It was my daughter’s 6th birthday last Friday. . and she knew exactly what she wanted.
These Marshmallow Cupcakes.
My kid is 6 and she knows exactly what she wants. With most everything. Definitely when it comes to food. She is my daughter after all. She’ll come home from school and ask me for an apple: peeled but left whole or peeled and cut but she doesn’t want the core. Or she’ll ask for crackers with peanut butter on them. Not the ones that come in boxes and are already made. She wants me to make them and she specifies which peanut butter she wants, sometimes creamy, sometimes crunchy (our fave is Adam’s 100% Natural crunchy). Then, as she’s eating her after school snack, she gabs on and on about her day and then asks me how my day was.
How could I not bake these cupcakes for her?
This is another recipe from my beloved Hummingbird Bakery cookbook. Honestly, I knew I would feel a little guilty bringing these into my daughter’s classroom. . to sugar up all the kids. . so I made some adjustments. . I tried to make these not so packed with sugar and marshmallows; but I did mix in more mini marshmallows into the frosting so that’s why it may appear that there’s no frosting at all. I could have frosted these with the vanilla frosting and then added the mini marshmallow mixture but remember, I was trying to tone it down a bit.
A little girl in my daughter’s class even announced with excitement, “Oh, there’s marshmallow inside too!” In my opinion, my daughter’s and her classmates, these cupcakes still rocked. And one of Phoebe’s classmates who lives a few houses down from us, came over after school to see if I had more. Guess that’s a good sign, yeah?
If you’re looking for a sweet, yummy cupcake and you love marshmallows, this is it.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- a pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 egg
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- a couple of drops of pure vanilla extract
- about 6-7 oz mini marshmallows
- marshmallow fluff or creme (for the inside)
- pink sugar crystals
- pastry bag with tip
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and prepare a muffin/cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
- Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until the milk is just incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, vanilla extract and remaining milk together for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not overmix.
- Spoon the cake batter into your cupcake liners until about two-thirds full and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until light golden and the cake bounces back when touched. (A skewer inserted in the center should come out clean.) Allow the cupcakes to cool slightly in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled completely, cut out the center of each cupcake (I used a strong, thick plastic straw). Fill your pastry bag with the marshmallow fluff and fill in the middle of each cupcake.
- Beat the confectioners’ sugar and butter in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well combined. Next, add the milk and vanilla extract and once all the milk has been incorporated, turn the mixer up to high speed. Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, for at least 5 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes.
- Stir in the mini marshmallows into the frosting by hand until evenly dispersed. Spread over each cupcake and top with the pink sugar crystals.
Adapted from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.
And please don’t let these lame photos discourage you from baking these. . the morning I baked these was frantic and I didn’t get a chance to take photos. . I ended up giving away more than expected and managed to save one. Here she is.
So, with the inside. . originally these were going to be oozing with marshmallow on the inside but, again, I held back because these cupcakes went to a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds and I didn’t want to be responsible for the craziness that might have ensued had I packed these suckers with marshmallow fluff.
These are perfect kids cupcakes, even with less sugar! Your second paragraph about Phoebe melted my heart Alice! Such a smart kid, and really sounds so grown up sometimes. I´m so glad she go what she wanted for the 6th birthday, it´s a memory that will be with her forever. Have a wonderful long weekend!
Awh, thank you Paula! You too my friend. . let’s enjoy it and relax! 🙂
Phoebe is smart as a whip! And adorable too. A lethal combination! I’m glad she and her friends enjoyed these cupcakes – they’re so cute! And seriously, all kids just want sugar so let’s give ’em what they want 😉 When I was in the first grade, my teacher gave each kid on their birthday a super sized box of Smarties. It was the best! Phoebe is so lucky she has such a loving mum who’s crazy talented in the kitchen.
Awwww Phoebe is so smart and definitely a foodie. Your cupcake is filled with so many surprises, definitely something that kids (and I) will enjoy.