This post is sponsored by The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel. All opinions shared here are my own.
Bring the beach to your kitchen any day with these DIY cupcakes! These sweet treats are as fun as the beach itself and will transport you to the sunny shores of Fort Myers and Sanibel. This week kicks off the beachside bites theme for Beach Ready Spirit Week so join me in creating these yummy cupcakes!
These cupcakes were inspired by my favorite thing to do at the beach, which is looking for seashells. There’s always such a variety and each one is so unique, just like these cupcakes. Using crushed graham crackers as the sand, blue frosting as the vibrant sea, bubbly little sprinkles and colorful fondant seashells these cupcakes will give you all the beachy feels!
Let’s dive in! Here are a few things you will need:
1 Batch of cupcakes
1 Batch of frosting
Blue food coloring
Crushed graham crackers
Round white sprinkles in various sizes
Blue and white chocolate pearls
Fondant, candy or chocolate shells
Icing spatula
Feel free to use boxed cake mix and pre-made frosting to make this project easy breezy but if you want to give it a try from scratch, I share the recipes for both vanilla cupcakes and frosting at the bottom of this post.
Follow these few easy steps to make these beach-themed cupcakes:
1. Bake up a batch of vanilla cupcakes.
2. While the cupcakes are cooling, make a batch of frosting.
3. Add a few drops of blue food coloring to half the frosting.
4. Spread white frosting on half of the cupcake.
5. Spread blue frosting on the remaining half.
6. Cover the white frosting with crushed graham crackers.
7. Place a mix of small and large white sprinkles on the cupcake.
8. Nestle some shells, sand dollars or starfish in the sand.
9. Finish off with some large white and blue chocolate pearls.
Use colored fondant and a silicon mold to make your own shells or substitute with shell-shaped candy or chocolates for a similar look.
How easy was that? Go ahead and bake up some beach vibes with these fun cupcakes! Make sure to share photos of your Beachside Bite using #BeachReadySpiritWeek. When you’re ready, the sandy beaches and blue waters of Fort Myers and Sanibel will be waiting for you!
Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes 24 Cupcakes
Prep time: 20 mins
Bake time: 18 mins
Ingredients:
½ Cup Unsalted Butter, softened (1 stick)
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 ½ Cups Sugar
3 Large Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoon Salt
1 ½ Cups Whole Milk
Procedure:
1. Bring all ingredients to room temperature and preheat oven to 350 °F. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Combine butter, sugar and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for a few minutes on medium-high speed with the paddle attachment until light in color and fluffy.
4. On medium speed, add in the eggs one at a time. Then, mix in the vanilla extract. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. On low speed, add half of the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Then slowly pour in all of the milk. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
6. Once again, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on high speed for 3 seconds to make sure everything is fully incorporated.
7. Pour batter evenly into the lined muffin pans.
8. Bake for approximately 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes come out clean.
Buttercream Frosting
Prep time: 10 mins
Ingredients:
2 Cups Unsalted Butter, softened (4 sticks)
8 Cups Powdered Sugar (2 lbs.)
3 Tablespoons Whole Milk
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
Procedure:
1. Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Place the butter in the bowl of a mixer and beat on low speed until it is smooth.
2. Slowly add in the powdered sugar.
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in the milk, vanilla extract and salt.
4. Mix on medium speed until everything is smooth, fluffy and fully incorporated.