Page 160 - Cupcakes

4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, at room temperature

3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons milk

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24
cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.

2. Prepare the cupcake batter: Place the cake mix, yogurt, water, oil, egg whites,
and food coloring in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low
speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl
with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes
more, scraping down the sides again if needed. Spoon or scoop ¼ cup batter into
each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. (You will get
between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place the pans in
the oven.

3. Bake the cupcakes until they are lightly golden and spring back when lightly
pressed with your finger, 17 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and
place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the
edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups
using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your

fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the Cotton Candy Buttercream: Measure out 2½ cups
cotton candy and set it aside for the frosting. Measure out 1 to 1½ cups of the
cotton candy and set it aside for the garnish. If any cotton candy is left, let the
kids eat it while the cupcakes are baking. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl
and blend with an electric mixer on low speed until creamy, 30 seconds. Add the

2½ cups cotton candy and blend on low until it is incorporated. The mixture will
be blue and grainy. Add the sugar and milk and blend on low until the frosting
comes together and is nearly smooth, 1 to 1½ minutes. It will still be a little
grainy. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat the frosting to
incorporate air so that it is fluffy, 30 seconds.