Kassidy Robison’s Whimsical Cupcakes
Kassidy Robison is a seven year-old artist and baker extraordinaire. She started stirring batter as soon as she could hold a spoon—constructing creative, colorful homemade cupcakes from the time she was a toddler.
“The best is when you get messy with it,” Kassidy says as she adds colored dough to her pink polka dot cupcake liners with a spring handled metal scooper. She’s dancing in the kitchen with all the doors open, the sea breeze streaming in while “There She Goes” by The La’s comes through the speakers.
Kassidy is bright eyed, curious, fearless—as insistent upon getting the batter to become that perfect purple color as she is about being kind toward others. She’s in first grade at Palmquist Elementary School in Oceanside and is an avid chapter-book reader, storyteller and illustrator.
Currently, her favorite chapter-book series are Junie B. Jones and Ivy and Bean. As for poetic anthologies, she has a soft spot for all things Shel Silverstein. She brings pieces of the whimsy she reads into the cupcakes she bakes, the words she speaks, and the clothes she wears.
“It’s an art to me,” Kassidy says while frosting her cupcakes, “it’s kind of like you are painting.”
She uses a teal color for the ocean frosting and covers it with yellow pearl sprinkles for the sand —but only on half the cupcake. The other half is reserved for a jelly whale. And in the end, it will be gifted to her mom as a birthday gift alongside a hand-picked ceramic cow mug.
Kassidy hollows out the middle of another cupcake with a knife and fills it with white chocolate chips before placing the top back on and covering it with frosting.
“There’s a hidden treasure in there for someone,” she says with a lick of her fingers. She pours nonpareil sprinkles into a bowl.
“Ever seen this trick?” she asks, dipping the entire frosted top of the cupcake into the bowl so that sprinkles cover every square centimeter.
Kassidy’s cupcakes change depending upon who she’s making them for and what time of year it is. She prefers fluffy frosting (rather than buttercream or cream cheese) and likes to use unique toppings to decorate.
What makes this double vanilla recipe perfect for those who like getting creative with their cupcakes is that you can use them as your base, like a canvas, and get wildly colorful from there.
Happy baking!
Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
- ⅔ cup whole milk
Preheat oven to 350°.
In a medium-sized bowl, cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. Add whisked eggs.
In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and add milk.
If you’d like to make your cupcakes colored (like Kassidy’s purple cupcakes) begin by adding three drops of food coloring and stir until you reach your desired hue.
Add batter to cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes.
Vanilla Frosting
Makes enough for 12 cupcakes
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup butter, softened
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
Cream together butter and sugar. Stir in vanilla and milk. Mix until the frosting is smooth and ready to spread. Then, decorate away!
