quick + easy cupcakes for a one year old

the night before avie's birthday party i knew i had to make ~40 cupcakes and i didn't have time to mess up and start over.  so i took the easy way out and used a doctored box cake mix and made a simple frosting.  it turned out fast, easy, and pretty foolproof, so i thought i'd share.

CUPCAKE BATTER: 

yellow box cake mix

3 eggs

1 c. buttermilk*

1/3 c. milk*

1/2 c. melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla

dash of cinnamon

mix together. follow box instructions for baking time.

*you can mix any ratio of milk to buttermilk that adds up to be 1 1/3 c. 

*i did part melted butter, part melted coconut oil..

MARSHMALLOW BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:

1 c. butter, room temperature

2 c. powdered sugar

1 (7 oz)  jar marshmallow creme

1 tsp. vanilla

dash of salt

optional: food coloring

i doubled both recipes.  the best thing i discovered was putting both the batter and frosting in (separate) large ziplock bags.  i snipped the corner and filled each cupcake liner with batter, which was so much faster than spooning it in.  once they were cooked and cooled, i frosted them by snipping the frosting ziplock and zigzagging it on.  i did it because i was strapped for time but i ended up liking the look too! it was a good frosting that held its shape and didn't get too melty.. oh and the topper idea came from here.

i only ate about a dozen by myself. the rest i shared :)