Golden Snitch Cupcakes
Servings 30 cupcakes
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (stir flour, then spoon into cup and level it)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- zest of 4 lemons
- 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- yellow food coloring, optional
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 16 ounces cream cheese, cold
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Other Ingredients:
- 30 Gold Cupcake Liners
- 5.25 oz Gold Sprinkles
- 1/2 (12 oz) bag White Candy Melts
Instructions
To Make the Lemon Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one at a time. Mix thoroughly after each addition. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and a few drops of yellow food coloring, if desired. Combine.
- Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Do not over mix!
- Line muffin tins with 30 gold cupcake liners. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter.
- Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 13-15 minutes or until baked all the way through. Let cupcakes rest in pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To Make the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat until smooth. Gradually add the butter 2 Tablespoons at a time, and continue beating until smooth and well blended.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla all at once. Blend until combined and smooth. (Don't beat too long or the frosting will be too soft to pipe. If this happens, place the frosting in the refrigerator or freezer until it firms back up.)
To Make the Wings:
- Melt the white candy melts according to the package directions. Pour into a zip-top plastic bag and seal shut. Cut off the corner, then pipe wings onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet.
- Pipe a nice round button (to support the wing in the frosting), then the bottom feathers (about 4 points), and a half circle for the top of the wing. (I found it easier to do the right side of the wings, flip my cookie sheet and pipe the left side upside-down, because it was a little awkward to pipe to my left. Do what is most comfortable for you.)
- Place wings in the refrigerator until set. (Each wing was about 2 1/2 inches long. Make sure you have at least 60 wings. Extras are nice in case some break. Refer to the last image of this post for a visual.)
To Assemble the Cupcakes:
- Place gold sprinkles in a large bowl. Fill a piping bag with an open coupler and the cream cheese frosting.
- Pipe a dome on top of each cupcake by squeezing your piping bag close to the cupcake, directly in the center. Squeeze until the frosting almost reaches the edges, and fills out, into a nice round shape. (You can rotate/lift your wrist in the direction you need more frosting to fill the top of the cupcake completely. Wet your finger with some water to flatten any sharp tips of frosting.)
- Immediately sprinkle the gold sprinkles over the frosting and on the sides until covered. Shake off any excess sprinkles. Repeat with each cupcake.
- Place a left and right wing into the frosting of each cupcake. Serve to guests and enjoy!
Notes
To Store: Gently cover cupcakes with plastic wrap and refrigerate, if desired. Let cupcakes come to room temperature before serving.