Dumbo’s Circus Popcorn Cupcakes

Peyton and I loved watching Disney’s live-action remake of Dumbo on the big screen. A  movie I grew up watching on VHS, I was now watching with my daughter as Disney brought it to life for the next generation. And wow! They took a classic and gave it a little twist making it new for everyone. It was our love for Dumbo that these cupcakes were born from.

Peyton and I made these popcorn flavored cupcakes to celebrate the release of Disney’s live-action Dumbo to Blu-Ray. To make these cupcakes you will need the following –

For the cupcakes –

1 box White Cake Mix and ingredients to make it
1 tsp Popcorn flavoring
Circus cupcake liners
Cupcake Pan

For the frosting –

2 sticks of butter, room temperature
3 C powdered sugar
1 tsp Popcorn flavoring
Yellow food coloring
Piping Bag

For the topping –

1 bag of small marshmallows
Yellow spray food coloring

For this recipe, I used a stand mixer and hand mixer.  I find it’s easier to use the hand mixer with the cupcake batter and a stand mixer for the buttercream frosting.

First step is to make the cupcake batter. Preheat the oven to 350 F while you make the batter. Take a large bowl and dump the white cake mix in it. Break up any large chunks of cake mix with a fork.

Next, follow the directions on the back of the box to make the cake mix but add in the 1 tsp of popcorn flavoring. I really using LorAnn Oils which can be found at Hobby Lobby or on Amazon.

With the hand mixer beat the cake batter for about 2 minutes until it’s smooth.

Take your cupcake pan and place the circus, red and white striped cupcake liners in the cupcake wells.

Next, with a large scoop, fill the cupcake liners 3/4 of the way full with the cake batter mix.

Once the oven is heated, place the cupcake pan on the center rake and bake 11-15 minutes. An easy way to see if the cupcakes are completely baked, use a toothpick. Poke the cupcake in the center with the toothpick, if it comes out clean the cupcake is done. If there is runny batter let it bake for another minute or two and recheck.

While the cupcakes are baking this is a great time to start working on the topping. With the back of a butter knife press down on the top of a small marshmallow. Then tun the marshmallow half way and press down again. It’s like making a small x on the top of the marshmallow but it makes it look like a popcorn kernel.

While the cupcakes are cooling this is the perfect time to make the buttercream frosting.

With a stand mixer, place the 2 sticks of butter in the bowl and beat for about 3-5 minutes until the butter is creamed.

Add the 1 tsp popcorn flavoring and gradually add up to 3 cups of buttercream until you have the desired buttercream consistency. If your buttercream is too thick, add a teaspoon (or more) of milk to soften.

Once the buttercream is the desired consistency, add 1 drop of yellow gel food coloring and mix.

Next, take the piping bag and fill with the buttercream. Snip off the bottom of the bag.

Place a generous dollop of buttercream on the top of each cupcake.

You can either gently roll the cupcakes in the “popcorn kernel” marshmallows or you can strategically place them on the buttercream. Or do a combo. Whatever feels right to you.

Lastly, take that spray food color and give the “popcorn kernel” topping a little spray.

You’re done!

The popcorn flavoring is very light and subtle. If you want a stronger popcorn flavor you can add more flavoring to the mix or buttercream. But I suggest trying the recipe first and seeing how you like it and then only add a tsp more at a time when adjusting the flavor.

Be sure to check out our review of the Dumbo Blu-Ray too.