Soccer Ball Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix of your choice

Vanilla Buttercream Icing Ingredients: 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1b. (about 4 cups) icing sugar

1-3 tsp. milk or cream

Cake Soccer Ball Ingredients:

1 box cake mix - Any flavor of cake you like!

1 16 oz. can cream cheese or vanilla frosting

1 pkg. white melting chocolate, or 2-3 cups white melting wafers

Wax paper

Directions:

Prepare cake mix as directed on package for cupcakes. Cool cupcakes completely before icing.

Using a mixer, cream the softened butter and vanilla until smooth. Add in the icing sugar gradually, allowing the butter and sugar to cream together before adding more. Add a teaspoon of milk at a time and beat on high until you get the right texture. You don't want the icing to be runny, it should be thick and spreadable. Use food color or gel paste to dye the icing green for the grass.

 

 When the cupcakes have cooled, ice them using a piping bag or a Ziploc bag with a star tip. Just do a bunch of small squirts all over the top of the cupcake to look like grass. Use the recipe for cake balls here to make the cake soccer balls. Once the white chocolate covered cake balls are made, use black gel icing or black food markers to draw pentagon shapes on them to look like soccer balls. Top the cupcakes with the cake soccer balls - you can secure them with a toothpick if you're worried about them falling off the cupcake. Store in the refrigerator.

*Cake balls recipe from Bakerella