Jelly Bean Cupcakes with Jelly Bellys
Semi-homemade cupcakes with buttercream frosting and Jelly Belly jelly beans inside and out.
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 box (15.25 ounces) white cake mix
- 1 cup water (quantity according to package instructions)
- 1/3 cup canola oil (quantity according to package instructions)
- 3 egg whites (quantity according to package instructions)
- 187 Jelly Belly jelly beans (using 8 on the inside and 3 on top of the cupcakes); all colors except black and white
- 34 Cupcake liners if using 2 liners per cupcake (one for baking and a second one added just before serving)
For the Buttercream Frosting:
- 6 tablespoons butter softened
- 4-3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Topping and Decoration:
- 1/2 cup (heaping) shredded or flaked sweetened coconut
- 7 drops Green food coloring
- 51 Jelly Belly jelly beans if using 3 Jelly Bellys on top of the cupcake for decoration; (the larger size jelly beans can be used if preferred)
Equipment
- Cupcake baking pan
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (or according to package instructions).
- Fill the cupcake pan with paper cupcake liners. Set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add cake mix, water, egg whites, and canola oil. Beat with a mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes or whisk by hand for 2 minutes (or follow package instructions).
- Fill each cupcake liner 3/4's full of cake batter (a small amount of batter should be leftover).
- Top the batter with 5 Jelly Belly jelly beans that are laid out flat, not touching one another and not touching the paper liner.
- For each cupcake, top the jelly beans with about 1 teaspoon of batter (don't cover up all of the jelly beans, let a little show through). The total amount of batter for each cupcake should fill the paper liner to 3/4's full.
- Top with 3 more Jelly Belly jelly beans that are laid out flat, not touching one another and not touching the paper liner.
- Bake in a preheated oven according to package instructions until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Carefully transfer the cupcakes onto a rack and let cool completely before frosting them.
For the Green Coconut Topping:
- The green "coconut grass" topping needs to be put on top of the cupcake as soon as it's frosted so that it will stick to the top.So before making the frosting, make the "green grass" first.
- To a small bowl, add shredded coconut and 7 drops of green food coloring. Mix together until the coconut is lightly coated. Set aside.
For the Buttercream Frosting:
- To a large mixing bowl, add powdered sugar, softened butter, vanilla extract, and milk.
- Set a mixer to the slowest speed and beat the ingredients carefully so that the powdered sugar doesn’t fly out of the bowl.
- Once the powdered sugar starts to mix in with the butter and milk (about two minutes), increase the speed on the mixer and beat the ingredients until smooth (about another 3 or 4 minutes).
Frosting the Cupcakes and Adding the Decorations:
- Frost each cupcake one at a time and right after frosting it, add the green shredded coconut on top (so it will stick to the frosting). Top with Jelly Belly jelly beans (the larger size jelly beans can be used to decorate the top of the cupcake if preferred).
Notes
TIPS:
- For inside of the cupcakes, Jelly Belly jelly beans work best (as opposed to the larger size jelly beans).
- When adding the Jelly Bellys inside of the cupcakes - don't use white or black colored jelly beans (or the popcorn flavored Jelly Bellys since they're such a light color); and don't let the jelly beans touch each other, or touch the sides of the cupcake paper liners.
- The total amount of batter for each cupcake should fill the paper liner to 3/4's full.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them.
- Frost each cupcake one at a time, and right after frosting each one, add the green coconut topping and jelly bean decorations (so they'll stick to the frosting).