Our son just finished his first season of baseball and he had so much fun! He's ten years old, so he's a little late to the game compared to a lot of his friends, but better late than never. He loves it so much! I made these cute Baseball Cupcakes for the boys at their last game the other day. Although they didn't win one game (bless their little hearts), they still had a blast and I'm pretty sure they loved these cupcakes. They disappeared VERY quickly. And they deserved a fun treat after all of their hard work.
I used a funfetti cake mix for the cupcakes and my homemade buttercream for the frosting. You could even use a gluten free funfetti mix if you prefer gluten free. I know Pillsbury carries one now.
Before I get to the step-by-step instructions, let me share the obligatory baseball photo of our son, Luke, in action. Isn't he cute!
Now for the step-by-step instructions on how to make Baseball Cupcakes:
I like using a cake mix when I'm in a hurry. It's just so quick and easy. Simply mix up the batter according to package instructions. I love using an ice cream scoop to measure equal amounts of batter into each muffin cup.
Bake cupcakes in a 350°F. oven for 23-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool.
I'm crazy about this homemade buttercream recipe. It's so easy and just has a few ingredients: butter, powdered sugar, cream and vanilla. It's so worth it to make your frosting from scratch. Especially if you're saving time by using a cake mix.
Reserve about 1 cup of frosting to color red. Then use the rest to frost the cupcakes. I used an offset spatula to apply the frosting.
Smooth frosting into a dome shape, so it looks a little bit like a baseball.
Use red food coloring paste (food coloring paste such as Wilton brand is more concentrated than regular food coloring and availabe in the cake decorating section of your department store) to color the reserved frosting. If you can't find the paste, you can use regular food coloring. Scoop red frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a #3 pastry tip. Pipe the baseball thread pattern onto cupcakes.
I think it's nice to refrigerate the cupcakes for a couple of hours, if you have time. That way the design is set and the frosting doesn't get smudged so easily.
They came out so cute and they really weren't hard to make. If you've never used a pastry bag, I would recommend taking a Wilton Cake Decorating class at your local craft store. I did that years ago and I've had so much fun with decorating cakes ever since.
If you don't want to mess with the pastry bag, you could buy a tube of red frosting to make it easier.
And having the colorful funfetti cake to bite into is always a fun surprise. The homemade buttercream is so creamy and good too!
I'm a little bit sad that baseball season is over. I wasn't sure if I liked it at first though because it can be a little slow. Not as quickly paced as basketball which is what we're used to (our son has played basketball for 4 years and our daughter for 2 years). Anyway, I finally warmed up to the game and now I understand why people love it so much. It's so exciting when the action starts happening and your boys are sliding into home base and you ALMOST won the game! Sigh... We were so close a few times. I guess we will just have to wait until the Fall season for that winning game they worked so hard for. Luke can't wait! And now I can say, this mom loves baseball! 🙂
p.s. A BIG thank you to all the coaches for their dedication and hard work. And it was great getting to know the awesome parents too!
Baseball Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 box funfetti cake mix prepared according to package instructions (I used Pillsbury which is also available in gluten free)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature 2 sticks
- 4 cups powdered sugar if you buy it in the plastic bag, you don't have to sift it
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Red food coloring paste such as Wilton brand or you can use a tube of store bought red frosting.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Use 20 cupcake liners and place in muffin pans. Set aside.
- Prepare cake mix according to package instructions. Divide batter equally into the 20 cupcake liners. Bake for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool completely.
Buttercream frosting
- Beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Reserve one cup of frosting and color it red. Use remaining white frosting to frost the cupcakes. Create a dome shape with the frosting and smooth with an offset spatula. Scoop red frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a #3 pastry tip. (Or you can use a tube of store bought red frosting, preferably with a small round tip.) Pipe baseball thread design onto cupcakes. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours, if you have time, so the icing can set.
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