Mardi Gras Cupcakes – Mini Version

While I have never been to the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, I do enjoy making special treats for my family. Since Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, coincides with Taste of Home Tuesday I went looking for an appropriate recipe. I found Mardi Gras cupcakes.

Mardi Gras is the celebration of Carnival which begins on Epiphany or Three Kings Day (January 6) and ends the day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras translates to Fat Tuesday but the day is also known as Shrove Tuesday in some parts of the world, such as England. The color scheme of purple, green and gold was chosen in 1892 with purple for justice, green for faith and gold for power.

Since we are trying to pare back our sweets, I decided to make mini-cupcakes and take them to the office at school. Of course a few remained at home for after school treats.

As I mentioned this recipe is from Taste of Home. I made a few changes to my version. The original recipe calls for 3 flavors of gelatin, lemon, lime and grape, which are also the colors of Mardi Gras. Although grape is not a flavor my family likes, I just didn’t feel the combination was appealing. The idea is to not only flavor the cupcakes but to color them. You could achieve this with food coloring. The original recipe also makes 24 regular sized cupcakes.

Surprise your family with these cupcakes as an after-school treat or dessert. If you’re looking for more Mardi Gras treats check out Easy Mini King Cake Bites or Mardi Gras Monkey Bread.

Mardi Gras Cupcakes - Mini Version

Yield: 90 mini cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes

Festive Mardi Gras Cupcakes in a mini version for the office, a class party or other celebration.

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Ingredients

• 1 package white cake mix (regular size)
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• ⅔ cup canola oil
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 can (16 ounces) cream cheese frosting
• Purple, green and yellow decorator sprinkles

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, sour cream, oil, sugar and eggs; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Fill paper-lined muffin cups with about a tablespoon of batter.
2. Bake at 350° for 10 - 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting. Decorate with colored sugars.

Notes

You can make 24 regular cupcakes. Just bake for about 18 - 20 minutes.

Adapted from www.tasteofhome.com

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