Recipe: Grape Soda cUPcakes

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Adventure is out there…baking in your oven! You can make your own grape soda cupcakes, a simple and fun way to celebrate one of our favorite Disney Pixar films, Up. I like to keep things pretty easy when it comes to baking, and one of my favorite tips to make fun cupcakes is to use a packaged mix (Betty Crocker knows what she’s doing – who am I to argue?!) and replace the water called for in the recipe with a different liquid to change the flavor. That’s exactly what we’ll do here with these Up-inspired cakes.

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Ingredients

  • Cupcake mix (I chose gluten free mix but any will do)

  • Ingredients according to package instructions, i.e. butter, eggs, oil, etc.

  • Chocolate sprinkle candies

  • Vanilla icing

  • Purple food coloring

  • Grape soda OR equal parts grape juice and champagne for a less grape-y flavor

Other Supplies

  • Apple corer or small circle cookie cutter

  • Muffin tin

  • Cupcake holders

  • Icing bag and decorating tip

  • Paper straws cut into thirds

Mix the packaged ingredients according to the instructions on the box. Instead of adding the called for amount of water, add that same amount of either grape soda or equal parts grape juice and champagne. So if your mix calls for 1 cup water, add 1/2 cup of each grape juice and champagne. Measure your mixture into your cupcake holders and bake according to instructions on the box.

While the cupcakes are baking, mix up your icing. Add drops of purple food coloring to the vanilla icing until you get the desired shade of purple and add to an icing bag with decorating tip.

Allow the cupcakes to cool once they come out of the oven. Taking your apple corer or small circle cookie cutter, cut a small circle into each cupcake and remove the cake, leaving a hole for your sprinkles. (If using chocolate sprinkles, beware of nearby Snipes who will try to eat your chocolate.) Fill each cupcake with sprinkles and then use the icing bag to pipe the purple icing on top. Finish each grape soda cupcake with a straw, and you’re ready for your next adventure!