Method 1
This is the easier of the two. Simply spoon the buttercream into your piping bag alternating the colours.
Method 2
Lay a large piece of plastic wrap out on a flat surface. Pipe or spread long lines of the buttercream next to each other, alternating the blue and pink onto the plastic wrap. Then roll the buttercream into a log, cut the end of the plastic wrap off and place that end into the piping bag. You can see this method in detail in this post.
Pipe swirls of the buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes.
Then top the cupcakes with sprinkles and cotton candy.
Tips for making Cotton Candy Cupcakes
Room temperature ingredients. – This tip goes for pretty much all of my cupcake and cake recipes. Starting with room temperature ingredients like butter, milk and eggs, ensures that everything mixes together easily, the cake rises evenly and the texture of the cake is light and fluffy.
Save the cotton candy until the last minute! – I mentioned this earlier, but just in case you missed it, I’m repeating myself. If you’ve ever brought home cotton candy from the fair, you know that it doesn’t last long before it loses its fluffiness and turns into a rock-hard ball of sugar. Be sure to keep your cotton candy in an air-tight container or bag until right before serving your cupcakes. Once you’ve topped the cupcakes with cotton candy, you’ve got about 10-20 minutes before it hardens!
Cotton Candy Cupcakes
Course: DessertDifficulty: Easy14
cupcakes30
minutes18
minutesThese Cotton Candy Cupcakes will remind you of childhood! Light and fluffy cupcakes, topped with swirled cotton candy buttercream, sweet cotton candy and sprinkles!
Ingredients
- Cotton Candy Cupcakes
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup oil, vegetable or canola
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cotton candy flavouring
1/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
1teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
Cotton Candy
Sprinkles
- Cotton Candy Buttercream
3/4 cup unsalted butter, slightly chilled
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cotton candy flavouring
Directions
- Cotton Candy Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with cupcake liners.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer or hand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and oil together until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and continue creaming until light and fluffy. About 2 minutes.
- Next, add the eggs and mix until combined. Add the vanilla, cotton candy flavouring and sour cream, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Don’t worry if your mixture looks curdled at this point.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet a little bit at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Start and end with the dry ingredients.
- Fill the lined cupcake tins about 2/3 of the way full with batter.
- Bake for about 18 minutes. The cupcakes are done when the tops are a golden yellow colour and they spring back when lightly touched. Let the cupcakes cool on a wire rack.
- Cotton Candy Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on it’s own until well dispersed throughout the bowl.
- With your mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add the vanilla, cotton candy flavouring and whipping cream. Mix on high speed for 3-5 minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy.
- Divide the buttercream into two bowls. Colour one with pink food colouring and the other with blue. Prepare your piping bag with the buttercream. See the notes in the post above for how to create the blue and pink swirl.
- Pipe swirls of the buttercream onto cooled cupcakes.
- Then top the cupcakes with sprinkles and cotton candy.
If you tried this recipe, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @cremedelacombe.
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