These adorable jelly bean flower cupcakes are made in just a few minutes with either a homemade vanilla cupcake or a box mix plus some colorful jelly beans!
Add the softened butter and mix just until incorporated. Butter pieces should be pea-sized.
3/4 cup unsalted butter
Pour batter into prepared muffin tins and bake for 16-18 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before decorating.
Vanilla Buttercream and decoration
While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the buttercream by beating the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, then add the vanilla and mix.
1/2 cup salted butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, mixing after each addition, until all powdered sugar is well mixed in.
1 lbs powdered sugar
Add 1 tablespoon of milk and beat well. If needed, add a little more milk until buttercream is a good consistency for spreading or piping
1-2 TBS whole milk
Pipe or spread buttercream on the cooled cupcakes, then add two jellybeans to the center of the cupcake. Using different colored jelly beans than the center, make a circle around the center jelly beans then repeat with a larger circle around that one until the top of the cupcake is covered.
2 lbs jelly beans
Notes
Lightly pat the bottom of the cupcake pan on the counter before putting it in the preheated oven to help the cupcakes bake more evenly.Sort your jelly beans by color to figure out your cupcake designs before you just start putting them on the flowers. You want to make sure you have enough of the colors before you go at it.Make a pull-a-part flower cupcake bouquet by placing a bunch of these completed flower cupcakes in a circle on the top of a baking sheet. Then frost some of your cupcakes with just regular green frosting and shape them as the bouquet stem for a really pretty flower cake!Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. Freeze unfrosted cupcakes in a freezer safe bag or container for up to six months. Thaw and frost before serving.