Name: Unicorn Cupcakes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 72 min
Ingredients: 1 white cake recipe or purchased boxed white cake; 1 pkg softened cream cheese 8oz (225g); 1 stick softened butter (113g); 1 tsp vanilla; 4 cups powdered sugar (500g); ¼ tsp salt; sprinkles; mini marshmallows for ears; white chocolate for horn

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Unicorn Cupcakes: They are pink, purple, and teal, sprinkled with sparkles, and topped with a gold horn. What could be more adorable? Cut them open, and they are as pretty on the inside.

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The frosting on these cupcakes is not your store-bought tub of frosting. Oh no, this frosting is the best of a buttercream blended with the best of cream cheese. One bite and you will know why I say they are topped with love. It is a cloud of deliciousness.

Unicron Cupcakes start with the Cake.

Grab your favorite fluffy/puffy white cake recipe, and make a bath of white cake. If you don’t have a fav., or don’t bake a cake from scratch, then purchase a box of white cake mix and make it according to the directions on the box. Then STOP, don’t add the batter to the cupcake papers. It wouldn’t be a unicorn cupcake without the unicorn color throughout.

To color, the batter split it into 4 equal portions—color 3 of the portions with your 3 favorite unicorn cupcake colors. Then scoop a generous tablespoon of batter into the cupcake papers. A cookie scoop works great for this. Bake the cupcakes according to the recipe instructions and let them cool completely before frosting.

Let's Decorate the Unicorn Cupcakes:

Supplies for decorating.

Make the Frosting

The frosting for these cupcakes is divine. I marry a buttercream frosting with a cream cheese frosting, and the result is MMM sooo GOOD. The recipe is super simple; just make sure the butter and cream cheese is softened before mixing them. Then you add a little flavor of your choice and the powdered sugar. A pinch of salt and done with a bowl of yum.

Split the frosting into 3 bowls and color it to match the cupcakes. To swirl the 3 colors of frosting together, put each color in a separate 12-inch pastry bag. Cut the end off of the bag and carefully flatten, and then stack the bags on top of the other.

The 3 stacked bags are inserted into an 18-inch pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Now it’s time to swirl away. Squeeze the 18-inch bag until all 3 colors are coming out together.

Time to decorate the Unicorn Cupcakes:

Make the Horn out of white chocolate candy melts using a Unicorn Horn Mold. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave and fill the mold. Let the chocolate harden, unmold, and color the horn with edible gold ink. Add some sprinkles, the gold horn, and ears. The ears are made out of a mini marshmallow cut on the diagonal. A dab of melted chocolate helps the ears adhere to the frosting. Take a step back and admire your beautiful Unicorn cupcakes. Then dig in and savor your delicious unicorn cupcakes. Cupcakes are best when shared and enjoyed with a child or a lover of unicorns.

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Unicorn Cupcakes

Unicorn Cupcakes will be the star of your next family gathering. Perfect for a birthday party or special occasion. The cake and frosting are colored to match.

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

decorating time: 42 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 12 minutes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cupcakes, multicolored cupcakes, swirled cupcakes, unicorn cupcakes, unicorn party

Servings: cupcakes

Calories: 221kcal

Equipment

This page contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click a link, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you
mold for the unicorn horn
gold edible ink marker
food coloring: pink, purple, and teal. (see notes for dye-free coloring options)
muffin pans
12-inch disposable piping bags
18-inch disposable piping bag
large decorating tip. Wilton 1M or Wilton 2D both work.
sprinkle pop sprinkles

Ingredients

1 white cake recipe or purchased boxed white cake

Frosting

1 pkg softened cream cheese 8oz (225g)
1 stick softened butter (113g)
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar (500g)
¼ tsp salt

Decorations

sprinkles
mini marshmallows for ears
white chocolate for horn

Instructions

preheat the oven and add 24 cupcake liners to a muffin pan.
Make a white cake from either scratch or a box. Make according to the directions on the recipe or box. Once the cake is ready to put into the cupcake pan, split it into 4 bowls. You will have a little over one cup per bowl.
Add 2 drops of each color of food coloring, stir to mix well. Leave one bowl white.
Use a cookie scoop (1 tbs size) or large spoon to scoop tablespoon portions into the cupcake papers. Use one scoop of each color of cupcake batter for a cupcake. This keeps the colors from mixing and getting muddy looking. Alternately, wash the scoop between colors
Bake the cupcakes according to the directions on the recipe or box. Once the cupcakes are baked let them cool completely before frosting. 2-3 hours.

Frosting

Mix together the softened cream cheese and butter. Beat with a hand mixer until creamy.
Add the powdered sugar ⅓ at a time, mixing after each addition.
Add the vanilla and salt and beat on medium for 1 minute to mix in.
Split the frosting into 3 bowls and add 1 drop of color to each bowl. Mix well until frosting is evenly colored. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure there are no dark streaks on the bottom.

Decorating the Cupcakes

Put the large piping tip on a large 18-inch pastry bag.
Put about half of each color of frosting into a 12-inch pastry bag, Don't overfill the bag. Cut about 1 inch of the tip-off of the bag and gently flatten the bag to be about 1/2 inch thick. Half of the frosting is enough for 10 - 12 cupcakes.
Stack the 3 flattened bags together and insert them into the large pastry bag with the piping tip.
Squeeze the bag until you see all 3 colors coming out. Pipe the frosting in a swirl pattern onto each cupcake. Add sprinkles, the horn, and ears.
Make the horn out of white chocolate using a silicone horn mold. Color it gold with the edible gold ink pen.
Cut a mini marshmallow in half. Cut it on the diagonal, attach each half to either side of the horn to form the ears.
If you are unsure about the decorating instructions read the blog or watch the video.

Video

Notes

The swirled frosting technique works great for 2 colors—no need for a special coupler.

Refrigerate the cupcakes if you aren't eating them right away. They keep best at a temperature of about 68 degrees or less.

The undecorated cupcakes can be made ahead, placed in an airtight container, and frozen for up to 2 weeks. Uncover to defrost, so the cupcake top isn't soggy.

Make it Healthy and Food-dye-free.

Use plant-based, dye-free, all-natural colors. Click here to purchase.

Use sprinkles that are free of food dyes. Supernatural makes a variety of sprinkles that are free of food dyes. (click here to purchase)

For the eyeballs: make your own out of Royal Icing. For the pupils, color the icing black using the Jelife black color from the link above. You can make a variety of sizes for pennies with Royal icing.

Nutrition

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Unicorn Cupcakes

Let's Decorate the Unicorn Cupcakes: