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Celebrate Grilling Season with Grill Cupcakes!

These Grill Cupcakes are a whimsical dessert to help you celebrate a summer barbecue party!

These Grill Cupcakes are a whimsical dessert to help you celebrate a summer barbecue party!

I can’t think of a more cute cupcake design for the summer – no wonder these little guys are such a big hit. Perfect for summer parties and BBQs, they are sure to stun party goers with their whimsy.

For other great summer cupcake ideas check out my Butterfly Cupcakes, Firecracker Cupcakes, and Lemon Beehive Cupcakes.

These Grill Cupcakes are a whimsical dessert to help you celebrate a summer barbecue party!

Grill Cupcakes

Cupcakes Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Frosting Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
4 tbsp whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
red gel food colouring
orange gel food colouring
red and orange cupcake sprinkles
Gummy Bear candy
Box of toothpicks

Royal Icing Ingredients:

4 egg whites
4 C powder sugar, sifted
1 tsp lemon extract
Black gel food colouring

Cupcake Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.

Mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

In another large bowl, stir together eggs, milk, oil and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients bowl and stir together.

Beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add boiling water and continue to beat. The mixture will be a little runny.

Fill the cupcake liners with the batter about ¾ way full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully transfer cupcakes to a wire baking rack to continue cool.

Frosting Recipe:

Beat the softened butter on its own until smooth, then add vanilla extract.

Add powder sugar with heavy cream  into the creamed butter until it becomes a smooth and thick texture.

If the frosting is too thick, then add more heavy cream, if  the frosting is too thin, add more powder sugar.

Take a spoonful of the frosting and hold the spoon upside down. If the frosting drops off the spoon add more powdered sugar, however if the frosting doesn’t fall off the spoon then it is ready.

Put 1/2 of the  frosting into a separate bowl… put several drops of orange gel food colouring  in that  bowl and  stir well to blend the colour.

In the second bowl add the half of the frosting… add several drops of red gel food colouring… Stir well to mix the colour.

Scoop the orange frosting into a pastry bag with a frosting tip. Scoop the red frosting into the same pastry bag.

Twist the open end of the pastry bag to push the orange/red frosting to the tip.  Using the filled pastry bag work the frosting in a circle on the top of each cupcake until they are fully frosted.

Royal Icing Recipe:

Beat egg whites in  a large bowl with mixer at high speed until foamy.

Gradually add sugar and lemon extract and beat until thickened.

Add black gel food colouring and stir to blend well.

Directions:

-Tape wax paper covering a cookie sheet .
-Using a small pastry bag filled with the black royal icing and a #2 tip.
-Using royal icing outline a BBQ grill.
-Go over the outline of the grill with the black royal icing to reinforce the icing grill.
-Allow to dry for 5-10 hours. -Cut the wax paper holding the completed BBQ grill into squares surrounding the image.
-Ensure the grills are dry, gently touch one of the images.
-If the images are dry peel them off the wax paper and place on the frosted cupcake.

Shish Kabobs:

-We used gummy bear candy, cut off the body side of the candy leaving  a plain square of a gummy candy.
-Cut those pieces in half.
-Slide each small square piece of gummy candy onto a toothpick. If the toothpick is too big for the royal icing grill, cut off the ends.
-Place the kabobs on the grill.

These Grill Cupcakes are a whimsical dessert to help you celebrate a summer barbecue party!

Grill Cupcakes

Grill Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes Ingredients

  • 1 ¾ cups flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup cocoa
  • 1 ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

Frosting Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 tbsp whipping cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • red gel food colouring
  • orange gel food colouring
  • red and orange cupcake sprinkles
  • Gummy Bear candy
  • Box of toothpicks

Royal Icing Ingredients

  • 4 egg whites
  • 4 C powder sugar
  • 1 tsp Lemon Extract
  • Add 1/4 C powder sugar until stiff peaks form
  • Black gel food colouring

Instructions

Cupcake Recipe

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  3. In another large bowl, stir together eggs, milk, oil and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients bowl and stir together.
  4. Beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly add boiling water and continue to beat. The mixture will be a little runny.
  5. Fill the cupcake liners with the batter about ¾ way full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
  6. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully transfer cupcakes to a wire baking rack to continue cool.

Frosting Recipe

  1. -Beat the softened butter on its own until smooth.
  2. -Add vanilla extract.
  3. -Add powder sugar with heavy cream into the creamed butter until it becomes a smooth and thick texture.
  4. -If the frosting is too thick, add more heavy cream, if the frosting is too thin, add more powder sugar.
  5. -Take a spoonful of the frosting and hold the spoon upside down.... if the frosting drops off the spoon add more powdered sugar .... if the frosting doesn't fall off the spoon then it is ready.
  6. -Put 1/2 of the frosting into a separate bowl... put several drops of orange gel food colouring in that bowl and stir well to blend the colour.
  7. -In the second bowl add the half of the frosting... add several drops of red gel food colouring... Stir well to mix the colour.
  8. -Scoop the orange frosting into a pastry bag with a frosting tip. Scoop the red frosting into the same pastry bag.
  9. -Twist the open end of the pastry bag to push the orange/red frosting to the tip. Using the filled pastry bag work the frosting in a circle on the top of each cupcake until they are fully frosted.

Royal Icing Recipe

  1. -Beat egg whites in a large bowl with mixer at high speed until foamy.
  2. -Gradually add sugar and lemon extract and beat until thickened.
  3. -Add black gel food colouring... stir to blend well.

Directions

  1. -Tape wax paper covering a cookie sheet .
  2. -Using a small pastry bag filled with the black royal icing and a #2 tip.
  3. -Using royal icing outline a BBQ grill.
  4. -Go over the outline of the grill with the black royal icing to reinforce the icing grill.
  5. -Allow to dry for 5-10 hours. -Cut the wax paper holding the completed BBQ grill into squares surrounding the image.
  6. -Ensure the grills are dry, gently touch one of the images.
  7. -If the images are dry peel them off the wax paper and place on the frosted cupcake.

Shish Kabobs

  1. -We used gummy bear candy, cut off the body side of the candy leaving a plain square of a gummy candy.
  2. -Cut those pieces in half.
  3. -Slide each small square piece of gummy candy onto a toothpick. If the toothpick is too big for the royal icing grill, cut off the ends.
  4. -Place the kabobs on the grill.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size:

1 grams

Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

Did you make this recipe?

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These Grill Cupcakes are a whimsical dessert to help you celebrate a summer barbecue party!

Recipe and Photos by Chef Amber of Hot Springs, Arizona for FrugalMomEh.com

Sharon

Friday 16th of February 2024

Sorry but fancy looking unhealthy food has overtaken the internet. Makes me sad.

Elizabeth Lampman

Monday 19th of February 2024

They are cupcakes Sharon, not salad. They aren't supposed to be healthy. They are for special occasions, not for everyday meals.

Katie

Friday 9th of June 2017

These are adorable! I am definitely going to try this recipe out soon! Where did you get those cupcake liners?

LesliM

Friday 2nd of June 2017

Great idea! I was thinking, if you placed some jumbo chocolate chips on it point side down, it would look like burgers!

Brenda J Thacker

Monday 29th of May 2017

This is a very cute idea. I went with chocolate for the grill though. So much easier.

Brandi

Saturday 17th of September 2016

These are adorable! It appears that there are sprinkles or something on top of the frosting, but underneath the grills.. Am I correct? Just wanted to make sure these look as close to yours as possible.... Great creativity! :)

Elizabeth

Saturday 17th of September 2016

Yes, round cupcake sprinkles. They are in the ingredient list but left out of the directions for some reason. oops!

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