Skittles Cupcakes with Citrus Buttercream Frosting

 

I whipped up these cupcakes as part of a gift exchange for someone who loves Skittles. Of course, getting a giant bag of Skittles wasn't creative enough in my mind, and since I've been on a cupcake kick recently Skittles cupcakes were naturally my first thought.

To avoid making these tooth-achingly sweet, I created a simple buttercream frosting and added half a teaspoon of orange extract to incorporate the candy flavor without causing a sugar overload. The citrus buttercream was spot-on and I will absolutely use it again! The crushed Skittles candies in the batter turned out to be an excellent addition, giving these cupcakes a great candy flavor with the appearance of pretty homemade Funfetti. If you're a candy lover, this recipe is a must-try.

Skittles Cupcakes

Makes: 12 cupcakes  Prep: 30 minutes  Total: 1 hour

Ingredients

3/4 cups butter

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

3/4 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

1/2 cup Skittles, crushed

1/2 cup butter

3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp orange extract

Directions

Cupcakes:

Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl and mix for several minutes until light and fluffy. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. In a third small bowl, combine the milk and vanilla. Set aside.

Add eggs into the sugar mixture one at a time until fully incorporated. Add the dry and wet ingredients into the same mixture, with the dry bowl in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, mixing the whole time.

Measure out 1/2 cup whole skittles and pour into a small sandwich bag. Seal the bag and pound the candy with a meat mallet until broken into small pieces. (If some candies do not break this way, take them out and cut them in half with a large kitchen knife.) Pour candy pieces into the batter and mix well.

Pour the batter into a greased cupcake tin and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Remove and cool.

Citrus Buttercream Frosting:

Beat the butter in a medium bowl until creamy. Add the powdered sugar and milk in 2 additions each, starting with the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla and orange extract and blend until smooth. Top each cupcake immediately before serving. Garnish with additional Skittles candies.