King Cake Cupcakes

Celebrate Mardi Gras with these festive King Cake Cupcakes! These colorful treats are a fun twist on the classic King Cake, complete with cream cheese frosting and traditional Mardi Gras colors. Don't forget the plastic baby figurine for good luck!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• Purple, green, and yellow food coloring
• 1/4 cup colored sugar sprinkles purple, green, yellow
• 1 small plastic baby figurine optional
• Cream cheese frosting
• Colored sanding sugar purple, green, yellow

Instructions:

Warm up the oven to 350F 175C and put cupcake liners in a muffin tin

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl

Put away

Melt the butter and mix it with the sugar in another bowl until the mixture is light and fluffy

One at a time, add the eggs and beat well after each one

Add the vanilla extract and mix well

Mix the dry ingredients from step 2 with the wet ingredients from step 3, adding the milk and sour cream in turns

Mix the dry ingredients in at the beginning and end, until they are just combined

Separate the cupcake batter into three equal parts

One piece should be purple, one should be green, and one should be yellow

Put the colored batters in the cupcake liners in this order: purple first, then green, and finally yellow

About two thirds of the way to the top of each liner

If you want to, you can gently press a small plastic baby figurine into one of the cupcakes

Just make sure your guests know about it! Place the cupcakes in an oven that has already been heated

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean

Let the cupcakes cool all the way down before you frost them

To make the cupcakes look like Mardi Gras, frost them with cream cheese frosting and then sprinkle them with purple, green, and yellow sanding sugar

Lemon Pomegranate Cupcakes

These Lemon Pomegranate Cupcakes are a delightful combination of zesty lemon flavor and the sweet, juicy burst of pomegranate seeds. They make for a perfect treat any time of the year!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• Zest of 2 lemons
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup pomegranate arils seeds

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350F 175C and line a cupcake pan with paper liners

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt

Set aside

In another bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice

Gradually mix in the dry ingredients and buttermilk in alternating additions, starting and ending with the dry ingredients

Gently fold in the pomegranate arils

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners, filling each about 2/3 full

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean

Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely

Once cooled, you can frost and decorate them as desired

Enjoy!