Sour Patch Kids cupcakes

First they're sour, then they're sweet! First disclaimer: I know I don't usually write about just one dessert. But this one, I just had to. So Kelly and I have a favorite candy: Sour Patch Kids. Kelly will buy me a box of them any time I'm really down (she's a great best friend!). A bag of Sour Patch Kids has even mysteriously appeared in the background of one of my roommate's videos about Big 12 sports. So needless to say, the candy is a favorite.


So a while ago Kelly and I started talking about making Sour Patch Kids cupcakes. Like, six months ago. But I figured if we were going to make these cupcakes, we'd have to make them right.


So I got cupcake wrappers to match the four flavors.


Coloring to match the colors.


Flavoring to match each flavor (cherry, orange, lemon and lime). And the kicker, which was tart and sour flavor enhancer. (Edit: Looks like my original source for this is out, so here are a couple other places to find it: LorAnn, Baker's Nook, Sears and Amazon.) Add it into a swiss meringue buttercream.


A basic yellow cupcake and a Sour Patch Kid on top.


In the process, obliterate the kitchen. Many times over.


So in the end, you get a complete cupcake with a sour-sweet frosting in a specific flavor. Completely successful. I will make them again...but not for a while.

Edit: Since posting this, I've had requests for amounts and how to make them. I tend to experiment a lot, but here's the amounts. I wanted a massive amount of cupcakes to share with people at work and for Kelly to take home. I made 1 1/2 recipes of the yellow cake. Be careful not to fill the liners very far, because this recipe rises a LOT. 2/3 full will do it, and better to go a bit lower even. This gave me 48 (!) cupcakes. One batch generally makes 30, give or take a few.

Then I made two batches of this swiss meringue buttercream (not at the same time though, just when I was ready for them. I split the recipe in half for each flavor. I put in a bit of color and flavoring, then about a quarter bottle of the tart flavoring. That seems like a lot, but it took that much to really give it the punch of Sour Patch Kids. Then I added coloring and fruit flavoring to taste. So for two batches split in half, you'll get all four frostings. The amounts were almost perfect for 12 cupcakes each. Enjoy!