Pop Century Inspired Tie-Dye Cupcakes

Disney’s Pop Century Resort has always been my favorite place to stay when visiting Walt Disney World. I love everything about this place from the decor to the pools to the food court. It is all so whimsical and fun! I decided to make some cupcakes inspired by the resort that I am most fond of.    The cupcake is tie-dye which reminds me of the popular tie-dye cheesecake served there, as well as the mugs and t-shirts sold in the gift shop. The frosting is designed to look like Play-doh, which is one of the huge icons on the resort property. So I hope you enjoy this fun recipe!

Pop Century Inspired Tie-Dye Cupcakes

*makes about 24 cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:

  • 1 white cake mix
  • 3 eggs
  • oil
  • water
  • 1 box Betty Crocker Gel Classic Food Colors (I found them at Walmart near the birthday candles and sprinkles. They are in tubes, not in bottles like the liquid food color.)
  • white paper cupcake liners

Cupcake Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.    Mix cake mix with eggs, oil and water as directed by instructions on box. Pour the batter evenly into 4 separate bowls. Squirt half the tube of yellow food coloring into the first bowl and mix well. Do the same for the 3 remaining bowls: blue into the second, green into the third and red into the fourth. After you have all of your batter colored now it’s time to fill the cupcakes.   Place your cupcake liners into your cupcake pans (or give that job to one of the kids). Now take a tablespoon and begin layering your first color into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Then follow that by taking another tablespoon and layering your second color on top of the first. Repeat for the remaining two colors. Do not swirl your cupcake batter with a toothpick or anything, they will naturally do it on their own when they bake.   Place your cupcake pans into your preheated oven and bake for 18 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool completely before icing. Here is what they will look like when done:

Now let’s get started on the frosting.

Play-Doh Frosting Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks butter, softened
  • 2 cups Crisco
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 8 cups powdered sugar
  • 4 – 6 tablespoons milk
  • Betty Crocker Gel Classic Food Colors in: blue, green & yellow (use the leftovers from the cupcakes)
  • primary colored confetti sprinkles (I also found these at Walmart near the birthday candles and sprinkles)
  • 3 cake icing bags*
  • 3 large star-shaped icing tips (Wilton 1M)*

Play-Doh Frosting Directions:

Place 2 cups of Crisco and softened butter into a large bowl. Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla and using an electric mixer, blend until smooth. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing well. After all of the powdered sugar has been mixed in the frosting will be thick. Pour in milk, 1 tablespoon at a time to thin out. Blend well until creamy.    Divide the frosting into 3 separate bowls. Squeeze the remaining half tube of each color into each bowl. Mix the color into the frosting well using a spoon or spatula. You will now have 3 bowls of vibrant buttercream frosting: yellow, green & blue.    Spoon each colored frosting into an icing bag or parchment paper cone that has been set with a large star-shaped icing tip (I used Wilton tip #1M). Making a circular movement, create a large loop with the first colored icing. Now take the second color and top it with a smaller circle. Finish off with the third color creating the peak. Immediately sprinkle with your edible confetti. Repeat for each cupcake. Now doesn’t it look like layers of Play-Doh??

*If you do not have icing bags and tips you can simply spoon each colored frosting into a gallon-size Ziploc bag and cut off one corner, creating an icing bag. The frosting can then be swirled on top of the cupcakes. It won’t have the same star-shape, as it will be more tubular but since it’s supposed to look like Play-Doh, that will work just fine. 

Enjoy your Pop Century Inspired Cupcakes!!!