These cyclops cupcakes are perfect for Halloween or for a kid's birthday party if your child likes one-eyed monsters. I used grapefruit leather for the mouth, but you can use other colored fruit leather as well.
Preparation Time
30 mins
Cooking Time
10 mins
Total Time
40 mins
Calories
425 Calories
Recipe Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line cups with paper liners.
Step 2
Sift cocoa powder into a large bowl and add 5 tablespoons boiling water. Stir into a thick paste, adding more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed. Add 3/4 cup butter and 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until batter is smooth.
Step 3
Mix flour and baking powder in a bowl and stir into the batter until well combined. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 to the top using an ice cream scoop.
Step 4
Bake in the preheated oven until tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool in muffin tin for a few minutes; transfer to wire rack and cool completely, about 1 hour.
Step 5
Beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter together in a bowl until creamy. Mix in vanilla extract. Stir in 1 cup confectioners' sugar gradually until frosting is smooth. Mix in green food coloring.
Step 6
Frost each cupcake with a thin layer of green frosting and refrigerate for 30 minutes to make decorating easier. Frost with a second thin layer of green frosting.
Step 7
Draw a small dot with the black decorating gel on each candy-coated milk chocolate piece for the pupil. Cut marshmallows into 4 slices with a sharp knife and stick 1 blue pupil in the center of each marshmallow piece.
Step 8
Cut fruit leather into crescent shapes or semi-circles for the mouths using small sharp scissors.
Step 9
Mix 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar with lemon juice in a bowl to make icing. Glue silver dragees onto the fruit leather mouths using a toothpick dipped in icing.
Step 10
Assemble cyclops by placing a mouth and one marshmallow eye onto each cupcake. Stick 2 sunflower seeds on top of the cupcake for the horns.
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
¾ cup white sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
¾ cup unsalted butter
3 drops green food coloring
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened and cubed
