How to Make Cannabis Cupcakes: A Step-by-Step Recipe

A cannabis cupcake with green frosting and a cannabis leaf decoration

Who doesn't love a good cupcake to satisfy their sweet tooth? As soft and sweet little treats, these cupcakes have some superpower to brighten your day. To add extra punches of flavor to your cupcakes, you can add cannabis to them for ultimate fusion of indulgence and relaxation.

Unlike your everyday homemade chocolate cupcakes, these come with a special kick, thanks to adding cannabis butter. However, you need to carefully manage its dose, as a little extra quantity can take you to the Doctor Strange-level trip through the multiverse. Explore this quick recipe to get an idea about its ingredients. 

  • Start your procedure by gathering all cupcake essentials along with cannabis butter or oil for this infusion.
  • Now, whisk together every wet and dry ingredient until you achieve smoother consistency.
  • Proceed to pour some batter into cupcake liners and bake them at required temperature for about twenty minutes until fully cooked.
  • Afterward, you have to allow these cupcakes to cool completely before adding your favorite frosting or toppings.

To make these cupcakes even more indulgent, consider melting chocolate to drizzle on top. Upon going through these steps, read the rest of the article to learn how to make perfectly dosed cannabis cupcakes. 

Part 1. Most Essential Ingredients and Equipment for Making Cannabis Cupcakes

Are you looking to level up the baking game with something more exciting than regular cupcakes? Say hello to cannabis cupcakes, as they serve as the ultimate treat that combines sweet indulgence with little extra elevation. To get started, you’ll need some right ingredients and tools, such as cupcake liners, so let’s break it all down for you.

Must-Have Ingredients to Bake Cannabis Cupcakes

When trying to strike a perfect balance of flavor and texture, every little ingredient becomes valuable. So, grab your mixing bowls, and let's go over the must-haves for your homemade cannabis-infused cupcakes.

ingredients for cannabis cupcakes
  • Cannabis-infused butter or Oil

Being the hero of this recipe, cannabutter is what turns ordinary cupcakes into a special treat. Thanks to the infused fats, THC gets distributed evenly throughout the batter for a consistent dose in every bite.

Extra Tips: When making your own cannabutter, try to decarb your cannabis first to activate the THC.

  • All-Purpose Flour

As a classic baking ingredient, it provides proper structure that makes cupcakes fluffy and light. For even softer texture, we recommend you sift your flour before adding it to the mix.

  • Granulated Sugar

With the help of this ingredient, you can sweeten the cupcakes or cannabis cookies. Other than that, sugar also contributes to the moisture and softness of the cupcakes.

Expert Recommendation: Bakers who want a deeper flavor can swap white sugar for brown sugar for added richness.

  • Baking Powder

While trying to make your cupcakes rise perfectly, utilize this secret component to give them an airy texture. However, you need to make sure your baking powder is fresh, as the expired one can lead to flat cupcakes.

  • Eggs

This ingredient helps hold everything together while keeping the batter smooth. For the best results, let your eggs reach room temperature before mixing to get fluffier cupcakes.

  • Milk or Dairy-Free Alternative

To keep their cupcakes moist, bakers should look to utilize milk. In case you are allergic to such dairy products, simply use oat or almond milk as an alternative.

eggs for cupcakes
  • Vanilla Extract and Optional Add-Ins 

A splash of vanilla enhances the overall flavor profile and helps balance out the earthy notes from the cannabis. To apply the finishing touches, you can throw in some dark chocolate chips or crushed nuts for extra flavor. 

All the Equipment You Need for Baking Cannabis Cupcakes

You don’t need a fancy kitchen setup to make these infused cupcakes. Go through the following checklist to get an idea about everything, including the custom molds you need to make these sweet delights.

  • Cupcake Liners

Starting with the most important tool, you need to use cupcake liners to create fun shapes for your cupcakes. These best molds make it easy to pop out your infused treats without breaking them.

cupcake liners
  • Mixing Bowls

While carrying out the baking task, you’ll need at least two bowls for dry and wet ingredients. To prevent any kind of spills when mixing, you need to utilize a big-sized bowl. 

  • Whisk and Silicone Spatula

Although a whisk proves to be important to blending batter smoothly, a silicone spatula also plays its role in scraping every last bit. Think of them as Batman and Robin, as one keeps things well-mixed while the other swoops in to make sure nothing gets left behind.

  • Measuring Cups and Spoons

When dealing with cannabis ingredients, precision becomes even more necessary. 

Pro Tip: To avoid any mess, you should use separate measuring equipment for dry and wet ingredients.

  • Electric Mixer 

Optionally, bakers can utilize this tool to speed up the mixing process. When mixing by hand, you have to whisk thoroughly while staying away from overmixing, as this can make cupcakes dense.

electric mixer for cupcake batter
  • Oven and Timer

Your oven does the heavy lifting, so preheating this equipment becomes key for even baking. Thanks to the timer, you will be able to make sure you don’t accidentally create cannabis bricks instead of cupcakes.

Once you’ve got all your essential equipment ready for baking cannabis cupcakes, you might want to try something a little different, like cannabis rice crispy treats. Similar to making cupcakes, the right tools make the process easier.

After acquiring everything on this checklist, you're ready to bake some fantastic cannabis cupcakes. Once all the preparations are done, check out the next section for a detailed guide. 

Part 2. Step-by-Step Recipe: How to Make Cannabis Cupcakes at Home

After gathering all the essential ingredients and equipment, channel your inner Walter White for baking, not breaking. When crafting the perfect cannabis cupcakes, every single step matters. So, grab your mixing bowls, and let's bake up some magic.

Step 1. Prepare the Cannabutter or Cannabis Oil (The Infusion Process)

As the heart of cannabis cupcakes, cannabutter gives your treats their kick. Think of it as the secret sauce that takes your cupcakes from ordinary to legendary.

Tip to Follow: Before infusing, activate the THC in your cannabis through decarboxylation. To do so, you need to spread ground cannabis on a baking sheet and heat it for half an hour with occasional stirring.

Once you activate this special ingredient, follow any of the below processes. 

make cannabis oil for cupcakes

Infusion Type 

Steps to Make

Cannabutter

  1. After melting butter over low heat, simply add decarboxylated cannabis before letting it simmer for about three hours. 

  2. Moving forward, you have to strain the mixture through a cheesecloth to discard the plant material.

Cannabis Oil

  1. Once you choose your oil, proceed to combine it with decarboxylated cannabis.

  2. With occasional stirring, simmer this mixture over low heat for about two hours. Afterward, strain the oil through a cheesecloth to remove extra components.

Once you've perfected your cannabis cupcakes, why not try another fun edible, like homemade Nerds Rope? The process is quite similar, with the key being your cannabutter or cannabis oil.

Step 2. Mixing the Cupcake Batter (Combining Wet and Dry Ingredients)

With your cannabis butter ready, proceed to preheat the oven to the required temperature. Apart from that, you need to line the food-safe cupcake liners before combining the ingredients. 

Moving forward, combine all the following dry ingredients in a separate bowl while whisking them together for consistency. 

Ingredient 

Quantity 

All-purpose Flour​

About one and a half cup 

Granulated Sugar 

Approximately one cup 

Baking Powder 

Only one teaspoon 

Salt 

About half teaspoon 

Cocoa Powder 

Around a quarter of a cup for chocolate-flavored cannabis cupcakes

Upon mixing the dry ingredients, take a separate bowl and mix the wet ones given below while using an electric mixer to cream them together. 

Ingredient 

Quantity 

Softened Cannabutter or Cannabis Oil​

Approximately three-quarters of a cup

Granulated Sugar 

One cup 

Eggs

Three (add one at a time)

Vanilla Extract 

About two teaspoons

After mixing them separately, gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet one. While doing so, we recommend alternating with half a cup of milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

mix wet and dry ingredients

Step 3. Baking the Cupcakes to Perfection

When the batter gets ready, you can make use of a spoon to fill each cupcake liners about two-thirds full.​ Now, proceed to place these filled molds in the preheated oven and bake for around twenty minutes. 

fill cupcake liners and place in oven

Expert Recommendation: To check for doneness, simply insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake. In case the inserted toothpick comes out clean, your cannabis cupcakes are ready to eat.​

After removing these sweet masterpieces from the oven, let them cool for the entirety of five minutes. When this time passes, simply transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.​ And make sure don't forget to clean your silicone molds properly to keep them in top condition for the next batch

Step 4. Cooling and Frosting: Adding the Final Touches

While the cupcakes cool, we recommend you prepare your desired frosting in the meantime. For this, cream cheese frosting serves as the top choice due to its compatibility with the earthy notes of cannabis. 

Precaution: Beginners have to be quite confident that the cupcakes are fully cooled before frosting to prevent the ingredients from melting.​

Once they become completely cool, bakers need to use a piping bag to apply the frosting. As a final touch, they can even decorate the cannabis cupcakes with sprinkles as desired.​

frost and decorate cupcakes

While your cupcakes are cooling and you’re getting the frosting ready, consider adding some symbolic cannabis touches to your decorations. Cannabis symbols can enhance the experience, giving your treats a deeper connection to the culture. 

Always remember that these cupcakes can take some time to produce effect. So, we suggest you follow the dosage calculation and safety tips below to get the desired hit. 

Part 3. How to Calculate Cannabis Dosage in Your Cupcakes?

Baking with cannabis is all fun and games until you accidentally overdo the dose and turn a chill treat into a one-way ticket to the bed for eight hours. That’s why getting the dosage right with the following instructions becomes more important than ever. 

1- Know the THC Percentage of Your Cannabis

Before you start baking, determine the THC percentage of your cannabis strain. This information can usually be found on the packaging if you’re purchasing from a dispensary.

For instance, cannabis containing about twenty percent THC means there are 200 mg of THC per gram of the plant.

examine percentage of thc

2- Calculate THC in Your Cannabutter or Oil

Once you've infused your butter, the next step is to estimate the total THC in your batch. With the help of the formula below, you will be able to calculate THC in your infusion.

Total THC = (THC% × Grams of Cannabis Used) × 10

3- Determine THC Per Cupcake

Moving forward, simply divide the total THC in your infused butter by the number of cupcakes in your recipe to get even more accurate calculations.

Example Calculation: When your batch of cannabutter contains five hundred milligrams of THC and your recipe makes twelve cupcakes, then:

THC per cupcake = 500 ÷ 12 ≈ 41.6 mg per cupcake

As a beginner-friendly dose, you should look to aim for around five mg per cupcake. For this, dilute your infused butter with regular butter to lower the potency.

4- Use a Mold for Precise Portioning

For consistent dosing, using silicone molds can help ensure that each cupcake comes out the same size. Thanks to these molds, you won’t accidentally make one way stronger than the rest.

use pj bold molds for precision

Once you’ve got the hang of calculating the right dosage for your cannabis cupcakes, you can apply the same method to other treats like homemade cannabis chocolate chip cookies. Just as with cupcakes, it's important to measure the THC in your infused butter or oil to ensure each cookie packs the perfect punch

After baking the cannabis cupcakes using these instructions, go through the following section to learn about some expert storage tips. 

Part 4. Storage Tips Your Cannabis Cupcakes for Long-Lasting Freshness

With the help of the recipe above, you will be able to bake the perfect batch of cannabis cupcakes. To retain their fluffiness over time, follow the tips explained here to store them properly for as long as possible.

Tip 1. Keep Them Cool, But Not Too Cold

Generally speaking, heat turns out to be the enemy of both freshness and THC potency. So, we recommend you store your cupcakes in a dry place. However, always look to avoid refrigerating them unless necessary, as the cold air can dry them out. 

Pro  Tip: When there is no other choice than to refrigerate, place your cupcakes in an airtight container with a slice of bread. This will help you absorb excess moisture and keep your cannabis edibles from turning into stale hockey pucks.

Tip 2. Use Airtight Containers for Maximum Freshness

As air stands out as another cupcake killer, you should look to store them in an airtight container to prevent them from drying out. Doing so will also prevent these cannabis cupcakes from absorbing any weird fridge odors.

Tip 3. Freeze for the Long Haul (Individually Wrapped)

While looking to preserve big batches of cupcakes, freezing emerges as your best bet. When you're ready to eat these sweet delights, let them thaw at normal temperature for the best texture.

Thing to Remember: To perfectly freeze your cupcakes, simply cover each of them individually in plastic wrap before placing all of them in a container. 

Tip 4. Label and Date Your Stock of Cupcakes 

Although edibles can last for a while, THC potency does degrade over time. Therefore, you need to label your container with the date you baked them and note the estimated dosage per cupcake. That way, you won’t have a mystery snack situation a month later.

clearly label cannabis cupcakes

Tip 5. Keep Them Out of Reach of Everyone 

This might seem obvious, but infused cupcakes look just like regular cupcakes. Due to this reason, this similarity can lead to some unexpected adventures if they fall into the wrong hands. To avoid any such mishap, always store them in a labeled container and out of reach of kids or unsuspecting snack thieves.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you’ve officially unlocked the secret to baking legendary cannabis cupcakes. But remember that these cupcakes aren’t just your average bakery delights, as they pack a punch stronger than Hulk’s smash, so dose responsibly.

To follow this recipe, grab your cupcake linings from PJ Bolds's collections and let the baking magic begin. Thanks to its food-grade molds, your cupcakes will come out evenly shaped every time for visual appeal. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Use Raw Cannabis Instead of Making Cannabutter?

Generally, raw cannabis won't work because THC needs to be activated through decarboxylation to produce its effects. Without this step, your cupcakes will lack the potency experienced through cannabutter.

Is There a Way to Reduce the Waiting Time for Effects to Kick In?

Since edibles take longer to digest, you can try consuming them with a fatty meal to speed up absorption. However, we suggest you stay clear of these cupcakes on an empty stomach, as it may lead to unpredictable highs.

Also, keep in mind that edibles can expire over time. To ensure your cannabis cupcakes stay fresh and potent, store them properly.

What happens if I accidentally eat many cannabis cupcakes?

After overconsuming these cupcakes, don't panic because you can quickly reverse the high. For this, you have to drink plenty of water and try black pepper or lemon zest. 

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