Blue Velvet Smurf Cupcakes

To go along with my previous post Smurf Cake Pops and my obsession with the new Smurfs 2 movie that is coming out this summer, I had to make these Smurf Cupcakes when I saw them on Pinterest!!  I love that all of my favourite toys of the 80’s are in circulation today.  Whenever my Kindergarten students show up with My Little Ponies, I get to have a happy flashback to my childhood filled with them!  Oooh, or Strawberry Shortcake…or Rainbow Brite, or…..Cabbage Patch Kids.  You get the idea.

We have been getting requests for Blue Velvet cake for a while on our YouTube channel, so I figured these cupcakes would be perfect with blue velvet bases, topped with the blue and white buttercreams!  **Spoiler Alert** Blue Velvet is the same as Red Velvet, but with BLUE gel paste!!  Shocking, I know.

How to Make Blue Velvet Smurf Cupcakes
Ingredients:
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2  ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons blue gel paste food color
• 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• white and blue buttercream (buttercream video: http://youtu.be/rjqOTM5icOE)
• candy eyes

Procedure:

The first step is to make the Blue Velvet cupcakes.

Combine flour, salt, and cocoa powder in a small bowl.  Set aside for later.  In a stand mixer, combine the oil, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and gel paste.  Mix until combined.  Add half of your flour mixture into the oil mixture, stirring on low.  Add half of the buttermilk.  Repeat until all the flour and milk is gone and mixture is combined completely.  With mixer on low speed, in a small separate bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar, and quickly add to batter, allowing the mixer to mix for about 10 more seconds.  This will make the batter light and fluffy.   Using a cookie scoop, fill cupcake liners 2/3 full, and bake at 350F for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool to room temperature.

Prepare buttercreams (white and blue).  Using an round open tip, pipe a blue swirl onto the top of the cupcake.  Then, using a round open tip, slowly build up the white buttercream to a point, shaping it like the Smurf hat.  Add a nose with the blue buttercream by squeezing a small dot onto the blue base of icing.  Add the candy eyes. 

Happy Baking!