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Cotton Candy Cupcakes begin with a moist fluffy vanilla cotton candy cupcake, and are then topped with a creamy cotton candy buttercream frosting, festive cotton candy sprinkle sugar pieces and tiny little fluffs of cotton candy.  

These Cotton Candy Cupcakes were created for #SummerDessertWeek! I was sent some amazing samples by some of our sponsor companies to use if I wanted, but as always content and opinions are 100% honest and my own.

Cotton Candy Cupcakes! 

I am a cotton candy addict. I was the little girl that didn’t want funnel cakes, soft pretzels, candy apples or caramel corn. Nope, I wanted those soft fluffy pastel clouds of heaven. I would beg for the huge bags to take home whenever we saw them.

That love has carried over to my adulthood and I am just as enthralled with cotton candy as I was as a small girl.

I think my sweet grandson needs to enjoy my love of cotton candy flavored things so we are always making some treat. These cotton candy cupcakes are not only adorable but SO delicious! Super easy to make.

I chose to use Sweets & Treats Cotton Candy Chunky Sugar Crunch both in the recipe as well as on top. This is not necessary but it does add additional flavor.

We decided to try adding some tufts of cotton candy for garnish on each cupcake. Not necessary but sure is cute! If you can find cotton candy sold near you, you should definitely do this. However, tip: do not add cotton candy until you are ready to serve cupcakes. The moisture from the frosting will cause the cotton candy to melt over time.

It’s day 5 of our 2019 #SummerDessertWeek! Huge thanks to Angie over at Big Bear’s Wife for creating this event, securing our sponsors and putting a lot of hard work into the entire event.

If you’ve been following along, you know we have provided you with desserts galore! We aren’t done yet. We still have two more days left, after today. Which means you only have a couple of days left to enter the giveaway. (more about that down below)

A few answers to frequently asked questions:

Can I make this into a cotton candy cake? Yes. You will need to bake for about 40 minutes or so at 350 degrees F.

Can I make this recipe ahead of time? Yes. You can make the cupcakes and the frosting up to 24 hours ahead, store separately.

You will need to make the cupcakes and then allow them to cool completely. Store them in an airtight container until the next day.

Make up the frosting and store in an airtight container in the fridge. When ready to frost, let the frosting warm up to room temperature first. You may need to beat the frosting again with the mixer if it seems too hard/thick to frost.

Note: Unfrosted cupcakes can be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 2 months, then thaw overnight in the fridge.

Check out other Summer Desserts!

Check out the amazing #SummerDessertWeek recipes from our bloggers today!

Summer Drinks:

• Mermaid Pineapple RumDum from Big Bear’s Wife

Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts:

• Cotton Candy Cupcakes from Daily Dish Recipes
• Drumstick Layered Dessert from Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Mermaid Milkshakes from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Mojito Popsicles from The Spiffy Cookie
• Fried Ice Cream Cake from Cookaholic Wife
• Unicorn Milkshake from For The Love of Food

Sweet Summertime Cakes and Cupcakes:

• Mojito Cupcakes from Jen Around the World
• Pina Colada Cupcakes from The Beard and The Baker
• Lemonade Cupcakes from The Domestic Kitchen
• Summer Sangria Cake from A Blender Mom
• Lemon Meringue Cheesecake Cupcakes from Doughmesstic
• Sunflower Cupcakes from Home Sweet Homestead
• Easy Pina Colada Poke Cake from Love and Confections
• Classic Vanilla Cupcakes + Summer Cupcake Decorating from Books n’ Cooks
• Almond Cupcakes with Almond Buttercream Frosting from The Food Hunter’s Guide to Cuisine
• Peach Upside Down Cake from Home Sweet Homestead
• Jam Breakfast Cake with Streusel from Shockingly Delicious
• Summer Berry Cupcakes with Lemon Icing from Nancie’s Table

No Bake Treats:

• Million Dollar Bar Pies from Fake Ginger
• Blackberry Cream Cheese Dessert from Eat Move Make

Baked Desserts:

• S’mores Cheesecake from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Strawberry Cheesecake Shortbread Bars from The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Drumstick Babka from Sweet ReciPEAs
• Raspberry Lemon Brownies from Sweet Beginnings
• Peach Streusel Crumb Bars from Blogghetti

Candies:

• Homemade Strawberry Swirl Marshmallow from My Sweet Zepol
• Blueberry Lemonade Lollipops from Our Good Life

Are you ready to make up some Cotton Candy Cupcakes?

These cupcakes are our FAVORITE ones! We love them any time of day and I’ve been known to munch on one with coffee for breakfast. Moist, delicious, light cotton candy flavor, pretty pastel colors and topped with real cotton candy floss on top! You will ADORE them! 

Cotton Candy Cupcakes

Yield: 18-24 cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Cotton Candy Cupcakes begin with a moist fluffy vanilla cotton candy cupcake, and are then topped with a creamy cotton candy buttercream frosting, festive cotton candy sprinkle sugar pieces and tufts of real cotton candy floss.

Print

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

• 3/4 cup of unsalted and room temperature butter
• 1 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of cotton candy floss
• 1 teaspoon cotton candy flavoring
• 1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract, we used Adams Extract
• 5 large egg whites, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups of cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup Cotton Candy Sugar Crunch Sprinkles
• Wilton Pink Icing Color

For Cotton Candy Buttercream Frosting:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cotton candy flavoring
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• Wilton Pink Icing Color
• Wilton Sky Blue Icing Color
• Cotton Candy Sugar Crunch Sprinkles for decorating
• Tufts of Cotton Candy for decorating

Instructions

For the Cotton Candy Cupcakes:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 muffin tins with 18 paper liners; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the sugar, butter and cotton candy floss together. Add the egg whites, and both extracts and mix until combined.
3. In another bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on medium speed. Add the milk a little a time until mixed together. Add the food coloring until you get desired color. Mix in the Cotton Candy Sugar Crunch.
4. Divide the batter between the baking cups filling about 3/4 full.
5. Bake for approx. 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Cool completely before decorating

For the Cotton Candy Buttercream Frosting:

1. Cream together the butter, cotton candy flavoring and extract until smooth.
2. Add in the confectioners sugar about a cup at a time, alternating with the heavy cream until the frosting is light and fluffy.
3. Divide the frosting between two bowl. Add blue to one and pink to the other until you get the desired shades you want. Start with one drop and go from there, blending really well in between to ensure that's the final color result.
4. In a piping bag already fitted with desired tip, spoon some of one color of the frosting down one side of the piping bag. Spoon the other color down the other side of the bag. Yes, you will get some colors mixed here and there, and that's okay. It looks amazing.
5. Pipe your frosting onto your cooled cupcake and top with a sprinkling of Cotton Candy Sugar Crunch and a fluffy piece of cotton candy floss.

PRIZE #1

Dixie Crystals is giving away one (1)Keurig® K-Select® Coffee Maker

PRIZE #2

Prize #2 — Adam’s Extract is giving away – 1 Gift Pack – including Adams Poundcake Kit, Adams Best, Adams Lemon Extract, Adams Natural Food Color, and Adams Cinnamon Sugar

PRIZE #3

Prize #3 —Wilton is giving away a Wilton Gift Pack – including – Bake and Bring Geometric Print Non-Stick 13 x 9 -inch Oblong Pan, Bake and Bring Geometric Print Non-Stick 8-inch Square Cake Pan, Bake and Bring Geometric Print Non-Stick 8-inch Round Cake Pan, Peach Cobbler Candy Melts Candy, Blueberry Lemonade Candy Melts Candy, Orange Crème Candy Melts Candy, Key Lime Pie Decorating Icing Pouch with Tips, Orange Crème Decorating Icing Pouch with Tips, Pop Art Triangle and Solid Cupcake Liners, Geometric Print and Solid Green Cupcake Liners, Balloon Dog Icing Decorations, Assorted Brights and Pastels Sprinkles, Blue Sprinkles Tackle Box, Coral Sprinkles Tackle Box, DIY-Lish Mermaid Kit, DIY-Lish Candy Lollipop Kit and Disposable Decorating Bags with 1M Tips

PRIZE #4

Prize #4 — Sweets & Treats Boutique is giving away 1 (one) baking supply box including an assortment of sprinkles and cupcake liners as well as one of Love From The Oven’s recent cookbooks!

PRIZE #5

Prize #4 — Anolon is giving one (1) winner an Anolon Advanced Graphite 9″ Round Springform Pan & an Anolon Advanced Graphite 9″ Square Springform Pan

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway open to US Residents 18 years or older. All entries will be verified. No PO Boxes Please. Prizes will be sent directly from sponsors to winners, bloggers are not responsible for prizes. This giveaway runs from July 7th – July 14th at 12AMEST. Winners will be selected soon afterward and contacted by e-mail. Winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. There are a total of 5 (five) prizes and therefore we will have a total of 5 (five) winners. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.

Disclaimer: These posts and recipes are part of the week-long event, #SummerDessertWeek but all opinions are 100% mine! We would like to Thank our amazing sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Adam’s Extract, Wilton, Sweets and Treats Shop and Anolon ! These wonderful sponsors provided the prize packs for our giveaways and also sent samples and products to the #SummerDessertWeek bloggers to use in their recipes.

Nicole Cook

Nicole Cook is the owner/editor of Daily Dish Recipes, a lifestyle blog with an emphasis on food/cooking/cocktails and much more.
She calls the Midwest home – Missouri to be exact. Coffee is her go-to drink, music is her vice and she is endlessly tethered with devices to her online world. She loves all things planner, lives for her great big family and loves her pets endlessly!
Her motto in life: Live Simply, Dream Big, Be Grateful, Give Love, Laugh Lots. Always, always laugh lots.

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