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Make these fun summer watermelon cupcakes! Bright green cupcakes with buttercream frosting that tastes like watermelon! Add mini chocolate chips for the watermelon seeds! Serve these cupcakes at a one in a melon themed party!
I just made these today, and…..WOW! So easy to make and so yummy! The watermelon kool-aid powder made it so delicious! Will definitely make this again. My whole family loved them!
-Carrie
Kool aid has just revolutionized my buttercream frosting!
You can take any flavor of powdered kool aid and add it to buttercream and voila – now you have buttercream frosting that tastes like watermelon, mango, pink lemonade, kiwi-lime! The flavors seem endless!
Plus it’s such a fun way to jazz up cupcakes for a birthday party. These Watermelon Cupcakes would be so fun to serve at a summer birthday party or a “one in a melon” themed party!
How To Make Moist Vanilla Cupcakes
Our recipe calls for a lot of moist ingredients. We use egg whites instead of whole eggs, sour cream and milk. Using egg whites only gives the batter a nice white look. The sour cream and milk are where the fat, flavor, and moistness come into play.
Watermelon Cupcake Ingredients
- unsalted butter: makes the cake tender and helps with leavening
- granulated sugar: adds sweetness and flavor
- egg whites: binds the cake together by providing structure
- sour cream: adds moisture and creaminess
- milk: adds moisture
- vanilla extract: adds flavor
- all purpose flour: flour is necessary to build structure
- baking powder: helps to leaven and lift the batter, reacts with the sour cream
- salt: just a pinch to balance the sweetness and enhances the other flavors of the cake
- leaf green gel food coloring: important for getting that vibrant green color
How to Make Watermelon Cupcakes
- In a mixing bowl combine the butter and sugar, beat using an electric mixer, 1-2 minutes until fluffy.
- Add in the egg whites, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat lightly with the electric mixer.
- In a separate mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients a few spoonfuls at a time. Mix until just incorporated. Add in a small amount of Wilton’s “leaf green” gel food coloring until you get your desired green color.
- Fill the muffin liners 1/2-3/4 full. Bake for 17-19 minutes at 350º F or until a few moist crumbs remain on a toothpick when inserted into the center. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before adding the frosting.
Watermelon Frosting Ingredients
- unsalted butter
- powdered sugar
- watermelon kool aid powder mix
- red gel food coloring
- mini chocolate chips
How to Make Watermelon Frosting
The watermelon kool aid actually doesn’t add much color to the buttercream (adds a lot of flavor though!) so you’ll need some red food coloring to help create a watermelon pink color.
I used the no taste red gel food coloring from Wilton, adding a little at a time, but it actually takes a lot to even just get the buttercream this color. I have not tried using pink food coloring so I don’t know if it would create the same color.
Don’t forget to add the mini chocolate chips! They complete the look of these Watermelon Cupcakes!
Total Time Required
- 10 minutes to prep the batter
- 15 minutes to bake the cupcakes
- 1 hour, at least, to cool the cupcakes
- 15 minutes to make the frosting and frost the cupcakes
Recommended Piping Supplies
Piping bags – I love these bulk piping bags
Piping tips – Larger piping tips are better for frosting cupcakes. My go-to tips are the Wilton 1M, 2D, 12 and 199.
How to Pipe Frosting onto Cupcakes
I used a wilton 2D piping tip to pipe the frosting on these cupcakes. A wilton 1M and an Ateco 844 are both very similar to the 2D.
Start in the center of the cupcake, applying pressure to the frosting bag, going in a swirling motion until you reach the edge of the cupcake then lift the tip up and tip more frosting onto that base layer you just made, stacking the frosting and continuing in a swirling motion until you reach the center of the cupcake.
How to Freeze Unfrosted Cupcakes
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely. Wrap each cupcake in plastic wrap, then place inside a freezer ziplock bag or freezer storage container.
To thaw: place the bag or container of cupcakes on the counter overnight. Frost once fully thawed.
How to Make Gluten Free Cupcakes
This recipe turned out great using gluten free flour! We love King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour. Follow the directions as stated, but substitute gluten free flour for all purpose flour.
Tips
- Properly measure the all purpose flour using the spoon and sweep method.
- Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until they are combined. Over mixing could lead to dry, dense cake.
- We got our super bright green cupcake liners at Party City – they really seem to match the Watermelon Cupcakes perfectly!
- Store these cupcakes covered on the counter.
If you’re looking for more summer recipes try rainbow popsicles, cherry dump cake, and 3 ingredient fruit dip!
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Watermelon Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature, 1 stick
- ¾ cup (149g) granulated sugar
- 2 large egg whites
- ½ cup (114g) sour cream
- ¼ cup (59ml) milk, I used skim
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup (150g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- leaf green food coloring by wilton, or similar light green food coloring
Watermelon Frosting
- 1 ½ cups (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature, 3 sticks
- 3-4 cups (339-454g) powdered sugar
- ½ tsp powdered watermelon kool aid mix
- small amount of red gel food coloring, to give the buttercream a pinkish color
- mini chocolate chips
Instructions
CUPCAKES
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners.
- In a mixing bowl combine the butter and sugar, beat using an electric mixer, 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Add in the egg whites, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat lightly with the electric mixer. In a separate mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients a few spoonfuls at a time. Mix until just incorporated. Add in a small amount of Wilton’s “leaf green” gel food coloring until you get your desired green color. Fill the muffin liners 1/2-3/4 full.1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature, 3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar, 2 large egg whites, ½ cup (114g) sour cream, 1/4 cup (59ml) milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 ¼ cup (150g) all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, leaf green food coloring by wilton
- Bake for 17-19 minutes at 350º F or until a few moist crumbs remain on a toothpick when inserted into the center. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before adding the frosting.
Watermelon Frosting
- In a mixing bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes.1 1/2 cups (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- Add in 2 cups of powdered sugar and the watermelon kool aid powder, beat together.3-4 cups (339-454g) powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp powdered watermelon kool aid mix
- Add in more powdered sugar as you see fit, up to 2 more cups,
- A small amount of red food coloring (to give the frosting a pinkish color), mixing one last time with an electric mixer until it’s smooth and combined.small amount of red gel food coloring
How to assemble
- Place the buttercream in a large piping bag fit with a 1m wilton piping tip. Push the buttercream down into the bag. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes, starting in the center of the cupcake, swirling out, and then swirling back into the center, progressively stacking the frosting as you get to the center.
- Add mini chocolate chips on top of the buttercream.mini chocolate chips
Can I use the liquid sugar free watermelon flavoring from kool aid. I found it on Amazon. The grocery stores in my city do not carry look aid packets
I used the Kool aid liquid watermelon flavour as I had gone to several stores looking for the powder. I’m from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the powder is nearly impossible to find.
Watermelon kool aid powder doesn’t exist
Hi Sara! It does exist! It may be harder to find because not all stores carry it consistently.
I looked high and low for watermelon KoolAid. Finally found it on Amazon. Had to get a dozen packets but I got it!!
I made 4 dozen of these and they were adorable however the kids hated👎 the watermelon frosting koolaid flavoring and almost all ended in the trash. Leaving them with vanilla flavoring would have been a hit!!! They were 10 year old girls.
Gonna make these but not use flavoring.
Just need appearance on watermellon.
Question on cake part. To keep the cupcake super moist, would it be a good idea to use part butter and part oil? If so, what ratio? Thank you!
I made these for a school project and look amazing we could not find watermelon kool aid so we used watermelon crush and it is a great alternative.
I just made these today, and…..WOW! So easy to make and so yummy! I’m usually not a big icing fan, but the watermelon kool-aid powder made it so delicious! Will definitely make this again. My whole family loved them.
I just made these today, and…..WOW! So easy to make and so yummy! I’m usually not a big icing fan, but the watermelon kool-aid powder made it so delicious! Will definitely make this again. My whole family loved them.
The cupcakes were super moist. My batch only ended up making 8 vs 12. I was able to find the kool-aid powder at Walmart. I halved the icing recipe since I only had 8 and it worked out fine. Great recipe!
Can this recipe be used as a cake?
Yes! It will fit in a 9×13 inch pan.