Campfire Cupcakes

Campfire cupcake on wire rack with marshmallow stick

Incredibly easy to make, these these adorable campfire cupcakes are perfect for summer parties or anyone th are sure to be a hit with anyone who loves camping or the outdoors.

Course Birthday Cakes & Cupcakes

Cuisine American

Keyword campfire cupcakes, cupcake recipe, summer cupcakes

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 240kcal

Author Lisa O'Driscoll

Equipment

Ingredients

1 box chocolate cake mix **see notes
1 1/4 cup water**
1/2 cup vegetable oil**
3 eggs**
1 cup unsalted butter softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
Gel food coloring - orange red
24 pretzel sticks
24 mini marshmallows

Instructions

Preparing the cupcakes

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Add cupcake liners to each cupcake pan and set aside.
In a large bowl, prepare the chocolate cake batter according to the package directions. Bake the cupcakes as instructed on the box, then allow them to cool completely to room temperature.
1 box chocolate cake mix, 1 1/4 cup water**, 1/2 cup vegetable oil**, 3 eggs**

Making the frosting

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until it’s light and creamy.
1 cup unsalted butter
Add powdered sugar to the butter.
4 cups powdered sugar
Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until they’re well combined. Add vanilla extract and milk, and then mix on medium speed until frosting comes together and is smooth.
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons milk
Divide buttercream frosting, putting half in one mixing bowl and half in another. Add several drops of orange food coloring to one of the bowls.
Gel food coloring - orange
Add several drops of red food coloring to the other bowl. Mix both colors of frosting until food coloring is combined and there are no streaks.

Creating the campfire

Add small dollops of frosting to the center of each cupcake.
Break the pretzel sticks in half to create 6 “wood” pieces that will sit under your frosting. Press the pretzels onto the dab of frosting to hold them in place.
24 pretzel sticks
To make the dual-colored icing, take two large sheets of plastic wrap and add 3-4 big spoonfuls of orange frosting to the wrap. Next, fold the edges over to make a tube of icing and twist the ends.
Repeat this for the red frosting and set aside. Snip off one end of the twisted plastic wrap for each color.
Add both colors side by side to a large piping bag prepared with your favorite frosting tip (I like to use the large star tip). The trimmed off end should be pointing down towards the frosting tip.
Squeeze the colors evenly and swirl the frosting onto the cupcakes using a circular motion. The dual colors will give your cupcakes the fire effect.
For the topping, take 24 pretzel sticks, trimmed about ¾, and push miniature marshmallows (we used one per pretzel) on the end of each.
Add the “toasting marshmallow” to the top of the cupcakes and enjoy!
24 mini marshmallows

Notes

If you're in a hurry, you can skip the baking all together. Just use store-bought chocolate muffins or unfrosted basic chocolate cupcakes, then frost and decorate according to the recipe directions.
You could do the same with the frosting. Just buy white frosting and use food coloring to create the fire effect.
For even more color, divide the icing three ways and add yellow to the third one. Use the yellow frosting alongside the other two colors to make your fire.

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