Cupcakes

Shamrock Shake Cupcakes

These are the perfect St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes and with a cherry on top, no one will be able to resist! Plus, we added adorable straws to finish off the "shake" look.

~Ingredients:

-Mint Cupcake:

1 3/4 Cup Cake Flour.*

1 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour.

2 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder.

1 Teaspoon Salt.

1 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar.

1 Cup Butter, room temperature.

4 Eggs.

1 Cup Buttermilk.**

2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract.

3 Teaspoon Mint or Peppermint Extract.

Green Food Coloring.***

-Whipped Cream Mousse Frosting:

1 Pint Heavy Cream, cold from the refrigerator.

2 Tablespoon White Chocolate Instant Pudding Mix.****

-Topping:

1 10 Ounce Jar Maraschino Cherries with stems.

~Directions:

Making the Cupcakes:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line the cupcake tray with liners. Set aside.

Step 2: In a small bowl, combine cake flour, all purpose flour, baking powder and salt together.

Step 3: In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and the butter and cream for 2 minutes.

Step 4: Add the eggs one at a time and scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Step 5: Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the egg and butter / sugar mixture.

Step 6: Add the vanilla extract and the mint extract and as much green dye as needed for the color you want. Don't Over Mix!

Step 7: Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

-Making the Frosting:

Step 8: Beat the whipping cream and the instant pudding mix until the whipped cream is stiff.

Step 9: Place the frosting on a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner cut. Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and top with maraschino cherries and straws.

Step 10: Eat and Enjoy!

~Recipe Notes:

*If you can't find cake flour, you can make a DIY version from all-purpose flour and cornstarch.

How to make your own Buttermilk:

-Ingredients:

1 Cup All Purpose Flour.

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch.

-Directions:

Step 1: Measure 1 cup of all-purpose flour in a bowl.

Step 2: Remove 2 Tablespoons of all purpose of flour.

Step 3: Mix in 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch.

This equals 1 cup of cake flour. We suggest doing this twice, mixing it all up in 1 bowl then removing 1/4 cup since you need 1 and 3/4 cups in this recipe.

**How to make your own Buttermilk:

-Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice.

1 Cup Milk (full or low fat).

-Directions:

Step 1: Measure the milk into a jug.

Step 2: Stir in lemon juice or vinegar into the milk. Stir to combine. Let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature until the milk begins to curdle and becomes acidic.

Make it before you start making the cake batter and just set it aside until it is called for in the recipe.

Use in place of buttermilk in the recipe as it calls for. And if you don't use it straight away store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Also check out our Baking Tips & Tricks book for more information on buttermilk, it also has substitutions for buttermilk (link in the comments below).

***You can use as little or as much green food coloring you want. It depends on your taste and what kind of food coloring you are using (gel, powder, liquid etc...)

****We used Hershey's brand, but in any brand cheesecake flavor or vanilla will work, though vanilla will dye the frosting to yellow. Alternately you can also use pistachio or strawberry or any other flavor you want.

1) The pudding in the frosting adds the sweetness the cream needs and most importantly, it stabilizes the whipped cream. No melty mess! We piped these cupcakes and they sat in the sun and then on the counter all day and never started to melt or lose their shape! It's like a baker's magic trick...

Enjoy!

Please leave us a picture in the comments below if you make it or have any questions!

XoXo Hannah and Hailey :)