Sprinkles Cupcakes, Yes! You Can Make At Home!

I’ll admit, I first heard about Sprinkles Cupcakes from watching The Girls Next Door. It’s one of my guilty TV pleasures. Bridgette Marquette, Hef’s old girlfriend, is a huge fan of Sprinkles and has shown them in several episodes. Each time I thought they looked fabulous, so I visited their website to see if they did mail order. Sadly they don’t mail order cupcakes and the closest shop to me is in LA. Several hours way by plane.

They do sell their cupcake mix by mail, but at $14 a can for 12 cupcakes it seemed pricey. Compared to a grocery store boxed cake mix, it just seemed too much, and I wasn’t willing to part with that much cash unless I knew they were really worth it. I’d just tried Martha Stewart’s cupcake mix a few weeks before and it was also pricey but was available locally. Unfortunately, I didn’t think they were worth the extra cash.

My "Homemade" Sprinkles Cupcakes

I thought I’d have to wait until my next trip south to try a Sprinkles Cupcake, which with the economy the way it is could be awhile, but I got lucky and won three cans of cupcake mix from Mom Fuse! Now if you follow me on Twitter, you know I’m a bit of a cupcake fanatic, so winning three cans of cupcake mix was fabulous!

I made the Red Velvet tonight – it was the first Red Velvet cupcake I’ve ever made or eaten. Can I just, yum! I even messed up the recipe and they were still outstanding! I did have an issue with the massive amounts of red food coloring – my kitchen looked like a crime scene when I was done and my 1970′s white Formica counter top is now pink in places, but it was totally worth it. I don’t know if I’d make them again though, just because of the food coloring.

The cream cheese frosting recipe that accompanies the mix is amazing. Both the mix and the frosting take simple ingredients; I had everything on hand. Eggs, milk, vinegar, vanilla, powdered sugar, cream cheese, and lots and lots of butter! Mine may not look as good as the store version, but I’m sure they tasted as good. The top had a bit of crispiness to it that I really enjoyed and the cake was light but dense at the same time. Hard to describe. I dropped one while hot and it deflated like a souffle would.

I’ll be making the other two cans soon as well as trying out the recipe for their strawberry cupcakes shown on the video below. The fact that everything is fresh, including the strawberries, and no artificial flavors is a plus for me.

Enjoy this video and if you make so Sprinkles cupcakes, let me know how you liked them!

SPRINKLES STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES WITH STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Makes 1 dozen

• 2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

STRAWBERRY FROSTING:

Makes enough for 1 dozen cupcakes

• 1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
• Pinch of coarse salt
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners’ sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

Dark Chocolate Frosting

Recipe courtesy of Candace Nelson of Sprinkles Cupcakes

From the owner of Sprinkles Cupcakes, a delicious dark chocolate frosting that will make your cupcakes stand out! From Oprah.com

Ingredients:

Frosts 2 dozen cupcake

• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped
• 1 pound unsalted butter , at room temperature
• 1 pound plus 8 ounces powdered sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Melt and cool chocolate (until just slightly warm). Beat butter until light and fluffy. With mixer on low speed, gradually add powdered sugar. Add salt, vanilla and sour cream and mix until very smooth. Add chocolate and mix until just incorporated. Don’t over-whip and add too much air into the frosting. The consistency should be rich and dense, like ice cream!

SPRINKLES CHOCOLATE FROSTING

From triplecreme.blogspot.com

Sprinkles chocolate frosting:
6 oz. butter
pinch of salt
2 1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1/4 tea. vanilla extract
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Beat butter and salt in stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed, gradually add the sugar, until incorporated, stopping the mixer to occasionally scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and chocolate, mix until combined, careful not to over mix and incorporate too much air.

SPRINKLES CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

From triplecreme.blogspot.com

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 4 oz butter
• 3-3/4 c. confectioner’s sugar, sifted
• 1/2 tea. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tea. salt

Cream the butter, cheese and salt in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar until incorporated, then add the vanilla. Mix until combined, careful not to over mix and incorporate too much air.

SPRINKLES BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

12 cupcakes

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

1. In a bowl combine butter, sugar and salt. Beat till blended.
2. Add the milk and vanilla and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes or until smooth and creamy.

SPRINKLES GREAT-GRANDMA’S COCONUT CUPCAKES

From Sprinkles pastry chef Candace Nelson via the LA Times

Makes 18 to 20

• 2 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1-1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large egg whites, plus 1 whole large egg

Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line two greased standard muffin pans with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a measuring cup, combine the milk and extracts. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg whites and the egg and mix until they are combined. Add half of the flour mixture and mix until it is combined. Gradually drizzle in all the milk mixture. Add the remaining dry mixture and mix carefully until just combined. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake cups (they should be two-thirds full) and bake about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cake springs back when pressed lightly and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

• 8 ounces cold cream cheese
• 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
• 1/8 teaspoon sal
• 3-3/4 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1/2 cup sweetened coconut shavings

By the way, check out the Sprinkles Unwrapped Episode – great background information on the co-owner and how she went from a Silicone Valley Geek to cupcake making chic!

Enjoy!
Connie

In the bowl of an electric mixer, slowly mix the cream cheese, butter and salt until fluffy and combined. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Mix in the extracts until incorporated and the frosting is smooth. Frost each cooled cupcake with about 2 tablespoons of frosting and immediately top with 1 teaspoon of sweetened coconut shavings.