Candy Corn Cupcakes

Halloween is almost upon us – which means its almost November, holy cow! This holiday has definitely snuck up on me probably because in Florida it is still warm enough to wear shorts. Even though most Halloween parties were this past weekend, you may still have festivities or your child may be having a party at school tomorrow. If so, I have the perfect last-minute cupcake recipe that is super cute and really easy to make.

 Ingredients:

 Yields 12 cupcakes 

•   1 teaspoon Stevia
•   1/2 cup Kelapo Coconut Oil
•   2 egg whites
•   2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•   1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
•   1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
•   1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  

  Inside of Candy Corn Cupcakes

•   Yellow and red food coloring
•   Candy corn; approximately 24 pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper liners or spray with Kelapo Coconut Oil cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together Stevia and coconut oil. Beat in egg whites, one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to mixture and mix well. Stir in almond milk until the batter is smooth.
3. Pour cake mix into 2 additional bowls, 3 bowls total, with each bowl having approximately an equal amount of cake mix.
4. In one bowl add yellow food coloring to get a nice yellow color. In the second bowl mix together yellow and red food coloring to form the color orange. Mix food coloring into each bowl so that the whole mixture is coated in desired color.
5. In your original bowl, do not add food coloring. This will be the white of the candy corn.
6. Starting with the yellow-colored cake mix, pour equal parts into all 12 cupcake tins. Do the same with the orange-colored cake mix and ending with the white cake mix.
7. Place cupcakes in oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Cupcakes will be finished when you can insert a toothpick into the middle and it comes out clean.
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
9. Ice the tops of your cupcakes with a white colored icing and top with a couple of candy corn pieces.

You have now baked cupcakes that look like candy corn pieces! This is a fun baking project to do with kids who are age-appropriate becuase it is a good learning experiment with colors. I chose to use Stevia instead of white sugar because it is just as sweet  but reduces your calories. I also made these cupcakes with coconut oil instead of butter. Although coconut oil and butter have the same caloric count, I prefer to bake with coconut oil because it keeps cakes moist and flavorful without being overpowering. Feel free to make this for your child’s classroom or even make them for yourself for a sweet treat! For more Halloween recipes try our Maple Bacon Popcorn, White Chocolate Candy Corn Bark or Halloween Puppy Chow! Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

-Lani