Happy Friday! Yesterday, Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Disney Wish, set off on it’s maiden voyage! I’ve loved following along as the Wish was created and seeing all of the fun and magic that’s onboard. To celebrate this special occasion, I’m excited to share these Captain Minnie Cupcakes! These light and fluffy lemon cupcakes are topped with a lemon cream cheese frosting, mini Oreo ears, and a paper Disney Cruise line captain’s hat!
In addition to all of the cool experiences, restaurants, and shows aboard the Disney Wish, I’m also so excited that Captain Minnie Mouse is at the helm of it. While I do love Captain Mickey, it’s very cool and exciting to have Minnie be a captain as well. Inspired by her captain’s uniform, these cupcakes have a white wrapper, red frosting, and of course a Disney Cruise Line captain’s hat!
I had such a hard time finding any kind of captain hat cupcake topper that I actually drew these captain hat toppers myself. I’ve included the template here, so feel free to print them out and use them for your cupcakes too! To assemble the cupcake toppers, cut out the captain hats. Then, tape a toothpick to back of the paper captain hat.
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To make these cupcakes, start by making the lemon cupcake batter. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, butter, and lemon zest until its light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Then, beat in the lemon juice. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Begin and end with the flour mixture.
Transfer the batter to a muffin pan lined with cupcake liners, filling the cups about 1/2 – 2/3 full. Since Captain Minnie wears white pants or a white skirt, you’ll want to use wither opaque white cupcake liners or clear or clearish white cupcakes liners and opaque white cupcake wrappers. I had a hard time finding opaque white cupcake liners, so for these cupcakes, I used my favorite parchment paper liners and, after they were baked, I wrapped the cupcakes in opaque white cupcake wrappers.
Bake the cupcakes at 350 F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cupcakes are cooling, make the lemon cream cheese frosting. In a medium bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Then, add the cream cheese, lemon extract, and salt. Beat until smooth. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and mix until combined. Since Minnie’s captain’s jacket is red, I dyed the frosting red, using red gel food coloring. Add a few drops of red gel food coloring and beat until the color is evenly distributed. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star piping tip. If the frosting feels warm or loose, place it in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
If you’re using the cupcake wrappers, assemble the wrappers and place the cupcakes inside them. To decorate the cupcakes, pipe a swirl of frosting onto the top of each cupcake. Insert the toothpick with the paper captain hat into the center of each cupcake. Press two mini Oreo cookies into the sides of the cupcakes to make Minnie’s ears.
Enjoy these Captain Minnie Cupcakes! And Bon Voyage to those sailing on the Disney Wish!
Captain Minnie Cupcakes
Ingredients
Lemon Cupcakes
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ cups cake flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup buttermilk
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- a pinch salt
- red gel food coloring
Decorations
- mini Oreo cookies
- paper captain hats (template in post)
Equipment
- 12 cup muffin pan
- white cupcake wrapper/liner
- piping bag
- large star piping tip
- toothpicks
- tape
Instructions
Lemon Cupcakes
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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
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In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
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In a large bowl, beat the sugar, butter, and lemon zest until light and fluffy.
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Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the lemon juice.
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Add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Begin and end with the flour mixture.
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Transfer the batter to the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup ½ to ⅔ full.
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Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
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Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
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In a medium bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Then, add the cream cheese, lemon extract, and salt and beat until smooth.
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Gradually add in the powdered sugar and mix until combined.
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Stir in the red gel food coloring.
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Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. If it feels loose, place in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.
Captain Hat Cupcake Toppers
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Print the captain hats out onto regular white paper (see template).
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Cut out the captain hats.
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Tape a toothpick onto the back of each captain hat.
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Set aside until ready to decorate the cupcakes.
Assembly
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If using cupcake wrappers, assemble the wrappers and place the cupcakes inside them.
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Pipe a swirl of red frosting onto the top of each cupcake.
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Insert the toothpick with the paper captain hat into the center of each cupcake.
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Press two mini Oreo cookies into the sides of the cupcakes to make Minnie’s ears.