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Grinch Inspired Swirl Cupcakes

I have a confession, now that I think about that I seem to spill a lot of confessions here on the blog. Which must mean I have lots of issues?! Nah! But seriously. I really like really really love the Grinch. I can’t even explain it but every single year I have a desire to make another Grinch dessert. Something about him is simply irresistible, even all the whos down in Whoville caved into the his Grinch-ness eventually. Maybe it’s the fact that Jim Carey completely nailed his roll in the Grinch movie. Maybe it’s that green fuzzy fur? Which competes pretty freaking close with The Elf in my Christmas loving heart. So naturally this year I had to make a Grinch Cupcakes. 

Grinch cupcakes with green cotton candy

 

These cupcakes were one of those AH! AH! AH! concepts. It started off with me falling in love with these Cotton Candy Swirl Cupcakes I made months ago. I wanted to recreate them, i just didn’t know how right away. Then while I was browsing one of our local markets I ran into some green cotton candy. I immediately said, Grinch Fur…Grinch Cupcakes! Ding Ding! I brought home a few containers and then kinda forgot about them, it was Halloween time after all. Then one day a whole lot closer to Christmas while working on a project for Sweets & Treats it occurred to me that we really needed a Grinch Sprinkle Mix! A few minutes later and I had created one of my favorite sprinkles mixes ever for them. Which brought me back to my green cotton candy, and my Grinch cupcakes – which I now had the PERFECT sprinkles for! YA!

Two toned buttercream swirl, green cotton candy, the cutest Grinch sprinkles. I was all set!

Want to make Grinch Cupcakes of your own?

SUPPLIES

TOOLS

    • piping bag
    • Wilton tip 2A
    • 2 large pieces of plastic wrap

BAKE CUPCAKES + MAKE  BUTTERCREAM

Step 1: Bake your cupcakes, any cupcake will do. I used my favorite white cupcake and then used these green greaseproof cupcake liners.

Step 2: Make your frosting. You can use any frosting that holds a little shape. I like to use my standard buttercream for the swirls, however, I substitute the shortening for more butter because I do not need these to crust. Separate buttercream into two smaller bowls and dye one light green and one dark green. I used AmeriColor Electric Green for the light green and then I mixed Electric Green + Sky Blue to make the darker green.

DECORATE BUTTERCREAM SWIRL CUCAKES

Step 3: The key to making the beautiful swirl effect is getting it into the piping bag properly. Lay out the large sheets of plastic wrap. With a small spatula or spoon, spoon a “line” of frosting down down plastic sheets splitting the color between the two sheets. Next spoon a line of the next color of frosting right next to the first. You will end with a long line of two colors of frosting right  next to each other on both plastic sheets. Gently close the plastic sheet around the frosting, pressing out any extra air and smoothing it out a bit. Twist up both ends and tie one in in a know leaving the other twisted. The reason you made two of these is because one would be far too much to put in the piping bag.

Step 4: Trim the end of your piping bag and place the tip snug inside. Trim the unties end of your first pouch of frosting and stick that right down inside the bag. Close the open end of the piping bag by twisting and securing. You will need to squeeze out a bit of frosting to get things going but then you should be ready to frost.

Step 5: Start the swirl in the center. Apply a gentle but even amount of pressure as you let the frosting lay onto the top of the cupcake starting in the center then working your way around to the outside. Half way through you will need to pull out you empty plastic frosting pouch and insert your second one. Add sprinkles while the frosting is fresh. Add cotton candy just before serving!

DECORATOR’S TIP: For a really clean look wash your 2A tip in-between switching frosting pouches.

Heads up! To keep those legal gurus of the world happy, I need to inform you that some of the links in this post are affiliate links. In short – I may earn a small commission from the use of said link with no cost to you! But don’t worry I only link to stuff I use, love, and know you will too!

Image of Toni Miller in front of a sprinkle shelf.

COOKIE DESIGNER

 I’m Toni, the baker, the blogger,  and cookie cutter maker  behind The Sprinkle Factory and I hope you find a sprinkle of inspiration here at The Factory.

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