Piñata cupcakes recipe

Piñata cupcakes

These buttery vanilla cupcakes look simple from the outside, but hide a fun and colourful filling, piñata-style. Creamy white chocolate buttercream covers bright sprinkles inside - perfect for making with the kids or serving at a birthday party.

See method
  • Makes 12
  • 25 mins to prepare and 25 mins to cook
  • 543 calories / serving

Ingredients

  • 175g unsalted butter
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs
  • 175g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 50ml milk
  • multi-coloured star sprinkles
  • silver crisp pearl sprinkles
  • pink and purple hundreds and thousands

For the buttercream

  • 225g unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 375g icing sugar
  • 25g white chocolate, melted

Ready to shop?

Shop ingredients

Each serving contains

Energy
2275kJ 543.0kcal
27%
Fat
30g
high43%
Saturates
17g
high86%
Salt
0.2g
low4%
Sugars
54g
high60%

of the Reference intake

Carbohydrate 68.5gProtein 3.6gFibre 0.6g

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, then beat in the eggs, one by one, each with a spoonful of flour, until smooth. Fold in the remaining flour, then stir in the milk until just combined. Divide between the cases.
  2. Bake for 20-25 mins, until risen and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
  3. To make the buttercream, beat the butter in a bowl until pale and creamy, then add the vanilla. Add the icing sugar in 3 stages, beating between each addition, until fully combined. Stir in the melted white chocolate.
  4. Leaving the bases intact, use a teaspoon to remove a little of the sponge from the middle of each cake. Mix the sprinkles together, then spoon about 1 tsp into each hole.
  5. Spoon the icing into a piping bag with a round (1cm) nozzle and pipe a swirl onto each cupcake. Decorate with more of the sprinkle mixture. The iced cupcakes will last for 3 days in a sealed container.
      • As part of a healthy balanced diet, we recommend this recipe for a special occasion or treat.

      You may also like