Unicorn Funfetti Cupcakes

Unicorns are taking over the world! No, not really - but they may as well be. That's my political statement for the year, folks.

Gluten Free Unicorn Funfetti Cupcakes

Yes, I have jumped on the unicorn band wagon. What can I say? They're totally cute and they make my kids squeal with delight.



These adorable cupcakes are fairly easy to make. I made a gluten free cake mix according to the package directions and stirred in a quarter cup of sprinkles before baking. A regular vanilla or white cake mix will also work great.



I started this mystical culinary adventure by melting some white chocolate to make the horns. I piped the chocolate into horn shapes and sprinkled them with gold sanding sugar. I piped mine a little longer than they needed to be. An inch and a half should do just fine. You can also download or draw a template if eyeballing the horns is stressing you out. I'm not a complete perfectionist in the kitchen, so I eyeballed mine.

After your cupcakes are completely cool, whip up my favorite vanilla frosting. This recipe is creamy and dreamy and perfectly sweet. It's my "go to" vanilla frosting.



To put the unicorns together, use a wide round tip to pipe the lusciously perfect vanilla frosting onto your cupcakes. Sprinkle the tops and backs with more sprinkles, stick in the horns, and use a store-bought black icing tube to make the lashed unicorn eyes. I practiced on a plate to steady my hand and get my technique down.

A quick note about the horns: you really need to temper your chocolate so that the horns stay firm. Follow the directions below to do that. I didn't really bother when I made this batch of cupcakes and ended up with delicious, but flopped over, horns.


Also, these cupcakes are as delicious as they are adorable. Have lots a fun making and eating these magical treats.

Unicorn Funfetti Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For the horns:
4 oz baking white chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup gold or yellow sanding sugar

For the cupcakes:
1 box vanilla or white cake mix and ingredients to making according to package directions (I used Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Vanilla Cake Mix)
1/4 cup rainbow jimmies for cake mixes that make 12 cupcakes and 1/2 cup jimmies for cake mixes that make 24 cupcakes

For the frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 to 4 Tbsp milk

1/2 cup rainbow jimmies for decorating
1 3.5 oz tube black piping gel

DIRECTIONS
1. Make your horns first as they'll need plenty of time to fully set. Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper and set aside.
2. Melt half of your white chocolate (2 oz) in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave in 15 second increments, stirring after each time. Add in the rest of the white chocolate and stir until all melted.
3. Snip off one corner of a Ziplock freezer bag about 1/8 of an inch. You can also insert a super tiny round piping tip into your bag, if you like. Fill your bag with melted chocolate and pipe 1 1/2 inch long horn shapes onto your parchment-lined baking sheet. Immediately sprinkle with gold sanding sugar. Place tray in the fridge to set.
4. Make your cupcakes according to the package directions stirring in the rainbow jimmies right before you scoop the batter.
5. Let cupcakes cool completely.
6. Make your frosting. Beat butter and shortening in a stand mixer for 30 seconds.
7. Beat in 2 cups powdered sugar until creamy.
8. Scrape down bowl and beat in 2 tsp vanilla.
9. Beat in 2 more cups powdered sugar.
10. Beat in milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the consistency is pipe-able (not too runny, not too stiff). Then, scrape down the bowl again and beat for 3 minutes on high until light and fluffy.
11. Put your unicorns together. Use a large round tip to pipe frosting onto your cupcakes.
12. Sprinkle tops and backs with more rainbow jimmies.
13. Push a horn into the top of each cupcake.
14. Use the black piping gel to pipe half circles and lashes on each cupcake for the eyes.

* If your cake mix makes 24 cupcakes, you 'll need to double the frosting recipe and the number of horns you make.

Let's Start with Art

Welcome to the very first post on my new blog and the first post I've written in over a year. I miss writing. Not only is it a great creative outlet all on its own, but it's the creative outlet I use to connect all my other creative outlets.

Speaking of connecting, some of you may remember my cupcake blog, homeschool blog, and twenty pieces blog. This blog seeks to bring those blogs together and then some. There's a lot of fun and craziness going on around here and we've got a lot of Loverbee love to share. Stay tuned for posts on family life, homeschooling, art class, recipes, life in the country, my hubby's woodworking projects, and so much more.

So, without further ado, let's start off with a pop of color.

Unicorn color, that is. 

I've added a weekly art segment to our homeschool curriculum. This week my pre-k guy is learning about the letter "U". I found the cutest unicorn gift box idea on Pinterest. Click on the link to see the original craft.

We started off our project with tea boxes. We do a lot of upcycling around here.

We had to put two coats of tempera paint on our boxes which meant two different days of painting. Really, three would have been even better.

On the third day we were ready to decorate.

I pre-cut ears and horns for easier assembly. I also pre-cut strips of colored paper 8 1/2 inches long and about 1/2 inch wide for the hair. Just hold a stack of colored construction paper in the landscape position, eyeball 1/2 inch strips, and start cutting. 

Here is my template for the horn and ears.

Tape the folded sections of the ears down onto the top of your box. Cut the line on the circle to be able to fold over and roll into a cone shape. The tighter you roll it, the taller and thinner your horn will be. Tape to secure and then tape it to the top of your box. Most of the tape gets hidden by the rainbow hair you glue down.

Eyeball or measure the length of bangs and back mane you want to add to your box. We used glue to secure sections to the top of the box while folding over the sections we wanted to hang down as bangs or back mane. Do not put glue on these bottom hanging sections as glued down bangs will glue your box shut.

We used a black sharpie to draw faces and details and added some glitter glue accents as well.

Presenting... our unique unicorns. You go letter "U"! As you can see kids have an awesome way of interpreting instructions. I let my kids get jiggy with it in art class and do things their own way. I show them a sample, give them instructions, and then they get to interpret and create. I admire those gorgeous websites full of beautiful and perfect crafts, but when kids get involved the terms "beautiful" and "perfect" take on new meanings. Can you tell which one is mine?

My eldest actually turned his box into a unicorn lego game complete with a sandwich bag full of legos that can be put together to make a lego unicorn and a sandwich bag full of instructions. This kid has creativity spilling out his ears.

Happy unicorn making and see you back here for more fun.