Store-bought cake mix and canned frosting get a glow-up for this New Year’s Eve Pull Apart Cupcake Cake!

Cupcakes with white icing and sprinkles arranged in the number twenty four.

A Happy New Year Cupcake Cake!

Want to impress your party guests with a show-stopper cake that looks totally (almost) profesh? I’m going to show you how to create a semi-homemade New Year’s Eve dessert with store-bought cake mix and canned frosting!

What’s perfect about a pull-apart cupcake cake is that it’s so forgiving! Once you apply icing to the cupcakes, you can simply go back and pipe more little shapes on top to cover imperfections and gaps. And, by the time you add festive sprinkles and candies, no one will have any idea that you didn’t make it all from scratch (or pay a professional…ha!).

A glass of sparkling wine next to cupcakes with white frosting.

Tools + Supplies

Muffin tin – if you have two 12-cup muffin tins, use both to bake your cupcakes at the same time.
Cupcake liners – have fun with New Year themed, or simple silver or gold liners.
Piping bag(s) – reusable or disposable bags. You can get away with one, but if you have two it will speed things along.
Piping tip(s) – a large star tip will give you good icing coverage. You can also use a small star tip (with a second piping bag) for filling gaps and adding smaller decorative elements.
Platter or cake board – even a large cutting board can be used to display your creation. (The cake board used in this post is for a full sheet cake and measures 17-1/2 X 25-1/2″.) You can find cake boards and drums in all kinds of shapes and colors at craft stores, baking supply shops, and online.

Ingredients for New Year’s Eve Cupcake Cake

Cake mix – I specifically chose Duncan Hines brand because it’s easy to find and contains slightly more mix per box than other brands. The instructions on their box are for 24 cupcakes vs. 22 for other brands. (See the TIP under Step 1 for flavor variations.)
Sparkling wine – if you like, this replaces the water on the box instructions. Why not have champagne cupcakes for New Year’s Eve?!
Eggs – for white cake mix, use only egg whites as egg yolks will color the cake. For other cake mix flavors, use whatever number or type of eggs listed on the box.
Vegetable oil
Canned icing – white, vanilla or cream cheese icing will give you the same look and the color won’t be altered by the addition of powdered sugar.
Powdered sugar – you’ll blend powdered sugar with the icing to thicken it which will make the texture better for piping and holding decorative shapes.
Sprinkles – any color combo or style you like…it’s your cake! I used a gold, white & black sprinkle mix and gold Sixlet candies.

Cupcakes with white frosting and white, black and gold sprinkles.

How to Make a New Year’s Eve Celebration Cake

Step 1 – Bake the Cupcakes

Prepare two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Follow the instructions on the box for mixing the cake batter, using the cake mix, sparkling wine (or water), egg whites and vegetable oil.
Fill each liner with 3 tablespoons of batter. This will ensure your cupcakes end up all the same size.
Bake in a 350°F oven on the center rack for 18 to 20 minutes; rotate the pans halfway through for even baking.
Cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then transfer cupcakes to a wire rack. Allow them to cool completely before decorating.

💡TIP: You can use any flavor cake mix you want. However, I recommend white, vanilla or fruit flavored mixes if you want to use sparkling wine as the liquid. For chocolate cake mixes, replace the water with cooled coffee to amp up the chocolate flavor.

Step 2 – Pick Your Cake Shape

Arrange the cupcakes on a platter or cake board using the illustrations below as your guide.
There may be small gaps, but those will get covered by icing.

💡TIP: The number “24” requires 24 cupcakes (1 box of cake mix). Make “2024” using 48 cupcakes (2 boxes of cake mix).

A pattern of circles that form the number two.

A pattern of circles that form the number four.

Step 3 – Doctor up the Icing

Scoop the canned icing into a large bowl; add the powdered sugar.
Blend on low until the sugar is incorporated. The icing should form peaks that keep their shape.
Optional: tint or flavor your icing after you’ve blended in the sugar. If the food coloring or extract thins the icing, mix in a tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time until those stiff peaks return.

💡TIP: Mix the icing just before you decorate so it is smooth. If left to sit in the bowl, the surface will crust over after a bit. If it does, whisk or beat it until it is smooth again.

White icing in a glass bowl next to a bin of powdered sugar.

Step 4 – Decorate

Fit a large star tip into your piping bag. Fill the bag with 3/4 of the icing.
Apply a small dot of icing to the bottom of each cupcake and stick it back in place.
Holding the bag straight up and down, pipe a large rosette on top of each cupcake, starting at the outer edge and swirling toward the center. It should overlap itself with each concentric circle, and be taller in the center than the edges.
As you start each cupcake, try to get the icing to touch the edge of the previous cupcake’s rosette to limit gaps.
Wherever there is a gap between cupcakes, pipe a little icing kiss to fill the space. (You can do this with a second bag fitted with a smaller star tip and the reserved icing.)
At random, pipe smaller rosettes on top of the large ones to create visual interest and additional height. (You can do this with the smaller tip as well.)
Finally, add candies & sprinkles to the top!

Piping frosting rosettes on top of white cupcakes.

A piping bag poised above some cupcakes covered in white icing.

Final Touches

Add some extra flair to your New Year’s Eve countdown cupcakes by decorating your table with noisemakers, beads, and party hats.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New year's eve cupcakes arranged in a number four next to a glass of champagne.

Eat More Cake!

New Year’s Eve Party Pull-Apart Cupcake Cake

Linda Feller

Store-bought cake mix and canned frosting get a glow-up for this New Year’s Eve Pull Apart Cupcake Cake!

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1 18

Dessert

American

Equipment

2 12-cup muffin tin, batch your baking if you only have one muffin tin
reusable piping bag
disposable piping bag, optional
large star tip
small star tip, optional
cake board, 17-1/2 X 25-1/2" or other size, or platter

Ingredients

15.25 ounce box of vanilla or white cake mix, I used Duncan Hines (See note 1)
1 cup sparkling wine, or water
3 large eggs, whites only
⅓ cup vegetable oil
2 cans white icing, or vanilla or cream cheese
½ cup powdered sugar
sprinkles / Sixlet candies

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare (2) 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Follow the instructions on the box to blend the cake mix, sparkling wine (or water), egg whites and vegetable oil.
Pour the batter into the cupcake liners, about 3 level tbsp per cupcake. Bake for 18 to 21 minutes on the center rack. (If your oven has hot spots like mine does, I like to swap the tins from left to right and spin them around 90 degrees halfway through baking to get nice even cupcakes.)
Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, arrange the cupcakes into the number 24 on a cake board or large platter.
Meanwhile, scoop the icing into a large bowl (or stand mixer). Add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated. The icing should form peaks that keep their shape. (See note 2.) Transfer most of the icing to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
Add a small dot of icing to the bottom of each cupcake to keep it in place. Pipe large rosettes on each cupcake starting with the outer edge and swirling in toward the center. As you start each cupcake, try to get the icing to touch the edge of the previous cupcake's rosette to limit gaps.
Swap the tip for a smaller one or use a separate piping bag. Transfer the remaining icing to the piping bag with the small tip and fill in gaps by making dots, kisses or other shapes. Add smaller rosettes on top of the large ones you already piped to add height and visual interest.
Finally, decorate with sprinkles.

Notes

You can use any flavor cake mix you want. However, I recommend white, vanilla or fruit flavored mixes if you want to use sparkling wine as the liquid. For chocolate cake mixes, replace the water with cooled coffee to amp up the chocolate flavor.
Mix the icing just before you decorate so it is smooth. If left to sit in the bowl, the surface will crust over after a bit. If it does, whisk or beat it until it is smooth again. Optional: tint or flavor your icing after you’ve blended in the sugar. If the food coloring or extract thins the icing, mix in a tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time until those stiff peaks return.

holidays, oven, semi-homemade

Did You Make This Recipe?Be sure to share a comment below!