Happy Birthday Pluto! Pluto is such fun and lovable character. I’ve always liked watching the Pluto cartoons, whether he’s helping Mickey or facing off against Chip ‘n’ Dale, it’s always a fun time. Since today is Pluto’s 90th Birthday, I’m celebrating with these adorable Pluto cupcakes! These moist yellow cupcakes are topped with salted caramel frosting and fondant ears, and finished with a green ribbon collar.
This week, I again made a small batch of cupcakes. I’ve been trying to be better about not eating as many sweets (so so hard!) and so having a smaller batch is super helpful for me. Since this is a small batch recipe, it makes six cupcakes. If you need more, feel free to double it!
These cupcakes are a super moist yellow cake, which work great with a variety of different frostings. For these, I paired them with a salted caramel frosting, but you could also use plain buttercream or my favorite marshmallow frosting.
To make the cupcakes, first combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Beat in the sour cream and then add in the flour mixture. Beat until incorporated and then slowly add the milk. Although this is a yellow cake, I wanted it to be a darker yellow and so I added a couple drops of yellow gel food coloring from Wilton.
Then, scoop your batter into a muffin pan lined with cupcake liners. Since it’s a small batch of cupcakes, I used a six cup muffin pan but you can also use a regular 12 cup muffin pan. I’d recommend filling the empty cups with a bit of water before baking.
For these cupcakes, I used my favorite plain parchment cupcake liners from PaperChef. This allowed the yellow cake to come through and made it so the yellow cake perfectly matched the yellow frosting. Bake the cupcakes for 20-22 minutes at 350 F or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
While the cupcakes are cooling, use this time to prep the decorations and the frosting. First, you’ll want to make Pluto’s ears. I did this using a small amount of black fondant. To start, take the fondant and roll it out on a flat work surface, lightly dusted with powdered sugar. The sugar will help keep it from sticking but don’t use too much or the black fondant will become more of a dark grey color. I like to use a fondant roller to do this, but you can also use a rolling pin. Once the fondant is rolled out to about 1/4 inch thickness, use a fondant cutter or a sharp knife to cut out the ear shapes. Place the cut out pieces of fondant on a piece of wax paper until you’re ready to use them.
To make the collar decoration, I cut out circles of yellow cardstock to make a dog tag and then used a piece of green ribbon to make the collar. Using a hole punch, I punched a hole in the top of circles and then thread them onto the ribbon.
The last piece of prep work is the frosting. To make this, first beat the butter until light and creamy. Add in the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the caramel syrup and a nice pinch of salt and beat until combined. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip.
Once the cupcakes have cooled, wrap the ribbon collar around the middle of the cupcake, at about the top of the cupcake liner. Secure it with a piece of tape. Frost the cupcakes by piping a large swirl on top of each cupcake. Add the ears by gently pressing one fondant ear into the frosting on each side of the cupcake.
Enjoy! Happy Birthday Pluto!
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Pluto Cupcakes
Ingredients
Yellow Cupcakes
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, soft
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ½ tablespoons sour cream
- 6 tablespoons whole milk
- yellow gel food coloring
Salted Caramel Frosting
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, soft
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons milk
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons caramel sauce
- pinch of salt
- yellow gel food coloring
Decorations
- black fondant
- green ribbon
- yellow cardstock
Equipment
- large round piping tip
- piping bag
Instructions
Cupcakes
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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a six cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
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In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
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Add the egg and vanilla, beating until combined. Add the sour cream and beat until combined.
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Add in the flour mixture, mixing until incorporated. Slowly add in the milk, beating until combined. Stir in a couple drops of the yellow gel food coloring.
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Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling about ⅔ full.
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Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
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In a medium bowl, beat the butter until light and creamy.
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Add the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla, and beat until combined.
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Add the caramel sauce, salt, and a couple drops of yellow gel food coloring, and beat until combined.
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Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip.
Fondant Ears
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Roll a small amount on black fondant out on a flat surface lightly dusted with powdered sugar. Be careful not to get a lot of powdered sugar on the fondant as it will change the color.
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Using a fondant cutter or a sharp knife, cut out long dog ear shapes.
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Place the cut out fondant on a piece of wax paper until ready to use.
Assembly
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Once the cupcakes are cool, wrap a piece of green ribbon with the yellow circle cut out around the cupcake. Secure with a piece of tape.
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Frost the cupcake by using the piping bag to make a large swirl of frosting on the top of each cupcake.
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Place two ears in the frosting on each side of the cupcake.
Recipe Notes
adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction