Fruity Cereal Funfetti Cupcakes

It's been a long couple of weeks. After a 5 day drive half way across the country, we moved in, our kids started school and I'm still trying to get into the habits of a stay at home mom. I have to say it's pretty freeing to be able to say I can go pick up a carton of milk at any given time. Sounds strange, but in NYC that just wasn't an option for a working mom. Working an 8 hour day with a 1 1/2 hour one way commute. There was no time for anything. So this is freeing. I'm sure there will be moments of why did I do this? But for right now, being able to take my kids to school and my daughter out on a lunch date whenever I want has been amazing. So while we were out picking up groceries on a Tuesday afternoon, my daughter made the request for funfetti cake. So my foodie brain goes off in a... I can make that! So off went on a bit of a tangent and came up with these Fruity Cereal Funfetti Cupcakes!

There's is nothing better than the milk at the bottom of your cereal bowl. It's straight up sugary goodness. This cupcake is a lot lighter and fluffier than most cupcakes I've tried. It doesn't have the density of a store bought cupcake, so the sprinkle coloring does run, but it creates a cute tie dye effect. 

The cereal milk is created by steeping whole milk with the fruity cereal. I do this for at least one our for the flavor to come out. Also take note that the cereal does absorb some of the milk, so always side of making more than less as the 2 cups of milk in this recipe will yield about  1 1/2 cups of cereal milk in the end. 

I also added crushed cereal to the batter and the frosting to create a more homogenized flavor. Add more and less to taste. I always want more, but the taste buds in my household tend to like more subtle flavors! The crushed cereal in this frosting reminds me a bit of the Milk and Cream ice cream shop back in NYC. They create a Mc Flurry style sundae using fresh soft serve and the cereal of your choice. We couldn't believe how good it was! Sweet, creamy, and all the nostalgia you can handle in one cup! I wanted to try to replicate that idea in this frosting. The crushed cereal seems to be the key. This way the cereal flavor becomes a part of the frosting and not just siting on top of it. 

If you make it, they will come.... for this cute, fun and nostalgic cupcake. Let me know what you think and follow me on instagram for more recipes, stories and my eating out adventures!

Fruity Cereal Funfetti Cupcakes

Yields 18 Cupcakes

Ingredients

For the Cereal Milk

• 2 Cups Whole Milk
• 1/2 Cups Fruity Cereal

For the Cupcakes

(Dry Ingredients)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles
• 1/2 cup Fruity Cereal, crushed

(Wet Ingredients)

• 1 cup Cereal Milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup water

For the Frosting

• 1/2 Cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup fruity cereal, crushed
• 4 cups Powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cereal milk
• 1/2 cup fruity cereal for topping, optional

Method

1. Pour milk into cereal and steep in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Set aside. Pour the mixture through a strainer and push the milk through. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F
3. Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt an electric mixer low speed until combined.
4. In a large measuring cup, combine 1 cup of cereal milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
5. Slowly Pour the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on low till they're combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. 
6. Gently fold in the rainbow sprinkles.
7. Slowly pour in the water. Don't worry, this batter is very thin!
8. Pour the batter into lined cupcakes tins a little more than half way full  (I like pouring the batter into a large measuring cup to help make this step easier)
9. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
10. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then place on a wire rack.
11. While the cupcakes are cooling make the frosting by beating the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add in the cereal and powdered sugar. Beat until well combined and fluffy.
12. Mix in the vanilla extract and cereal milk.
13. Spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe away! Top with more cereal for a bit of a crunch!