Celebrate St. Patrick’s day, or any day, with this festive Lucky Charm Cupcakes recipe! The moist cake uses cereal milk to capture the flavor and is topped with the iconic charm marshmallows. Magically delicious.

Looking for more cereal treats? Our melt-in-your mouth Rice Krispie Treats are award winning and worth a try.

white plate with cupcakes in green liners topped with cereal marshmallows

RECIPE FEATURES

From Scratch Cupcake Recipe – Don’t be intimidated by homemade baked goods. This recipe comes together quickly and tastes incredible.
Freezer Friendly: Make the cupcakes ahead of time and keep them stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.

It is almost St Patrick’s day! We love this holiday for a number of reasons:

First, green is my favorite color. It happens to also be the color representing the holiday! Second, it gives me a reason to make so many colorful treats. AND it is my sisters birthday!

These sweet cereal cupcakes were created and inspired by her love for Lucky Charms. Made with cereal soaked milk and topped with cereal marshmallows. This truly is a lucky cupcake recipe!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CEREAL MILK CUPCAKES

Making this recipe is simple and requires basic baking ingredients, most of which you might already have on hand! Let’s break a few ingredients down before we get started.

Milk: It is best to use 2% milk or higher for soaking the cereal. It is key to getting that bold marshmallow flavor.
Lucky Charms: This recipe has been tested with both name and off brand cereal. Both will deliver similar results. Pick your favorite to use in this recipe.
All-purpose flour: Regular white flour, found in the baking aisle. Wheat flour is not a good substitute in this cupcake. However, you can use cake flour in place of this and the cornstarch.
Cornstarch: This ingredient is key in developing a tender crumbly texture.
Baking powder and baking soda: Always be sure to check the expiration date on your leavening agents. If they have been sitting open in the pantry for a while, chances are good you will need to replace them to get the full effect.
Butter: I prefer to use salted butter in my baked goods. This helps enhance the flavor, but you can always opt for unsalted with a pinch of added salt to the dry ingredients.
Vanilla extract: Always opt for pure vanilla extract when you can. Imitation extract will leave a chemical aftertaste to your cake.
Lemon yogurt: The secret ingredient. I use greek yogurt single serve containers.

WHAT IS CEREAL MILK?

To achieve the flavor of Lucky Charms, I decided to use cereal milk. I saw this idea in a friends cookbook and fell in love with the overall idea. She used captain crunch, so all I did was swap it for the marshmallow filled breakfast.

But what exactly is cereal milk? It is milk that has been soaked in your favorite cereal and the pieces strained out. The end result is that sweet milk you get after enjoying a bowl of your favorite cereal.

LUCKY CHARMS CAKE RECIPE

Combine the milk and cereal in an air tight container. Cover and refrigerate for one hour. Strain.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 1 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Stir in the vanilla and yogurt.
Stir in the flour and cereal milk, alternating between the two, until both are mixed into the batter.
Divide between your prepared cupcake liners, filling 3/4 full.
Bake 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

Top your cooled cupcakes with whipped marshmallow frosting and cereal pieces to finish the look!

Cereal Milk Frosting in a glass bowl with a small bowl of marshmallows next to it

HELPFUL TOOLS

Bakers tip: Do NOT leave off the marshmallows! While the cereal milk does provide a bit of lucky taste, the marshmallows are what bring the flavors together. You can pick out the bright colored treats from a box of cereal OR you can find where to buy lucky charms just magical marshmallows here (affiliate).

CUPCAKE BAKING TIPS

Always use room temperature ingredients. This will ensure everything mixes together smoothly and fully.
Test your oven temperature. The last thing you want is to over bake your cupcakes. This will result in a dry and crumbly cake.
Use a cookie scoop to get even cake sizing.
Cool your cupcakes completely before frosting.

What is the difference between buttercream and frosting?

I topped these cupcakes with a sweet cereal milk buttercream. Butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and cereal milk are whipped until a smooth and creamy texture is achieved. This gives you a dreamy and perfect cupcake topping.

I get this question regularly, but what is the real difference between the two?

Frosting is usually made with a base of shortening or cream cheese. This is combined with powdered sugar and whipped to a fluffy consistency.
Buttercream is made with butter in place of the shortening. The remaining ingredients are the same, but the end result is a silky buttercream with a slightly less chemical taste.

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Lucky Charm Cupcakes Recipe