Watermelon Cupcakes

Watermelon Cupcakes are the cutest summer treat, bursting with juicy flavor and crowned with a tall swirl of watermelon buttercream. They’re garnished with black sesame “watermelon seeds” – an easy and creative way to finish the look!

Here’s something fun! I made these watermelon cupcakes because I wanted a playful summer dessert that kids would love – but after tasting them, I think adults will love them too. The base is one of my favorite spongy white cupcake recipes, which perfectly showcases any food coloring you add to the batter. The sweet watermelon buttercream tastes like watermelon candy, thanks to some super-strength watermelon flavoring.

I’d seen a few versions of these watermelon cupcakes on Pinterest, but really wanted to try them myself – and also put my own stamp on the idea! Most were made with a box of white cake mix and Watermelon Jell-O, along with mini chocolate chips for watermelon seeds (really cute!). But I decided to go the scratch-made route, with a swirl of pink buttercream and a sprinkle of black sesame seeds for that seed-y watermelon slice look.

Gather Your Supplies

There are a few special items you’ll need to make these cupcakes, some of which you may already have on hand. The most important of these is the watermelon flavoring oil.

• Super-Strength Watermelon Flavoring Oil – This product is sold by , a company that produces high quality flavorings and candy oils. This can be , but check your local craft store’s baking aisle. They often stock LorAnn oils with the candy-making supplies. You’ll need 1 dram bottle for this recipe (1 teaspoon total).
• Green Cupcake Liners: These just help drive the watermelon rind effect home. You can find the ones I used , or check your local grocery store. There are often packs of multicolor cupcake liners sold alongside the cake mixes and frosting tubs.
• Food Color: I use and recommend Chefmaster Liquia-Gel Food Colors. These are fade-resistant and produce bright hues with just a little food color. I stock big bottles, but you can find smaller bottles for purchase online. is a good deal and has both neon pink and neon green that I used in this recipe. The super red color can be purchased separately . Or, you can use a combination of pink and red food colors that you have on hand.
• Large Closed Star Decorator Piping Tip: Almost any large closed star tip will work, but is the one I reach for most often for big, soft serve-like swirls of buttercream.

Make the Watermelon Cupcake Batter

To get started, preheat the oven. First, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt Then, in a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and creamy – this step is important for achieving soft cupcakes. Next, add the super strength watermelon flavoring oil. This is the magic ingredient that transforms ordinary white cupcakes into watermelon candy confections, Willy Wonka-style! With the egg whites mixed in, you’ll alternate the dry ingredients with milk. Finally, add neon green food coloring for a vibrant green watermelon rind effect.

Bake in Green Cupcake Liners

Carefully spoon – or ice cream scoop – the green batter into leaf green cupcake liners, filling each about two-thirds full. This is important! Don’t overfill. This not only prevents overflow but also helps them bake evenly. These cupcakes are light and spongy, and they won’t crown much during baking. They’ll rise up but keep a mostly flat top. Transfer the cupcakes into the oven and let them bake about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

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Make the Watermelon Frosting

While the cupcakes cool, prepare the watermelon buttercream. Start by whipping butter until it’s creamy and light. Then, add in the confectioners’ sugar, mixing on low speed at first. When it’s just starting to incorporate, add a little milk to thin. Then increase the mixer speed adding more milk as needed. You’re looking for a fluffy piping consistency. Next, add the watermelon flavoring oil along with the neon pink and super red food colors. The combination of these two colors gives the perfect red-pink watermelon hue. Whip until the color is consistent throughout the buttercream.

Pipe and Sprinkle

Fill a piping bag fitted with a large closed star tip, and swirl the buttercream high on each cooled cupcake. Create tall peaks that almost look like soft-serve ice cream. Immediately after piping each cupcake, sprinkle black sesame seeds on top to mimic little watermelon seeds. Working one at a time ensures the seeds stick before the frosting sets up.

And who invited these guys? They’re the only kind of ants I’d welcome to a picnic. I bought them for my husband’s picnic-themed birthday table setting last year. They have little picks on their backs to hold food (except for the ones pictured – I clipped off the picks!) so I had them marching away from a bowl of grapes, each with a grape on their back. They made really fun props for these cupcakes. You can find the ant picks for purchase.

These cute watermelon cupcakes are perfect for just about any summer celebration. Serve them at your next backyard BBQ, for pool parties, picnic spreads, or birthdays. Every bite is bursting with juicy watermelon candy flavor.

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Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/SprinkleBakes