Piñata Muffins with Smarties

These piñata muffins with smarties are eye-catchers for any celebration! The perfect children's birthday cupcakes filled with treats!

Hello everyone! When there's something to celebrate, it's absolutely ok to be a little more colorful - and that's why these birthday cupcakes are colorful from inside to outside and top to bottom.

These are so-called piñata cupcakes with a filling of treats - inspired by a Latin American custom.

Taste and Occasion

The term piñata actually refers to papier-mâché figures hung up for children's birthdays and filled with sweets and gifts. For some time now, however, there have also been cakes floating around the web.

If there's a whole family pack of Smarties in one of those cakes, I think it's a bit over the top (and the entire thing doesn't look that nice cut up unless you're a food stylist). But in the form of tiny piñata cupcakes (muffins with smarties in the dough or sugar decoration, sprinkles and Co) this is exceptionally quite pretty 😉 .

Ingredients

For me, such piñata cupcakes are the perfect cupcakes for children's birthdays. You can design the "inside" however you like - besides Smarties, also M&Ms, sugar sprinkles, chocolate drops, mini marshmallows and the like are suitable. Kids love it! To get the filling into the pinata cupcakes, I got all creative 😉 and used our apple corer. Works great. Alternatively, a sharp knife is suitable, with which you cut out a kind of mini cone.

The frosting of the birthday cupcakes with surprise can be simple whipped cream, but also a cream cheese topping or buttercream. In this post, you will find the most popular cupcake frostings, from which you can choose one. I think the cream should contain as little sugar as possible because the cupcakes themselves are already so sweet. Have fun recreating and especially decorating!

How to make the Piñata Muffins with Smarties

Let's get started with these birthday muffins: Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.

Now, beat the softened butter with the sugar until fluffy, add the eggs one by one and mix well. In the end, briefly stir in the flour mixed with baking powder and salt.

Then, place paper or silicone cups in the muffin tray and fill the cups no more than two-thirds full with the dough. Bake your birthday muffins for about 25 minutes. After that, allow the muffins to cool.

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Now, it's time for the funny part: Cut out a cone or hole using an apple corer or sharp knife and fill it with a bit of mini treat like smarties. Decorate the cupcakes with whipped cream or frosting and decorate with treats. It's easy, isn't it?

Top Tip

I have the dough additionally colored with a few freeze-dried fruits. A little blueberry for purple, strawberry for pink and spinach plus banana for green. The effect is, of course, less intense with such all-natural colors than with standard food dyes.

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Piñata Muffins with Smarties

Colorful cupcakes with a filling of treats - the hit for every (children's) birthday! Whipped cream is suitable as a topping, but so are other frostings.

Baking Time25 mins

Servings: 12 muffins

Calories: 362kcal

Ingredients

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For the dough

• 200 grams (1 cup) butter, soft
• 170 grams (¾ cup) sugar
• 4 eggs, medium
• 260 grams (2 cups) wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 pinch salt

For filling and topping

• Mini Smarties, sugar balls etc for filling and decoration
• 300 milliliters (1 ⅓ cups) cream
• 2 packets vanilla sugar

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Beat the softened butter with the sugar until fluffy, add the eggs one by one and mix well. In the end, briefly stir in the flour mixed with baking powder and salt.
• Place paper or silicone cups in the muffin tray. Fill the cups no more than two-thirds full with dough. Bake muffins for about 25 minutes.
• Allow muffins to cool. Using an apple corer or sharp knife, cut out a cone or hole and fill it with a bit of mini treat. Decorate cupcakes with whipped cream or frosting and decorate with treats.

Notes

• To make sure you succeed with these cupcakes, read through my basic recipe. Here are answers to common questions like: Why do cupcakes fall apart?

 You want to replace ingredients? Here you find tips for baking ingredient substitutions!

Variations

Are you looking for more ideas for your next kid's birthday party? I'm sure I have something for you. How about my black forest cake, the no-bake oreo cheesecake or my delicious cherry sheet cake with crumbles?

Nutrition