Cinco de Mayo Cupcakes
Colorful candy sombreros and cacti top our festive mix-easy mango cupcakes frosted with extra-rich buttercream! Olé!
DECORATIONS 1 1/4 tsp. tylose powder, such as Wilton
1 cup green fondant, such as Wilton Decorator Preferred
Cornstarch
1 1/2 cups white fondant, such as Wilton Decorator Preferred
Golden yellow and orange concentrated food colorings
CUPCAKES 1 pkg. (15.25 oz.) yellow cake mix
3 eggs 1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup mango nectar, such as Goya
1/2 cup dried mango, finely chopped
1 Tbs. grated lime zest
ASSEMBLY Green, yellow, orange, red and purple decorating sugars 1 tube each (4.25 oz.) green and white decorating icings, each fitted with writing tip
Wilton Daisy Margarita and jumbo rainbow nonpareil sprinkles
Black edible color marker
Light corn syrup
Rainbow Sour Belts candy, cut into thin strips
FROSTING 2 cups butter (1 lb.), at room temperature
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Yellow, orange, red and violet concentrated food colorings ● Decorations: Line 4 rimmed baking sheets with wax paper. Knead 1/2 tsp. tylose into green fondant. On surface lightly dusted with cornstarch, roll out green fondant to 1/16" thickness. On copy machine, enlarge template, right, 320%. Using knife and template, cut out 18 shapes
from fondant. Transfer to 2 baking sheets; reserve.
● Knead remaining 3/4 tsp. tylose into white fondant. Divide in half. Knead golden yellow food coloring into one piece and orange coloring into remaining fondant until tinted. Cover fondant when not in use. ● For sombrero brims, on clean surface lightly dusted with cornstarch, roll out 1/2 cup yellow fondant to 1/16" thickness. Using 2 1/2" and 2 3/4" round cookie cutters, cut out a total of 9 shapes. Fit rounds into 2 3/4"- and 3 1/2"-wide custard cups and/ or regular and jumbo muffin cups, as shown above, pressing down lightly to shape brim. Repeat with 1/2 cup orange fondant.
● For sombrero crowns, using 1/2 tsp. for small and 1 tsp. for large, shape each of remaining yellow and orange fondants into 18 gumdrop shapes. Transfer to baking sheet. Let fondant shapes and cut outs dry 8 hours or overnight.
● Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 18 muffin cups with cupcake liners. On low speed, beat cake mix with eggs, oil, mango nectar and 1/2 cup water; on medium, beat 2
minutes. Stir in dried mango and zest. Divide among liners. Bake 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool on rack. ● Assembly: Spread green sugar over small plate. Pipe thin lines of green icing over cactus, as shown; immediately press into sugar. Attach daisy sprinkles with icing.
● Decorate sombrero brims and crowns using white decorating icing or edible marker. Attach crowns to brims with corn syrup. Let dry, 20 minutes. Wrap sour belt strips around crowns; press to secure. Attach nonpareils with white icing.
● Frosting: On medium-low, beat butter and condensed milk until fluffy, 2 minutes. On low, gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar; on medium, beat until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Divide among four bowls. Tint one bowl orange, one yellow, one red and remaining bowl violet with food colorings. Transfer frostings to separate pastry bags each fitted with star tip. Pipe over cupcakes; sprinkle with matching sugars. Decorate with cactus and sombreros. Servings: 12. Cals.: 699. Protein: 4 g. Fat: 33 g. (16 g. saturated). Trans fat: 1 g. Chol.: 93 mg. Carbs.: 100 g. Sodium: 399 mg. Fiber: 0 g. Sugar: 87 g. Kitchen time: 2 hours. Total time: 11 hours.