Has Pokémon GO fever hit your house? Both of my kids have started playing the new, augmented reality mobile game and are completely obsessed with capturing wild Pokémon, gathering supplies at Pokéstops and battling at nearby gyms.
It’s no surprise that JR loves Pokémon GO: he’s been a Pokémon fan for years. But Zuzu? Five minutes ago, she had nothing but contempt for Poké-anything. But earlier today she told me she was going outside to hunt Pokémon with her friends in 90-degree heat. Well, whatever gets her away from Netflix!
In fact, people everywhere are embracing Pokémon GO because it gets kids off the couch and out exploring their environment. It’s social too as kids inevitably bump into each other at Pokémon GO hotspots like Pokéstops and gyms. My town’s library is a Pokéstop, which is bringing kids who normally wouldn’t be caught dead in the library through the doors – even if just to cool off.
Because Pokémon GO is all the rage at my house, I thought it was time to resurrect this recipe for DIY Pokéball Cupcakes. Even if cake decorating is not your forte, you can surprise the Pokémon GO fan in your life with these delicious cupcakes that look exactly a Pokéball. My step-by-step instructions make it super-easy!
To make the Pokéball design, put half of the icing into a piping bag and pipe white icing onto half of each cupcake. Dye the remaining icing red using gel food coloring and fill a second piping bag with red icing. Frost the second half of each cupcake with red.
Then place a mini marshmallow in the center of each cupcake. Using a black decorating pen, preferably one that will harden OR melted chocolate, draw a black line down the center of each cupcake and around the mini marshmallow. Boom! Pokéballs! Easy enough for a cake decorating amateur and I guarantee a very happy Pokémon GO fan.
This cupcake and frosting combination is delicious and versatile, so whether or not you are interested in creating Pokéball cupcakes, you will want to file away this recipe. A dash of warm spices like ginger and cardamom add interest to an otherwise basic cupcake and the cream-based frosting is easy to make and hardens to a nice, matte finish.
Obviously, you can use these base recipes to create any kind of design you wish. But Pokémon GO is the even hotter than the summer weather!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 ounces (1 stick plus two TB) unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 extra-large eggs (or 2 large eggs plus one egg yolk) at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1¼ cup whole milk
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 bag mini marshmallows
- Black cookie decorating pen
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and line two cupcake pans with paper liners.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cardamom and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the sides down after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and combine.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients and scraping down the sides as necessary.
- Stir just until combined.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared pans, filling each cavity about half to two-thirds full, about two heaping tablespoons per cupcake.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, sift the powdered sugar and ginger together in a bowl. Whisk in the heavy cream until smooth.
- Put half of the icing into a piping bag and pipe white icing onto half of each cupcake. Dye the remaining icing red using gel food coloring and fill a second piping bag with red icing. Frost the second half of each cupcake with red.
- Place a mini marshmallow in the center of each cupcake. Using a black decorating pen, preferably one that will harden, draw a black line down the center of each cupcake and around the mini marshmallow.
- Allow icing to harden before serving.
