Tag Archives: chocolate cake mix

Chocolate Strawberry Layer Cake!

Posted on March 1, 2013 by easybaked

Such an easy and refreshing dessert! If you need something beautiful but quick, this is your recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed chocolate cake mix (with water, oil and eggs to make according to package)
One (8 oz) container of Cool Whip
One (7 oz) container of Jet Puffed Marshmallow fluff
One tub of ready-made chocolate frosting
About 25 ripe strawberries.

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake according to box and bake in 2- 8 or 9 inch round pans.
Cool cakes, trim off tops to level each cake and cut each cake into two layers
Mix Cool Whip and marshmallow fluff together until smooth.
Spoon frosting into bowl and heat for about 30 seconds in microwave. Stir. It should be a hot fudge consistency.
Wash and slice strawberries lengthwise (I used an egg slicer to make this easier).

Place one layer of cake on serving plate. Spread with a bit of melted frosting and a bit of the cream mixture.
Place strawberries along the edge with points facing out. Use small pieces to fill in the middle.

Do this with each layer and then top final layer with remaining cream and frosting.
Decorate as desired.
Keep refrigerated until serving.

My thoughts: I miss summer. I’ve been craving strawberries and this yummy cake did the trick! It is easy and delicious and you’ll impress everyone you serve it to! Enjoy!!! ~r

Other strawberry desserts you’ll love ~ click on the image to get to the recipe:

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Mocha Caramel Cream Cupcakes

Posted on February 22, 2013 by easybaked

It’s that time of year here…that yummy cup of frou frou coffee just whispers your name until you find yourself nestled into an armchair at the local coffee shop watching it snow and sipping a mocha or a latte. One with chocolate drizzled on top…or caramel.

Why not capture those flavors in a cupcake?

These yummy treats are coffee-infused chocolate cupcakes filled with creamy caramel and topped with coffee buttercream.

Oh. My.

Bring it on winter!

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

One boxed chocolate cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
1/4c milk (warmed)
2 T instant coffee granules

Caramel Cream Filling:

1 cup sugar
1/2 c. water
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 T. powdered sugar

Frosting:

2 sticks (8 oz.) salted butter
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter
3 c. powdered sugar
2 T. vanilla
2 T. instant coffee granules

Directions:

Cupcakes:

Place 2 T. instant coffee granules into milk and stir. Allow this to sit and dissolve.
Make mix according to box
Add coffee/ milk mixture to cake batter and blend well.
Scoop into 24 cupcake liners in cupcake tins and bake at 350F degrees for about 20 minutes.
Remove from tins immediately and allow to cool on counter.

Caramel Filling:

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir constantly and cook until mixture turns a caramel brown color. (about 10 minutes)
Remove from heat and slowly add cream, whisking vigorously (this will spit and splatter as you add it, so use caution!).

Chill in refrigerator until cold. (I did this the night before and just left it overnight)
When mixture is cold, add powdered sugar and beat on high until creamy and smooth.

Frosting:

Add 2T vanilla and 2T instant coffee granules together in a small bowl and allow the coffee to dissolve.
Place butters and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until very fluffy.
Add vanilla/coffee mixture and beat until well combined.
Core cupcakes and pipe caramel filling inside.
Pipe frosting on top and sprinkle with a little cocoa powder.

My thoughts: Goodness, I love these cupcakes. The filling is a touch fussy since you need to chill it until cold, but I have to say that it is WORTH the wait. I’m on a diet and I took ONE bite (to get a picture of the filling, of course..!) and I couldn’t stop. I had to finish the cupcake. I blew my diet for this cupcake…it is just so good. Two people have asked for *just* a bowl of the coffee buttercream frosting…haha!

Sigh. I will dream of these cupcakes until the diet is over….in two months….and then I will eat 3 of them.

Make these and enjoy them on my behalf!!!! ~r

In other (non-recipe!) news, I finally have a DSLR camera! (Nikon D5200) Yay! I feel like my photos are a little off as I adjust to it though. I had a system for making my point and shoot work for me and now I’m trying to adjust my system to get the right lighting and exposure. I previously used a homemade light box to control my lighting and now I’m just so excited to sit down at a coffee shop and take pictures using natural light. Yesterday I met my friend Ben for coffee and before he could take a bite or sip of his treats I was like, “WAIT!!! I have to take a picture of that!” So much fun. So my apologies for my fairly awful pictures in this post– I’m learning!!!

Yummy coffee shop treats (and practice with my new camera!)

Want some other winter dessert ideas? Click on the image to be taken to the recipe.

37 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged baking, buttercream, caramel, caramel cream, caramel filling, chocolate, chocolate cake mix, chocolate cupcakes, coffee, coffee buttercream, coffee cupcakes, coffee granules, coffee mixture, cupcake, cupcake liners, dessert, filled cupcake, food, mocha, powdered sugar frosting. Bookmark the permalink.

Cookie Dough Frosted Cupcakes

Posted on February 15, 2013 by easybaked

Chocolate cupcakes topped with rich chocolate chip cookie dough frosting….my new favorite thing!

I love cookie dough. When I was a little girl we always got little nibbles of it when mom was baking. Now, of course, we know that those raw eggs could kill us…but I think that cookie dough might be worth that risk!!

The best part of this recipe is that the frosting truly tastes like cookie dough (a light creamy cookie dough) and there are NO eggs in it. So you could just eat it straight out of the bowl and forget the cupcakes….not that I would do that….ever….well…maybe just a little….

I made my cupcakes into minis- simply because I wanted to put a “scoop” of frosting on top and a full-size scoop would be a HUGE amount of frosting…I don’t have a problem with that, but I think most people might

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed chocolate cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box)

***OR use your favorite cupcake recipe. This is really all about the frosting– so do your favorite thing with the cupcake recipe/ flavor***

2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter(softened)
2 sticks (8 oz.) salted butter(softened)
2 c. powered sugar
1 c. brown sugar (packed)
3 T. vanilla
1/3c. flour
1 12 oz bag of mini chocolate chips.

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix (or your favorite cake recipe) and divide into mini cupcake liners in a mini cupcake tin. (makes about 48 mini cupcakes)
Bake according to box/recipe (mini cupcakes take less time, so adjust accordingly!)
Cool cupcakes completely.
Place all frosting ingredients except mini chips into a large mixing bowl and beat with mixer on low until combined and then high until light and fluffy.
Add mini chips (keep about 1/4 of a cup aside to sprinkle on top) and beat on low until fully combined.
Frost cupcakes. You can use a knife to just spread it on or use a small or medium Cookie Scoop to make your cupcakes look like mine do.
Sprinkle remaining chips on top and gobble these cupcakes up!!!

Cookie Dough Cupcakes2 My thoughts: These are dangerous cupcakes for me. I had to get them out of my house FAST. I seriously wanted to eat them all. Ah….cookie dough….sigh. Enjoy these so much!!!! ~r

Chocolate chips are an important ingredient here at easybaked~ click on an image to be taken to the recipe:

47 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged baking, chocolate, chocolate cake mix, chocolate chip cookie, chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate chips, cookie dough, cookie dough buttercream, cookie dough frosting, cookie scoop, cupcake, dessert, food, mini chips, mini chocolate chips. Bookmark the permalink.

A big pile of cupcakes!

Posted on December 28, 2012 by easybaked

Make everyone smile with a stack of three colorful cupcakes! Made with peanut butter cups, these mini-cupcake decorations are SO yummy with the chocolate cupcake they top. The occasions you could serve these at are endless. What a fun New Year’s Eve party treat, or birthdays? What about a Dr. Seuss themed party? SO much fun!!!! Here’s how to put them together:

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed dark chocolate cake mix (with oil, water and eggs to make according to box)
2 sticks (8 oz) salted butter (softened)
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter (softened)
3 cups of powdered sugar
2 tsp clear vanilla
24 Reese’s miniature peanut butter cups (unwrapped)
24 Reese’s minis peanut butter cups
Wilton Icing Colors
sprinkles, jimmies to decorate cupcakes

DIRECTIONS:

Make cupcakes according to the box. I used brown cupcake liners to match the chocolate on the peanut butter cup toppers.
Cool cupcakes completely.
Make butter cream frosting by combining butters, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
Beat on high until frosting is light and fluffy.
Divide frostings into bowls and color using icing gels. I made 5 colors, but you can do however many you want.
Pipe frostings on top of cupcakes and (using a smaller tip) pipe frosting on top of the two sizes of peanut butter cups. (I clipped both corners of a zip top bag and put the large tip in one and the small in the other. I piped the large cupcakes 1st and then squeezed the remaining frosting into the other corner and piped the frosting on the Reese’s cups.)
Gently stack the tiny cupcake on the medium and the medium on the full-size. (this buttercream recipe worked GREAT for these- it is nice and firm and hardens just a bit as it sets. I didn’t lose even ONE topping!)
Decorate with sugars and jimmies as desired I used Red Sixlets Candy for the large cupcakes and they looked so cute- like cherries!

Aren’t they fun? I just couldn’t stop taking pictures!

My thoughts: Goodness these cupcakes made me happy. My friend Danielle and I made them together and we both kept saying, “Ah! They are so CUTE!” My neighbors and coworkers were the recipients of these treats and the smiles when they saw them made my day! I love easy ideas that are high on the “WOW” factor. To give credit where it is due, my friend Megan from Happily Ever After Cakes pointed this idea out to me on Edible Crafts. They had only used one cupcake topper, but I love it so much with two!! Enjoy!!!!!! ~r

Need some ideas for your upcoming New Years Eve Party? Try these fun treats! Click on the image to be taken to the recipe:

35 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged baking, birthday dessert, butter cream frosting, buttercream, chocolate, chocolate cake mix, chocolate cupcake, cupcakes, dark chocolate, dessert, dessert for kids, Dr. Seuss dessert, Dr. Seuss party idea, food, New Years dessert, peanut butter cup, reeses peanut butter cups, unique dessert. Bookmark the permalink.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

Posted on December 7, 2012 by easybaked

Rich chocolate cupcakes filled with peppermint cream and topped with a chocolate frosting made with hot chocolate mix ~ a perfect winter treat!

(the hot cocoa frosting is to DIE for…just thought you should know that right up front….!)

I love hot chocolate…. it is one of my favorite parts of winter. My friend Dawn recently suggested we participate in a Hot Chocolate Run. If you’ve never heard of this (I hadn’t!) let me show you a little of the amazingness that makes up a Hot Chocolate Run.

Nothing motivates better than chocolate, I always say! Who needs a medal when you can have a big cup of cocoa and warm chocolate fondue after a race?

In any case, I’ve been moderately addicted to hot cocoa ever since that weekend. We all know what happens when I get a flavor stuck in my mind right? Cupcakes happen. Hot Chocolate Cupcakes in this case– with some peppermint as a bonus. If you don’t like peppermint you can easily leave it out of this recipe, but I love the combination! Are you ready to make these? Here we go.

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed dark chocolate cake mix (plus oil, water and eggs needed to make mix according to box)
One packet of Dream Whip (what is Dream Whip? Click HERE)
1/2c. cold milk
3 t. vanilla (divided)
3 tablespoons of finely crushed peppermint candies (I used Peppermint Sprinkles )
1 stick (4 oz.) of salted butter at room temp.
1 stick (4 oz.) of unsalted butter at room temp.
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup of hot cocoa mix (I used Nestle)
Kraft Mallow Bits and peppermint candies to decorate as desired.

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to box, and bake in 24 cupcake liners in muffin tins.
Cool cupcakes completely.
Make cream filling by placing Dream whip, milk and 1 t. vanilla in a mixing bowl and beating on high until light and fluffy.
Add finely crushed peppermint candy and gently fold in until well combined.
Hollow a core out of each cupcake (I used a Chicago Metallic Cupcake Plunger that was recommended to me by a friend– LOVED it!)

(If you have baking friends this is SUCH an inexpensive and fun stocking stuffer idea– it only took me about 5 minutes to core all 24 cupcakes– and I stopped to take pictures!)

Pipe filling into each cupcake core.
Make frosting by combining butters, powdered sugar, cocoa mix and 2 t. vanilla in a large bowl and beating on high until fluffy.
Pipe frosting over cupcakes and decorate as desired. (The mallow bits were really yummy with this frosting!

My thoughts: Fun and yummy winter treat!! Not a fan of peppermint? Just leave the crushed peppermint out of the filling and you have a yummy whipped cream taste with your hot chocolate frosting instead!

One note: Put the peppermints on just before serving as the frosting eventually makes them a little sticky. I hope you and your family love these little treats! Enjoy!!! ~r

23 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged baking, chocolate, chocolate cake mix, chocolate frosting, christmas, crushed peppermints, cupcake, cupcake liners, dessert, dream whip, filled cupcakes, food, frosting, holiday, Hot chocolate, hot chocolate cupcake, hot chocolate mix, hot cocoa mix, mini- marshmallows, peppermint, peppermint hot chocolate. Bookmark the permalink.

Chocolate Lava Cupcakes

Posted on November 1, 2012 by easybaked

These rich chocolate cupcakes are made with a cake mix, but filled with warm chocolate fudge that pours out when you take a bite~ yum!!!!!

INGREDIENTS: (makes 18-20 cupcakes)

One boxed dark chocolate cake mix (plus water, eggs and oil to make according to box)
1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. whipping cream
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. white baking chips

DIRECTIONS:

Heat semi-sweet chips and whipping cream in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted and smooth, making a ganache.
Refrigerate for about 2 hours, until hardened to a soft fudge consistency.
Scoop small balls of cold chocolate ganache out of bowl using a small cookie scoop (I highly recommend a small cookie scoop for this job- the chocolate is sticky and hard to work with until it is rolled in cocoa- a scoop makes it so much easier!)
Roll balls in cocoa powder and keep refrigerated until use.
Preheat oven to 350F degrees
Make cake mix according to box and spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter in 18-20 cupcake liners in tins.
Gently press a ball of ganache into the center of each cupcake.

Cover each ball with a small scoop of cake batter- just enough to cover the ball completely.
Bake at 350F for the time recommended on the box.
Remove from oven and serve warm with ice cream and drizzles of white chocolate.

If you aren’t serving immediately, warm each cupcake in the microwave for 15-20 seconds before serving.

My thoughts: I’ve had many a molten lava cake and cupcake before, but usually they fall apart right out of the pan. These cupcakes hold together beautifully and don’t leak all that warm fudge out until they are cut into. They are perfect re-heated and sooooo yummy with a little ice cream and raspberry sauce. A perfect treat for a chilly fall day!! Enjoy!! ~r

Other cupcake recipes you might enjoy: (click on the image to be taken to the recipe)

12 Comments

Posted in Cakes, Cupcakes and tagged baking, cake mix, chocolate cake mix, chocolate cupcakes, cocoa powder, dark chocolate, dessert, food, ganache, lava cake, lava cupcake, molten lava, molten lava cake, recipe, semi-sweet chocolate, sweet chocolate chips, warm cupcakes, whipping cream, white chocolate. Bookmark the permalink.

Halloween Bundt Cake

Posted on October 6, 2012 by easybaked

Creepy colors all swirled together inside make this bundt cake a holiday hit! Drizzle it with gooey frosting and fun colors for a perfect (EASY!) party dessert!

Confession: I needed a fast dessert a few nights ago, saw this online and decided to use a recipe rather than create a new idea. Its a FABULOUS and EASY idea, so I just couldn’t help but share it! Kudos to Lets get Cookin’ for this idea- wonderfully creative! Here’s how I made my own:

INGREDIENTS:

One box of white cake mix (and oil, water and eggs to make according to box)
One box of chocolate cake mix (and oil, water and eggs to make according to box)
Orange, Black and Purple gel icing colors (these gel colors give the batter the vibrant colors you see without having to add much–I invested in the Wilton set of 12 colors months ago and I LOVE them. Click here to see them on Amazon. You can order them there or sometimes find them at craft or cake decorating stores).
One tub of chocolate pre-made frosting
Wiltons Candy Melts in purple (and orange too if you want!)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Make both cake mixes according to packages.
Divide the white cake batter into two bowls, equally.
Add black coloring to the chocolate cake to darken it.
Add purple to 1/2 of the white batter and orange to the other half.
Pour about 1/3 of the chocolate batter into the bottom of a well-greased bundt pan.
Pour all of the purple batter over the chocolate
Pour all of the orange batter over the purple
Pour another 1/3 of the chocolate batter over the colors. You can use more than 1/3, but you want to give the cake room to rise- so leave a bit of room. You can discard the remaining chocolate batter or make a couple of cupcakes with it.
Bake at 325 degrees for about 45-55 minutes (until the center is set and a cake tester inserted comes out clean).
Tip over on a cake rack and cool completely
To finish, melt the tub of frosting in the microwave (about 15-30 seconds) and stir well.
Place frosting in a zip-top bag, clip a corner and drizzle over entire top of cake.
Melt candy melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until smooth and pipe these colors over the top as well. I think both purple and orange would be fun, but I only had purple in my cabinet!

My thoughts- quick and easy and yummy moist cake that makes people smile and ask– “how’d you do that”? Very fun!! I have to add that the recipe over at Lets Get Cookin’ used vanilla frosting colored with the gels and drizzled over the top. I decided to use chocolate because its what I had It was really yummy with the chocolate– I think you would get a better color match doing it with the vanilla frosting though- my candy melts color clashed a little with the inside purple color. Also, I put a cookie sheet on the rack below the cake while it baked– just in case it dripped over. It didn’t, but you might want to do that just to save yourself an oven-cleaning day! Hope you get to try this cake– I think you are gonna love it!!! ENJOY! ~r

12 Comments

Posted in Cakes, Easy recipes and tagged baking, cake, cake mix recipe, chocolate, chocolate cake mix, colorful bundt cake, creepy colors, dessert, drizzled chocolate, food, Halloween, halloween dessert. halloween bundt cake, halloween party ideas, vibrant colors, white cake, Wiltons candy Melts. Bookmark the permalink.

Grasshopper Mint Cupcakes

Posted on June 21, 2012 by easybaked

I just love anything that combines mint and chocolate. I was thinking about those yummy chocolate covered “grasshopper” mint cookies the other day and decided right then and there that I’d try a cupcake recipe in those flavors.

One of my favorite trends in the world these days is the invention of the cupcake store. We have several here in my hometown- one of which was actually invited to compete on the TV show “Cupcake Wars”. I love to see the different ideas these little bakeries have for cupcake treats.

About a month ago my friend Megan came to visit. She’s 1/2 of the team at Happily Ever After Cakes out in Pennsylvania and we met 2 years ago in Russia. Since we share a love for all things sweet AND she was flying into Chicago, we decided to try Sprinkles Cupcakes. It was amazing- really the best cupcakes I’ve had from a bakery. The cupcakes were simple– but the frostings….oh my. I’m obsessed with making the salted caramel frosting they have. It was the best frosting ever. Here’s some pictures from our trip– so much yumminess in one little store.

The flavors we tried were: Red velvet, Salted caramel, Mocha and Coconut. We loved them all- but especially the Salted caramel….!

On to our recipe this week— yummy mint grasshopper cupcakes! (Makes 24)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed chocolate cake mix (with water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
Approximately 36 Andes Mints
1 stick of salted butter (room temp)
1 stick of unsalted butter (room temp)
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 t. mint extract
green food coloring

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make cake mix as directed on box. Evenly divide it into 24 cupcake papers in muffin tins.
Place one Andes mint candy into the center of each unbaked cupcake.

Bake at 350 degrees as directed on box.
Cool completely.
Combine butters, powdered sugar, mint and food coloring in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until very light and fluffy.
Place frosting into a zip top bag fitted with a large star decorating tip in one corner.
Pipe frosting on each cooled cupcake.
Top each cupcake with 1/2 of an Andes Mint Candy.

My thoughts: These turned out so yummy– just a note that some of the Andes mints sank all the way to the bottom of the cupcake– they still tasted really good in the cupcake– but they weren’t all as fun as the one in my picture (below). Another note– this frosting recipe makes just enough to frost 24 cupcakes– if you like lots of frosting, double the recipe. Enjoy!!!! -r

30 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged andes mint candy, Andes mints, buttercream frosting, chocolate cake mix, cupcakes, cupcakes with Andes mint inside, dessert, grasshopper, mint, mint and chocolate cupcakes, mint buttercream frosting, mint cupcakes, muffin tins, peppermint. Bookmark the permalink.

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Tag Archives: chocolate cake mix

Chocolate Strawberry Layer Cake!

Mocha Caramel Cream Cupcakes

A big pile of cupcakes!

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Lava Cupcakes

Halloween Bundt Cake

Grasshopper Mint Cupcakes

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