Candy Corn Cupcake Cake
This easy pull apart cupcake cake looks like a giant piece of candy corn. Start with a white cake mix, bake cupcakes, then pipe yellow, orange and white buttercream swirls in rows on a triangle of cupcakes arranged on a cake board. The result is a fun, easy Halloween dessert that is perfect for parties and simple to serve.
Equipment
- 1 cake board a large, rectangular one works best
- 3 Piping bags or 1 reusable one
- 1 Star piping tip I like the Wilton 1M tip
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 1 box white cake mix
- water, oil and eggs in the amounts listed on the cake mix box
- Cupcake liners
For the buttercream frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 ½ to 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 Tbsp milk or heavy cream
- Orange food coloring
- Yellow food coloring
Instructions
Bake the cupcakes
- Preheat your oven according to your cake mix box directions. Line your cupcake pan with paper liners.
- Prepare the white cake mix as instructed on the box.
- Fill each cupcake liner about two thirds full.
- Bake according to the time given for cupcakes on the box; usually 15 to 20 minutes.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before adding frosting.
- You will need enough cupcakes to form a triangle or pyramid that looks like a piece of candy corn. Usually, one box mix gives me 18 cupcakes, so I used 15 for my candy corn cake.
Make the frosting
- Candy corn has three layers; yellow at the base, orange in the center and white on top. Try to mirror that with the frosting, but if you’re unsure, err on the side of making more yellow or white, because you can always make either of those orange. However, if you have too much orange, you can’t make that yellow or white.
- Beat the softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk with a hand mixer or stand mixer until a smooth, fluffy frosting forms. Add more powdered sugar or milk as needed to reach a thick, spreadable consistency.
- Divide the frosting into three bowls, but in uneven amounts.- Large portion: orange-Medium portion: yellow-Smallest portion: white (I only had 1 white cupcake in mine)
- Leave the smallest bowl white and set aside.
- Add a few drops of yellow food coloring to the medium bowl. Mix until evenly colored.
- Add orange food coloring to the largest bowl and mix until you have a vibrant candy corn orange.
Arrange the cupcakes in a candy corn shape
- Arrange the cupcakes in a triangle or pyramid shape that mimics a piece of candy corn.
- Add a tiny dab of frosting to the bottom of each cupcake liner; this helps them stick to the board.
- Re-stick the cupcakes to the board in their candy corn formation. You can chill the cake board with the cupcakes in the fridge for a few minutes to make sure everything sets.
Pipe the yellow base
- Fit your piping bag with the large star tip.
- Fill the bag with the yellow buttercream.
- Starting at the bottom row of cupcakes, pipe a generous swirl on top of each cupcake in that row.
- If you have a taller triangle and want more yellow, you can frost the bottom two rows in yellow.
Pipe the orange center
- Rinse the piping tip or switch to a clean one; then fill a new piping bag (or wash out a reusable one and fill that) with orange buttercream.
- Pipe swirls of orange on the middle rows of cupcakes; this will be your largest section.
Pipe the white tip
- Add the white buttercream to a clean piping bag fitted with the same star tip.
- Pipe swirls on the very top cupcake or top row of cupcakes. If you want more white, you can also frost the row just below the top.
- At this point your Candy Corn Cupcake Cake is ready to serve. You can keep it at room temperature for the day, or loosely cover and chill if you are making it ahead. I like to chill for a bit so that the frosting sets.