Sew Cute Confetti Cupcakes

Growing up the daughter of a seamstress, I spent many days digging through my mom's buttons to use for all sorts of craft projects with my sister. We would sneak into her sewing room and rummage through her button drawers to pick out the prettiest ones we could find to add to our collections. As I was deciding how to decorate my confetti cupcakes I thought back to those days of button collections and arts and crafts. Just as it was the perfect finish to my childhood crafts, a bright button perched atop a swirl of buttercream frosting is a 'sew cute' way to finish these colorful cupcakes.

Making homeade Confetti Cupcakes is almost as easy as reaching for the Funfetti box in cabinet, except it's loads tastier! Simply choose your favorite Vanilla Cake Recipe and fold in rainbow ice cream sprinkles before baking. For this batch I used my grandma's favorite white cake recipe but I also enjoy this simple and delicious White Cake Recipe recipe from the foodnetwork.

 

After following the directions to mix up your vanilla cake recipe. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Gently fold in 1/2 to 1cup (I used about 3/4cup) of Rainbow Sprinkles with a spatula until incorporated.

With a small ice cream scoop (I used a 1 oz scoop), fill your cupcake papers 2/3-3/4 full. Resist over filling your cupcakes as the batter will rise substantially in the oven and you don't want them to spill over.

Bake according to your recipe's directions until golden brown.

Once cupcakes are completely cool, frost with vanilla frosting. I used a Swiss Buttercream recipe. This Vanilla Buttercream recipe is also a quick and delicious frosting to whip up.  Fill a pastry bag with your frosting fit with a medium round tip (or cut a whole in the corner of a plastic bag) and spiral the frosting on top of each cupcake.

Making the buttons is a fun and easy process! These buttons are made from a sugar dough called vanilla fondant. You can buy fondant at your local craft or cake store. Knead the sough until smooth and color small amounts of the dough with gel food coloring and keep wrapped in plastic wrap. When ready to use, remove from the plastic and roll into a small ball. Place on a smooth surface coated with a thin layer of cornstarch or powdered sugar.

With a small rolling pin, roll out the fondant until it's about 1/8" thick.

Using a pastry tip, punch out circular pieces from the dough (the size of the tip will determine the size of your button).

I used fondant modeling tools to add the details to my buttons. If you don't own any, be creative with the tools around your house. You can use a a pairing knife, fork, the end of a pen or pencil. Just make sure you clean the tools before and after using them with the fondant. First make a round indent in the center of each 'button'.

Make the design of your choice around the edge of each button. With the tip of a knife or toothpick make the 2 or 4 button holes in the center section of each.  Set aside to dry.

Make as many buttons as you want to top your cupcakes. Make a few extra to scatter on the table or platter where you showcase your cupcakes.

Get creative when making your buttons. The look of the buttons can be changed dramatically depending on the design you imprint and colors you use.

These cupcakes are a simple and fun additon to a baby shower or themed birthday party...or simply an adorable and special treat to make for your family and friends.  Make these cupcakes for your next party and prepare for everyone to tell you how sewwwww cute they are!