Today’s ultimate birthday cupcakes are over the top and perfect for any celebration—not just birthdays. They’re bright and colorful, loaded with sprinkles, and have a wow factor thanks to hi-hat frosting dunked in chocolate (just like my peanut butter hi-hat cupcakes). It’s like marshmallow soft serve under a thick chocolate shell. Let’s get this party started!
There Are 3 Parts to These Ultimate Birthday Cupcakes
That cupcake batter up there? ↑↑ Yeah. It’s torture not tasting it.
Marshmallow Meringue Frosting
Marshmallow meringue frosting is nothing to fear. It’s basically Swiss meringue buttercream, just without the butter. But don’t let the word “meringue” frighten you. This is an astonishingly simple mixture—you only need 4 ingredients, a stovetop, and a mixer. In fact, we’ve made it multiple times before:
No Bake S’mores Cake Brownie Baked Alaska S’mores Chocolate Mousse Chocolate Mousse Pie S’mores Brownie Cupcakes
Here’s what you’ll do: Begin by whisking the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar together in a double boiler or heat-proof bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Continue whisking until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has thinned out. Remove from heat, add vanilla extract and a pinch of salt if needed, then use your mixer and whip on high speed until stiff glossy peaks form. Whipping is where the magic happens. It’s fun to watch the mixture transform from a thin liquid to voluminous fluff—literally a big puffy cloud.
Chocolate Coating
After piping the marshmallow meringue frosting onto each cooled cupcake, it’s time to take a chocolate dive. We’ll combine just 2 ingredients together for the chocolate shell: oil + pure chocolate. Melt the two together, then let it sit for about 10 minutes before dunking. The meringue frosting is pretty stable, but heat from melted chocolate will cause it to collapse—that’s why I recommend waiting a few minutes before dipping the cupcakes. Carefully and quickly dip each cupcake into the chocolate to coat the frosting. Add any additional sprinkles on top, then refrigerate the cupcakes for to set the chocolate, creating the chocolate shell.
More Birthday Recipes
Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies Confetti Cupcakes Yellow Cupcakes or Yellow Cake Vanilla Cake Sugar Cookie Bars Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting (and sprinkles in the batter!)
