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How to Make a GIANT Cupcake

Ever looked at a cupcake and thought: "Hm. Looks yummy. But what if it was ENORMOUS?"

Charity Mathews

giantcupcake

Ever had a cupcake SO good, the only complaint was not having more? The ginormous good times happening at Disney's Mickey & Friends X CAMP: An Extra Big Adventure got us wondering: What if you could make a cupcake the size of a beach ball?

With an irresistibly sweet and buttery flavor, this cupcake is completely colossal — and makes an extra-big treat for extra-big adventures! The recipe makes three 8-inch round cakes stacked together, gently carved and topped with a mountain of icing to achieve the cutest cupcake look, for the hungriest crowd. Perfect for birthday parties, your kids (and their friends) will love every last bite.

Giant CupCake

Kid’s Jobs

  • Buttering the baking pans

    Using the mixer to whip batter or frosting

    Adding frosting in between cake layers

    Placing candy sprinkles on top

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Ingredients

  • Butter Cake

    3 cups all-purpose flour

    3 cups granulated sugar 

    2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

    1 teaspoon salt

    1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)

    6 eggs

    1 1/2 cups buttermilk*

    2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

    3 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • *Make your own buttermilk by pouring 1 tablespoon of vinegar or fresh lemon juice into a measuring cup. Fill the remaining cup with milk. Or substitute an equal amount of plain yogurt!

  • Simple Vanilla Buttercream

    1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

    2 bricks cream cheese, softened (8 ounce packages)

    8 cups confectioner’s sugar

    2 tablespoons vanilla

  • Assembly and decoration

    1 paper plate

    Parchment paper

    Large sheets of tissue paper

    Toothpicks or dowels

    Ribbon

    Gummy candies or jelly beans

To Make the Butter Cake

This is a butter cake, which is stronger than a sponge cake, perfect for layering.

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1. Prep. Preheat your oven to 350° F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans and sprinkle with flour. Shake out excess flour and set aside.

2. Combine dry ingredients. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.

3. Bring in the butter. To the flour mixture, add your very soft butter. Mix on LOW until your batter looks crumbly. Scrape down the sides of your bowl with a silicone spatula.

4. Add wet ingredients. Now add your eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla. Beat (or hand mix) until well-mixed and fluffy, for about 30-60 seconds.  

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5. Bake. Pour cake batter evenly into three 8-inch pans. Bake for 33-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out evenly and the sides pull away from your pans.  

6. Cool. Allow cakes to cool in their pans for about 10 minutes, before turning out on a wire rack. For best results, place cakes in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before frosting.

To Make the Simple Vanilla Buttercream

1. Whip. Use electric beaters or a stand mixer to whip softened butter together with cream cheese.

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2. Add sugar. Slowly add confectioner’s sugar, one cup at a time, mixing in between. 

3. Finish with vanilla. Pour vanilla into the mixture and whip until you have the desired consistency.

Ready to Put It All Together?

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1. Foundation. Use a 6-inch paper plate to hold the first layer of your cake. (The cake will spill over the edge, don’t worry. You’ll carve it soon.)

2. Layers. Add a generous layer of frosting, and smooth to the edges. Add second layer and repeat. Push dowels or toothpicks into cake for reinforcement. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Carve. Use a bread knife to trim the outer edges of the cake at an angle. The bottom of the cake should now be the same size as the paper plate.

4. Liner. Place a piece of tissue paper on a clean dry counter. Top with a few small dots of frosting along the side as glue. Add a sheet of parchment paper over the top. Gently place the cooled cake on top of both papers and pull up the sides to measure. Cut excess edges (it doesn’t have to be even.) Press the sides of the papers up along the cupcake. Use frosting as glue where needed between the cupcake and liner. Trim the liner at the top as needed. Wrap a ribbon or string around the bottom of the cupcake, to get the liner snug. 

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5. Frost. Add 2-3 cups of frosting to the top of your cupcake. Use an offset spatula to smooth the very edges at an angle, leaving the top smooth. Top with gummy candies or jellybeans as "sprinkles!"

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Get Fueled Up for an EXTRA-BIG Adventure at CAMP!

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Disney and CAMP’s outrageously oversized adventure is here! Get tickets today for the big, big, BIG event!

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