Green Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
These easy green cupcakes are a festive treat for St. Patrick’s Day plus delicious! Green cupcakes get topped with cream cheese frosting and filled with gold sprinkles for a fun St. Patrick’s Day surprise!
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Calories: 269kcal
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ cup butter softened
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs (lightly beaten)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- green gel food coloring
- gold sprinkles optional
Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
- ½ cup unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line cupcake pans with baking cups. Spray baking cups.
- In the base of a stand mixer, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.2 cups flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp cocoa powder
- Add softened butter and mix on low until the ingredients resemble wet sand.3/4 cup butter
- In a small bowl, mix buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.1 cup buttermilk, 2 large eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until there are no lumps, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Remove from stand mixer and fold in food coloring until the desired color is reached. Take care not to over-mix the batter.green gel food coloring
- Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups until roughly 1/2 way full. More than half full will result in overflowing cupcakes.
- Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 15-17 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes in the muffin tin then remove and let cool completely on the wire rack.
- For filled cupcakes, use a piping bag tip or a spoon to remove a small section of cake from the center of each cupcake, fill with sprinkles and then place the removed section back over the hole.gold sprinkles
Frosting
- Beat butter on medium high speed for about 5 minutes or until it is light and fluffy.1/2 cup unsalted butter
- Add cream cheese and beat until smooth.8 ounces cream cheese
- Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until it is all added and frosting is smooth and creamy.4 cups powdered sugar
- Use a piping bag to frost the cupcakes, garnish with sprinkles, then serve!
Notes
Store cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator (because of the cream cheese frosting) for up to five days. Before eating, take out of the refrigerator and let them warm up a bit before eating any leftovers.
Freeze unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight freezer safe container for up to three months When you’re ready to eat one, remove it from the freezer and let it come to room temperature. Frost, decorate, and enjoy!
Serve these on plates and encourage people to eat them above a plate so that when they do bite into the cupcake and get the surprise inside, you don’t end up with sprinkles everywhere.
Add rainbow sprinkles to the gold sprinkles for an even more colorful burst of magic when you eat these!
Don't add the sprinkles or frost the cupcakes until these are cooled completely. Sprinkles can just melt into warm cupcakes if added while they're still hot.
Nutrition
Calories: 269kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 236mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 284IU | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg