Semi-homemade cupcakes

Most of the time I make everything from scratch. With food allergies, it's kind of a necessity. Sometimes, as a busy mom, I pick up a box of Betty Crocker cake mix for 99 cents and whip up a quick buttercream and call it a day!

For Thanksgiving, I had planned to make some gorgeous chocolate cupcakes adorned with little turkeys with candy corn feathers, Skipper (nut-free m&m style candy) faces and even an upside heart-shaped Cakemate candy for that hangy red thing the turkeys have. Then, life happened. All 4 of the kids came down with something ranging from a simple cold to pink eye to near hospitalization for asthma exacerbation. So instead, we went semi-homemade!

This Thanksgiving, in addition to being peanut, tree nut and sesame-free... we are also dairy-free. The baby has terrible eczema and some other signs that point toward a possible milk protein allergy so we're trying dairy-free for 3-4 weeks to see if it helps. Of course this happens to be during the month where we make tons of dairy-laden goodies! Some changes were definitely necessary.

I played around with some dairy-free buttercreams using shortening and Earth Balance butter; however, I couldn't find one that had the texture and taste that I desired. At the last minute, I decided to go with these cupcakes & a partially doctored canned frosting (yes, I'm admitting it)! Here goes....

Cupcakes

For the cupcakes, I followed the Divvies Chocolate Cupcake Recipe which can be found here: Divvies Cupcakes. I chose this recipe because in addition to being free of our allergens (peanut, tree nut and sesame), it's also free of dairy and egg! This recipe makes 1 dozen cupcakes.


Frosting

For the frosting, I went with a can of Pillsbury funfetti chocolate frosting. Scoop the frosting into your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Add 1-2 cups of powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract. Whisk on high for at least 5 minutes until the frosting becomes lighter in color and fluffy. This makes enough to frost 1 dozen cupcakes and to squeeze a bit of frosting into the mouths of your hungry begging children.

Topping

For the topping, I used Coastal Bay Candy Corn (4) and Pumpkins (4) in addition to the funfetti sprinkles that came with the frosting.

To fancy it up, I used a jumbo french tip. I love how these came out! Professional-looking with half the work!