Calling all cotton candy lovers! The fluffy stuff is now in a moist & tender cupcake! These Cotton Candy Cupcakes taste just like the real deal and are a cinch to make.
Since I was a young little girl, I have always been obsessed with cotton candy and bubblegum flavored anything.
As a tween and teen, I’d beg my grandma to allow me and my best friend, Katrina, to walk up to the local yogurt shop with $5 so we could each get a sky-high snowcone with bubblegum and cotton candy syrup drenching every last ice crystal. We would slurp up the extra syrup until our teeth and tongues were blue and walk home giggling at our gross teeth.
And anytime I went to the California State Fair, I’d always have to get a gigantic bag of cotton candy. Who doesn’t love the stuff? It’s pure sugar! Perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth and a penchant for hand-spun desserts.
A couple months ago, I was visiting Utah for a work-related thing and my friend took me to this shop called Orson Gygi. It’s basically a food and baking warehouse with everything. You can buy cake stands, party supplies, and 20lb bags of chocolate chips under one roof. It was basically my version of heaven, and I had only 20 minutes to shop before we were due at a dinner.
I raced down the chocolate and candy-making aisle first and instantly spied some Cotton Candy Flavoring. This stuff isn’t like your average vanilla extract – it is four times more potent than a traditional extract and is used for really powerfully flavored candies and things. But since extracts can get drowned out in a big batch of cupcake batter, I knew it’d be perfect for these Cotton Candy Cupcakes!
You guys – these cupcakes are serious business. They are INSANELY SWEET, so don’t come back and tell me how sweet they were, ya hear? It’s a cupcake recipe inspired by a dessert that literally has no other ingredient other than pure sugar. What did you expect?
The cupcake itself is so moist and fluffy with a tender crumb and a beautiful swirl of baby blue and baby pink batters. Topped off with a cotton candy buttercream, sanding sugar, and a little cotton candy stick, it’s perfect for baby showers, summer sleepovers, or even a carnival-themed soiree!
Here’s to blue teeth and cotton candy summers!
The Best Cotton Candy Cupcakes
Ingredients
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 1 box white cake mix
- 4 egg whites
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tbsp cotton candy flavoring
- Pink and blue food coloring
- FOR THE FROSTING & TOPPING:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 - 1½ teaspoons cotton candy flavoring
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream or milk
- 3-4 cups confectioners' sugar
- Blue and pink sanding sugar
- Blue and pink cotton candy
- Popsicle sticks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 muffin tins with 18 paper liners; set aside. Meanwhile, prepare your cake batter: combine the cake mix, egg whites, oil, water, and cotton candy flavoring with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Divide the batter evenly among two bowls and tint each bowl with your desired shade of blue and pink (I only did one drop of coloring per bowl for a more pastel look).
- Evenly distribute the colors among each muffin cup, filling about 3/4 full. Don't swirl the batters, just layer them. Swirling the batters together may muddy the colors.
- Bake for approx. 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Cool completely.
- For the frosting, cream the butter, cotton candy flavoring and vanilla extract together in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually add in the confectioners' sugar, about one cup at a time, alternating with little streams of the heavy cream until the frosting is light and fluffy. Divide the frosting evenly among two bowls and tint each bowl with blue and pink until your desired shade has been achieved. (Again, I did one drop of each color).
- Using a pastry bag fixed with your desired tip, spoon some of the blue frosting down one side of the pastry bag. Spoon some of the pink frosting down the other side of the bag. It's okay if the frosting colors mix toward the tip portion of the bag; it'll just turn purple 🙂
- Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and top with a sprinkling of blue and pink sanding sugar. To make the cotton candy sticks, rip off a small piece of cotton candy and attach it to the wet end of a popsicle stick (just stick the popsicle stick tip in a little water). Serve immediately with the cotton candy sticks, but keep in mind- cotton candy, once exposed to air, hardens quickly. It's best to make the cotton candy sticks immediately before serving.
Fluffy, flavorful, true-blue (and pink!) Cotton Candy Cupcakes! Everyone of every age will flip for these fun summery cupcakes!
Have a super sweet weekend!
xo, Hayley
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Katherine says
Wow! These look amazing. Love the colors! 🙂
cakespy says
UNICORN APPROVED
Diana says
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Where do you get cotton candy flavoring at?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Diana, I found it at a local baking supply store, but it’s available on Amazon! I believe I linked to it in the post 🙂
Glenda Phillips says
You can also find it at any Michaels
Melissa says
I saw on another cotton candy recipe that if you put the pink icing in one tube, blue icing in another tube, and put them both inside a bigger tube with a tip that the colors won’t mix and turn purple! I also cannot find cotton candy flavoring and I don’t have time to order it online. Going to get Bubble Gum flavoring at Hobby Lobby. I hope it works!
ilana Tzur says
Hi Where i can get the cotton candy flavour?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Ilana! You can find it online – within the post I have a link that will take you to the flavor!
Hallie says
I make these all the time now. They are one of my go-to cupcake recipes. I use Bickford flavors for my cotton candy flavoring. https://www.bickfordflavors.com/products/cotton-candy-flavor
Nicole says
Could I use this same recipe for a cake?
thedomesticrebel says
Sure can! Just increase the baking time depending on the size of your pan.
Nikita says
Hello! These look beautiful!!! To fill the liners properly, I know you say 3/4 full. However, would you say you put about two tablespoons each per layer. I fear overfilling the liners way too much?? Thank you! These are next on my list to try!
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Nikita, everyone’s muffin tins are different so if you can only squeeze in a couple Tablespoons, that’s fine! I would err on the side of caution, too, and fill 2/3 – 3/4ths full, even if it means the cupcakes don’t get equal colored layers if that makes sense!
Nikita says
Thank you!
Elsie says
I made these for my daughter’s class cour her birthday and they were a HIT! THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH for this recipe!
Elsie says
I made these for my daughter’s class for her birthday and they were a HIT! THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH for this recipe!
cupcake girl says
so cute using them for a cupcake challage at school love frosting and cake o m g !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shaely says
I love this recipe!!! They turned out amazing and tasted delicious!! The frosting and cupcakes were perfect and not too sweet😋Thank you
thedomesticrebel says
Thanks so much, Shaely!
Briana says
These cupcakes were perfect! I made them for my nieces 1st birthday cupcake smash and she loved the icing. Everyone raved about them and they were just so pretty! What a fun recipe and idea! Thank you!
thedomesticrebel says
Briana, so glad you and your niece enjoyed them! Love the idea of making these into a smash cake!
mimi says
have you tried to make funnel cakes with this recipe?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Mimi, I’m not sure how you would make funnel cakes with this recipe.
Cassie M Zalewski says
Can you also use the same recipe for a chocolate cupcake? Thank you.
thedomesticrebel says
You mean make cotton candy chocolate cupcakes? I don’t know that it would taste cotton candy-ish. I think the chocolate would overpower it.