While I was visiting family in Brooklyn this week, I woke up one morning and decided to bake some rainbow cereal cupcakes using some leftover Fruity Pebbles cereal sitting on my parents’ dining room table. The idea to combine cereal into a dessert came about after I visited Milk Bar for some ice cream and crunchy cereal topping with friends earlier in the week and ate a rainbow bagel from The Original Bagel Store after my older brother brought half a dozen over later during the week. Eating both of these items made me want to incorporate cereal into some sort of dessert. The easiest way to do so was in cupcakes. I already had a pretty good base cake recipe from my anniversary confetti cake. I altered the ratio for the dry ingredients just a bit for these cupcakes. I also folded in about ½ cup of Fruity Pebbles cereal and omitted the sprinkles. Since I started capturing my cooking adventures on my blog, my family has been asking me to make some of my recipes at home during the holidays. This was exactly what I did all week long while spending the holidays at my parents’ home. I used part of my vacation as an opportunity to test out some new recipes. You can read more about some of my test recipes on my New York travel post here. Out of all my test recipes this week, my family really enjoyed the rainbow cereal cupcakes. My parents loved the cupcakes on their own without the frosting or cereal topping. Kevin and Yu preferred the cupcakes with the frosting and topped with cereal. I really didn’t have a preference as I enjoyed the cupcakes both ways. Once baked, the cupcakes turned out tender and just slightly sweet. The frosting did sweeten up the cupcakes quite a bit. I am currently working on creating a lighter and less sweet frosting similar to the one served on cakes at Paris Baguette, which my parents absolutely love. In the meantime, I’m sharing my rainbow cereal cupcakes with basic lemon buttercream frosting below.
Rainbow Cereal Cupcakes:
· 1½ cups all-purpose flour
· 1½ teaspoons baking powder
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
· ¾ cup granulated sugar
· 2 large eggs, room temperature
· ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
· Zest of a small lemon
· ½ cup whole milk, room temperature
· ½ cup Fruity Pebbles cereal
For the frosting:
· ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
· ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
· Juice of a small lemon
· 1-2 cups confectioners’ sugar
To decorate the cupcakes:
· ½ cup Fruity Pebbles cereal (optional)
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2) In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. Set aside.
3) In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, combining all ingredients between each addition. Add vanilla extract and lemon zest. Stir to combine. Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk. Stir to combine. Add the remaining flour mixture and milk. Stir all ingredients until you have a smooth batter. Gently fold in Fruity Pebbles cereal. Be careful not to mix too much.
4) Pour the batter into the lined muffin tin. Bake cupcakes for 22-25 minutes. Test doneness of cupcakes by inserting a knife into the center of a cupcake and checking to see if the knife comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool before frosting, about an hour.
5) To make the frosting, mix butter, vanilla extract, and lemon juice in a bowl. Mix in confectioners’ sugar ½ cup at a time. Keep adding until desired consistency is formed. Press the Fruity Pebbles cereal using your hand or from a plate onto the frosting of the cupcakes.
Takeaways: The cupcakes taste best when consumed immediately. The cereal topping tends to soften overtime and may become very soft if left out for too long. The next time I make these cupcakes, I may toast and crisp up the cereal topping ahead of time before topping the cupcakes with the cereal.