Category Archives: Cupcakes

Winter Garden Cupcakes

Posted on January 7, 2017 by Ruthanne

Winter Garden Cupcakes

Blue velvet cupcakes topped with icy white buttercream and pastel shimmery flowers. Who says you can’t have a little summer in the middle of January?

It was my birthday last week, and I treated myself to the COOLEST kitchen gadget ever- or so I thought. Have you seen the piping tips for frosting that make whole flowers? I saw this video and I was in AWE of these! I’ve never taken cake decorating classes, or ever really attempted frosting flowers, so these little tips seemed perfect for me! I got a set of 12 on Amazon and I couldn’t wait to try them! My goal? A variety of white buttercream flowers dusted in edible pastel powders- like ice-covered flowers- on each cupcake.

The tips didn’t work. I tried a variety of frosting types and consistencies. I tried using the pastry bags included, I tried using a zip-top bag. Argh! Failure!

If the frosting was whipped (my typical buttercream- light and fluffy) it did not keep it’s shape when piped. If the frosting was a nice firm buttercream it simply didn’t pipe out of the tip at all- and squeezing harder either forced a hole in the bag or forced the tip and connecter to separate from the bag.

So, I had the cupcakes and decided to just go with what I had. Topped these with my very favorite buttercream and used a little fondant for the flowers 🙂 I think they are perfect!

Here’s how we made them (printable recipe here):

INGREDIENTS: (makes 24 cupcakes)

One blue velvet boxed cake mix- plus water, oil and eggs to make according to package. I used Duncan Hines to get this fun wintery blue color- and it was delicious!!!
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter (softened)
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter (softened)
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons clear vanilla
A little white food coloring (if desired) to whiten the frosting even further
White fondant- I used a bit of Wilton’s boxed fondant, but you can make a little too- recipe here.

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to box and bake in 24 cupcake liners. Cool.
Place butters, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until light and whipped (this takes 3-5 minutes, and it will whiten up considerably as you beat it. If you want it whiter, add a bit of white food coloring.
Place into a large zip-top bag fitted with a piping tip and pipe swirls on top of each cooled cupcake.
To make flower decorations, roll fondant out and cut into leaf and flower shapes using small cookie cutters or fondant cutters.
Dust leaves with edible green dust and flowers with edible pastel dust. I use a brand called “Sterling Pearl” and it comes in a wide range of colors, and is available on Amazon or many cake supply stores.

Place decorations on cupcakes and ENJOY!!

My thoughts: I think that when your “dream” idea dies, that there isn’t really any second option that can replace it. That said- I got SO many compliments on these cupcakes. Everyone loved them. The blue velvet cake mix is really great- if you haven’t tried this one yet, it really is worth it- really great flavor! Anyone want a set of 12 piping tips? 🙂 I hope you enjoy these wintery treats! ~r

We have loads of unique cupcakes here on Easybaked- like these! (click on a photo to see the recipe)

7 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged blue velvet, blue velvet cupcakes, cupcake, cupcakes, edible dusting powder, flower piping tips, fondant, fondant flowers, icy cupcakes, January cupcakes, January desserts, Russian piping tips, sparkling cupcakes, winter cupcakes, winter dessert, winter flowers. Bookmark the permalink.

A New Year’s Collection of Top Recipes on Easybaked!!

Posted on December 31, 2016 by Ruthanne

Happy New Year, friends! One of my favorite parts of marking the end of one year and the beginning of the next is looking back at all the things that made the previous year wonderful! One of the really fun things to look at is my statistics for this blog. A LOT of you visited us here this year! Thank you!!! I am always fascinated by which recipes really took off and became HUGE hits- and I’m always a tiny bit disappointed by the ones that I thought were AMAZING, that didn’t really catch anyone’s attention.

I have lots of fun recipes lined up to share with you in January, but this week- as we welcome 2017- here are the top picks from 2016.

Just click on a photo to see the recipe- and enjoy!!! ~r

Viewed 203,655 times in one month alone! The cupcake version of these is really popular too.

Seriously, that cheesecake is maybe the best recipe on this blog. You have GOT to try it!!!! 🙂

When this was 1st posted, there were NO other Oreo Pops on the internet- so I like to think that the Oreo Pop craze started here! We certainly have had fun creating all sorts of them for every holiday!

This recipe was from a failed audition for The Great American Baking Show, and a new friend!

This is the most recent big hit on Easybaked- and it is really easy to make!

So, those were the top 5 in all-time views this year… but what were my favorites from 2016? These three!

new-years-collection8

This is the star of 2016. It is SO yummy and got rave reviews every time I made it. A massive layer of cookie dough in the middle of a cake? Does it get any better than that???

2016 was also my year to turn those healthy little Oreo Thins into amazing stuffed Oreos! These marshmallow ones… oh my! We also stuffed Oreos with Key Lime Pie, Pumpkin Pie and Cookie Butter!

These win my personal “cutest” recipe award for 2016! I loved making them and making cute little stickers to seal the bags I gifted them in too! So fun!

I’ve been asked many times what my all-time favorite recipe on Easybaked is. I’ve got SO many favorites- but if I had to pick one, it would be my Caramel Fudge Brownies. I love them because they are my mom’s famous mint brownies with my favorite caramel added in place of the mint- and they are just the BEST chocolate fix ever.

I hope you have enjoyed this round-up of recipes!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

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Posted in Brownies, Cake Pops, Cakes, Candy, Cheesecakes, chocolate, Cookies, Cupcakes and tagged Best dessert collection, best of the year dessert recipes, cake, cheesecake, Cookie, cupcake, cupcakes, dessert collection, layer cake, new year dessert, oreo, oreo pops, top dessert recipes. Bookmark the permalink.

Strawberry Cream Confetti Cups!

Posted on December 26, 2016 by Ruthanne

Nothing says “Happy New Year” like confetti!!! These cakes, baked in cups, have confetti in every fun bite!

Confession: I am a confetti addict. I LOVE it. I don’t mind vacuuming it up for months after New Year’s Eve- at all! A few years ago we piled as much confetti as we could on my ceiling fan blades and at midnight we turned on the fan. Ah— SO much fun!!!! You should totally try it. As a side note… on Cinco de May0 we also piled little candies on the fan and turned it on. We called it a “FAÑATA” ! 🙂 It hurt a little…but the memories!!!

Someday I want to be in Times Square on NYE…mainly for the confetti, but this year I will celebrate at my dad’s, and I have serious doubts about the level of confetti at our party…but he reads my blog, so maybe he will be inspired by my ideas! (*hint *hint dad…!)

Whether your party includes real confetti or not, these cups of cake will add some edible confetti to the celebration! Plus the strawberry and cream flavors… oh my.

Here’s how we made them: (printable recipe here)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 12-16 cups of cake, or 24 cupcakes)

One boxed strawberry cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to package)
2 cups (seriously- or more…) confetti sprinkles
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, softened
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons of clear vanilla
A little white food coloring to brighten up the frosting (if desired!)
12-16 (8 oz.) party cups. I got mine at Target in the dollar section, but there are all sorts on Amazon- like these. (or make these as cupcakes with polka dot cupcake liners!!)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees and place cups on cookie sheets (preferably the sort with edges, to prevent sliding!)
Make cake according to package.
Mix in a cup of confetti sprinkles, and spoon batter into cups, filling them about 1/2 full.
Bake according to package directions for cupcakes- but add a little extra time since they are bigger, and test with a toothpick. When it comes out clean, they are done!

*Note: I was a little uncomfortable baking in these paper cups- so I kept a constant eye on them. I’m not sure if they can burn- I suppose it depends on the cup- and I read about people who made cupcakes in Starbucks coffee cups and just did it with no problems. Please be careful though- and use your good judgement about baking in paper cups. If you have any hesitation, use cute cupcake liners instead! 😉

Remove from oven and allow them to cool completely.
Make frosting by combining butters, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Beat on high until very light and fluffy (about 4-5 minutes). Add white coloring if desired.
Scoop frosting on top of each little cake and then press the frosting into a bowl filled with confetti sprinkles to coat the top completely.

My thoughts: These are a delicious and pretty way to say “Happy New Year!!!” I hope you love them as much as I do!!!

Other fun New Year’s treats to make for your party! (click on a photo to see the recipe)

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Posted in Cakes, Cupcakes and tagged butter cream, colorful cupcakes, confetti cupcakes, confetti dessert, confetti sprinkles, cream frosting, cupcakes, dessert, fun holiday cupcakes, fun holiday dessert, New years, New years cupcakes, New Years dessert, New years eve, New years eve dessert, NYE dessert, strawberry. Bookmark the permalink.

Caramel Pecan Cup of Cake!

Posted on November 19, 2016 by Ruthanne

Take a plain cupcake and turn it into a layered work of art this Thanksgiving!

Everyone loves those beautiful layered trifle desserts. This recipe creates individual layered desserts. Aren’t they fun?? I used butter pecan cupcakes with yummy caramel sauce, pecans and homemade butter cream frosting. They were delicious! You can use this idea with literally ANY combination of flavors though! Get all the flavors of a “filled” cupcake- but SO much easier to assemble!

Plus, you can wrap them up in cello bags with pretty fall ribbon and ties for an elegant holiday dessert!

Can you tell that I enjoyed taking pictures of these!?! Here is how we made them (printable recipe here):

INGREDIENTS: (Makes 24 cups of cake!)

Cake:

One boxed cake mix (plus oil, water and eggs to make according to package). I used Betty Crocker’s Butter Pecan cake mix. It was AMAZING!!!!!!!

Caramel sauce:

32 unwrapped Kraft caramels
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

Buttercream:

4 sticks of butter (softened)
3 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
You will also need 4-5 pecan halves per cup- and small clear Solo cups!

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package and bake in 24 cupcake tins as directed by box (spray the pans with non-stick spray if you don’t use liners!). Cool.
Make caramel sauce by placing caramels, butter (1 stick) and sweetened condensed milk into a saucepan.
Melt over stove, stirring constantly, until caramels are entirely melted and smooth.
Cool and place in a zip-top bag.
Make buttercream by placing 4 sticks of softened butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
Use hand mixer to beat on high for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Place frosting in a zip-top bag that has been fitted with a decorating tip. Set aside.
To assemble, cut a cupcake in half. Pipe a little bit of frosting into bottom of cup and press cupcake bottom in cup.
Clip a corner off the bag of caramel and pipe along edge of cup on top of cupcake bottom.

Press pecans into caramel along edges
Pipe a little frosting between pecans (only use a little- mine had a touch too much icing in the middle- you could even skip this step and just have frosting on the bottom and top)
Place top of cupcake on, pipe a little more caramel on top of cupcake, and pipe a swirl of frosting on top.
Add a pecan and decorate as desired. I used cute icing leaves by Wilton that I found at Michael’s.

You’ll want to wrap these up or put them in an air-tight container to keep them fresh. I chose cello bags and ribbon ties- and they made me smile 🙂 These stay fresh for 3-4 days when covered.

My thoughts: These got RAVE reviews. Personally, I thought they were a little sweet and I wished I had used less frosting (plus I ran out of frosting with 3 to go!) so use a little less than pictured (or make a little more…if you really like frosting!!) One of my friends HIGHLY recommended crumbled bacon as a layer in these 🙂 The GREAT news is that you literally can add anything you want to make these into your family’s favorite dessert! Enjoy!! ~r

Other yummy pecan and/or caramel treats here on Easybaked! (click on a photo to see the recipe)

A Collection of 10 Halloween Treats!

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Ruthanne

halloween dessert collection

My thoughts: These are some of my favorites!!!! Click on a photo to see each recipe. Enjoy!!! ~r

Lemon Cream Cupcakes

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Ruthanne

Delicious white cupcakes filled with a lemon cream and topped with lemon buttercream and a scoop of whipped topping! Yum!!!

I love lemon- but in moderation. A dessert that is overwhelmingly lemon isn’t my favorite (which is why you see very few lemon recipes on this blog!) These are the perfect creamy mix of white cake and sweet lemon flavor though. I love them! I’ve become a big fan of putting a scoop of whipped topping in the center of a cupcake and surrounding it with a flavored buttercream. It cuts the sweetness and the flavor. These also have a creamy lemon filling that is sooooo yummy.

Ready for the recipe? Here you go. (printable version here)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed white cake mix with eggs, water and oil to make according to package
One small package of instant lemon pudding (with 2 cups of milk to make according to package)
2 tubs of Cool Whip topping (frozen)
2 sticks of butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons of lemon extract
Yellow food coloring
Lemon drops and sprinkles (optional for decoration)

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package and bake in 24 cupcake liners placed in a muffin tin. Cool completely.
Make pudding mix according to package. Spoon about 1/3 cup into a small zip-top bag and set aside.
Add 1/2 of one container of Cool Whip, to remaining pudding, mixing until well- combined. Place in a zip-top bag and set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar, lemon extract and yellow food color together on high until light and fluffy. Place in a zip-top bag with a circular decorating tip inserted into one corner. Set aside.
Remove a core from each cupcake. You can use a knife or a cupcake corer to do this, but save the top of this core.
Clip a corner off the pudding/Cool Whip mixture bag and pipe this into the center of each cupcake, setting the top of the core back on when filled.
Use a medium cookie scoop, melon baller or ice cream scoop to spoon a rounded ball of frozen Cool Whip onto the center of each cupcake.
Pipe lemon frosting around the edges of this scoop by squeezing small circles of frosting all around the edge.

Cut a small(!) corner off the bag of plain pudding and drizzle this over the top.
Decorate as desired. If you use a lemon drop, add this just before serving so it doesn’t get sticky.
Keep these cupcakes refrigerated until serving.
Enjoy!!!

My thoughts: These are truly delicious. They are light and refreshing and just the right blend of lemon and sweet. A perfect summer dessert! I really hope you enjoy them! ~r

Other light and refreshing summer treats: (click on a photo to see the recipe)

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Posted in Cupcakes and tagged cool whip, cupcake, cupcakes, filled cupcakes, lemon cream, lemon cream pie, lemon cupcakes, lemon dessert, lemon drops, lemon pudding, summer cupcake idea, summer dessert, summer dessert idea, whipped topping. Bookmark the permalink.

Peppermint “Smoke Bomb” Brownies!

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Ruthanne

Celebrate July 4th with these fun peppermint brownie cups! Fun to make and sooooo yummy to eat!

I got a little chocolate bomb mold a few months ago and I love it. I have used it for so many creative things! This time, I am using it to make actual bombs- edible smoke bombs that is! The inside of this red candy shell is packed with sweet mint filling that mixes with the dark chocolate of these brownies perfectly!

Yes, these are a little fussy. It seems like anything super fun in the food realm takes some effort. If you want to make these SUPER easy, they are simply an adaptation from my Candy Cane Brownies from last Christmas. You could certainly add a little blue to the mint filling and just sprinkle stars on top for a fun (and equally delicious) patriotic alternative. OR you could be an over-achiever and make mint smoke bombs. Your choice! 🙂

Here is how we put these fun treats together: (printable recipe here)

INGREDIENTS:

Brownie:

1cup butter
2 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Chocolate Glaze:

6oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter (do not substitute margarine here!)

Mint “Smoke Bombs”:

5 cups powdered sugar
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) melted butter
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
Food color in red and blue
One bag of Wilton’s Candy melts in red
One bag of Twizzler’s Red, White and Blue licorice (I found them at Target)
Large Star Sprinkles
Mini Star Sprinkles

DIRECTIONS:

Brownie:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Cream butter and sugar together.
Beat in eggs, cocoa, vanilla and salt.
Add flour and milk (alternating them and mixing well in between)
Spoon evenly into 24 cupcake liners in a cupcake tin.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes (don’t over bake- they will start to pull away from the liner)
Cool.

Chocolate Glaze:

Melt butter and chocolate together in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth.
Set aside until bombs are made

Mint Smoke Bombs:

Melt red candy melts in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until smooth.
Use a pastry brush to brush melts into a chocolate bomb mold and freeze for a couple minutes until hard. Do two coats- freezing in between.
Make mint filling by adding melted butter to sugar and extract.
Mix well, using water to bring it to a thick but spreadable consistency.
Divide into 3 parts and color 2 of them red and blue using food coloring.
Place all three colors into a large zip-top bag and swirl together with a knife before sealing bag.
Cut a corner off bag and pipe mint filling into each red bomb shell- filling them about 3/4 full.
Refreeze these for a few minutes before gently popping them out and setting them on a plate. (I took pictures of this process in an earlier recipe here– but I didn’t fill these shells all the way full like I did there).
Repeat this process until you have 24 mint bombs ready.
Assemble brownies by spooning a little glaze on top of a brownie cup and then setting a bomb on top. Sprinkle edges with small star decorations and freeze to harden the glaze.
Once all your brownies are in the freezer, make the wicks by pulling apart the licorice and cutting into 1 to 2 inch pieces of blue.
Dip one end into the leftover red candy melts (you might need to remelt these) and set it on top of a large red star sprinkle to harden.

Once these have hardened, and your brownies are nice and cold, take a few brownies out of the freezer, dip the end of a “wick” in red candy melts and hold it to the top of a cold peppermint bomb. It should immediately set and hold the wick in place.
Then- simply enjoy the smiles as people bite into your yummy (and very patriotic!) peppermint brownies!!!

My thoughts: Ah…I loved making these. I always wonder if the idea in my mind will come across the way I pictured it, and these did—-makes me smile! I loved sharing these with friends and family too. Makes me wish I had a 4th of July party to go to this year!!! 🙂 I hope you get a chance to try these and that you love them as much as I do! ~r

Other fun desserts to make for the Fourth of July!!! (click on a photo to see the recipe):

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Posted in Brownies, Candy, Cupcakes and tagged american dessert, brownie cups, brownies, candy melts, candy smoke bomb, cherry bomb dessert, chocolate, chocolate bomb, creative brownie recipe, creative holiday recipe, fireworks dessert, fireworks recipe, fun summer dessert, holiday recipe, July Fourth dessert, licorice, patriotic dessert, peppermint brownies, red white and blue dessert, smoke bomb brownies, stars. Bookmark the permalink.

10 Fun Dessert Recipes for Father’s Day!

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Ruthanne

Father’s Day is upon us! I love this day. I have such a great dad- he is adventurous, wise, funny and so much fun to spend time with. I’ve created many recipes here at Easybaked on his behalf, and thought I would gather them all into one little post for you!

Dads come in all varieties with all sorts of interests and hobbies. If your dad is a golfer, try the Hole-in-one Cupcakes pictured above. They use a Lindt chocolate truffle as a golf ball- which is cute and SO yummy eaten with that cupcake!

If your dad is the grill-master of your family, you might make him BBQ Cupcakes– or Hamburger Cookies– or maybe both!

He loves football??? Hopefully he loves the Green Bay Packers… the only team truly worth cheering for….!

Make him delicious dark chocolate Football Cookies, fun little First Down Oreo Pops, OR Cheesehead Cupcakes (Go Packers!) At the very least you can entertain him with stories of how you use your tire pressure gauge with that last recipe…

Maybe your dad is a foodie. He loves his bacon and doughnuts! We’ve got both of those covered! Our Pancake and Bacon Cupcakes are actually incredibly delicious! I was skeptical- and I made them- but they got five stars in my book! We also have some pretty amazing Doughnut Cupcakes– that actually taste like doughnuts!

Finally, for the fisherman fathers out there….. Fishing Bobber Cupcakes– that use Lindt Truffles as an adorable bobber on waves of blue icing- and Fishing Pond Cupcakes– stocked with little goldfish crackers!

That makes 10 incredibly fun, unique and delicious recipes! But I need to add one more… in honor of my dad, who spent his life working in a medical laboratory and literally spent an hour this morning over breakfast telling me all the horrible things they used to have to mouth-pipette back when he started in the profession in the 1960’s… (like formaldehyde… as one of the less nasty things…)

For you dad…(and all scientist dads out there!) Toxic Sludge Cupcakes! These are unbelievable delicious… that green goo is white chocolate pudding and it is SO good inside these cupcakes… makes me smile 🙂

Happy Father’s Day! I hope you have a chance to bake some sweet treats to celebrate your dad this weekend! ~r

Dad and my sweet puppy this morning **smile**

Some of my dad’s other favorites through the years:

Fun recipes for kids!

Posted on June 4, 2016 by Ruthanne

Summer is almost here- and that means summer vacation! I remember spending my summer days in the kitchen with cookbooks I’d gotten out of the library, trying new things. Sometimes I baked with mom- and sometimes I ventured out on my own and learned valuable lessons like you can’t put the whole egg in when the recipe calls for just egg whites!

As an adult, I love baking with kids. I love creating recipes that make kids smile. My childhood interest turned into a lifelong hobby for me, and it’s fun to share that with a new audience.

I thought I’d share some of my favorite kid-friendly recipes that have been posted on Easybaked over the years.

Some of these are featured in my cookbook for kids, “Life is Sweet, Baking Devotions for Kids”.

As I share photos of these recipes, click on the photo to be taken to the recipe!

Easy Recipes- ones that kids can make on their own or with a little adult supervision.

Cinnamon Cheesecake Sundaes– use wonton wrappers to make crispy little cups. Fill them up with a no-bake cheesecake and sundae toppings. Kids love to make their own creative sundaes!

Nutter Butter Flip Flops- less baking and more art! Simply dip Nutter Butter cookies in Wilton’s candy melts and draw on flip-flop straps. It might take a little practice, but learning to dip things in chocolate is a skill everyone should learn!

Tie-Dye Cake- If your kids love color, this cake will make them smile! You color cake mix in all the shades of the rainbow and then bake it into a swirling masterpiece. With blue frosting. Everyone loves blue frosting- right?!?

Hamburger Cookies- They look like hamburgers but taste like chocolate. What kid wouldn’t love that! Easy and quick to make- and very cute when served with those mini potato sticks as french fries!

Earthworm Cupcakes- Kids will love making these jello “worms” and poking them into Oreo crumbs. Not just your USUAL dirt cupcakes- because this time the worms look REAL!

“Pup”cakes- If your kids are looking for someone special to bake for… try these super-easy cupcake treats for dogs! Peanut butter happiness for everyone!

Confetti Kisses- here’s that chance to learn about egg whites! A little supervision if they’ve never divided an egg before- and help with beaters- but add some Jell-O and you have such a fun treat!

Recipes for kid’s parties: These are fun ideas to surprise kids with. Maybe they help create the masterpiece- or you create it for them. These are a little more difficult, but so much fun!

Frozen S’mores Cups!

Kool-aid Truffles

Candy-filled Cake

A Dr. Seuss-style stack of cupcakes

Polka Dot Cake!

Toxic Slime Cupcakes!

Oreo Frogs!

Root beer float cupcakes (one of my favorite cupcake recipes!)

And last…but certainly not least:

Kool Aid Pie!

I hope I’ve inspired a little summer fun in the kitchen! Enjoy! ~r

One of our specialties here on Easybaked is our fun-to make (and eat!) Oreo pops! We have them for every season! (click on photo to get directions!)

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Posted in Cakes, Candy, Cheesecakes, Cookie Cups, Cookies, Cupcakes, Easy recipes, Frozen desserts, Kids recipes and tagged baking with kids, collection of kids desserts, collection of kids recipes, dessert recipes, easy dessert recipe, fun desserts, kid friendly recipes, kids party desserts, recipe collection, summer baking, summer recipes. Bookmark the permalink.

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes!

Posted on May 3, 2016 by Ruthanne

These delicious orange cupcakes have a white chocolate cup of vanilla ice cream in the center! Just like everyone’s favorite Orange Creamsicle frozen treats! Summer is coming…. you need these frozen cupcake treats!!!!

Confession: I hate all things orange flavored.

Confession: I was making cookie dough cupcakes for a party last week and I accidentally grabbed an orange cake mix instead of a chocolate cake mix at the store. I’m not sure how you do that… but I did. I had to rush to the store for a chocolate cake mix and then I was stuck with this orange one…. and I hate…hate…hate orange.

My dad suggested a Creamsicle cupcake and I went for it. Turns out, everyone else in the world LOVES orange Creamsicles- so it all worked out.

I knew I wanted ice cream in the middle, but I didn’t want a soggy cupcake. Solution: the fun chocolate bomb mold that I’ve been raving about and using on cupcakes whenever I get a chance! Best kitchen gadget ever! I used the mold to make little white chocolate cups to hold the scoop of ice cream on top. Perfect!

Here’s how I put these fun little desserts together: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One box of orange cake mix (plus oil, water and eggs to make according to package)
1 bag of Wilton’s candy melts in white
2 sticks of butter (room temp)
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Orange food coloring (if desired)
Vanilla ice cream
Cool Whip (if desired)
Sprinkles to decorate

DIRECTIONS

Make cake mix according to package and divide equally into 24 cupcake liners in cupcake tins.
Bake according to package and cool.
Make icing by combining butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in bowl and beating until light and fluffy. Color orange if desired.
Place icing in a large zip-top bag fitted with a round tip, and set aside.
Melt candy melts in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between until completely melted.
Use a pastry brush to brush candy melts inside each cavity of the chocolate bomb mold and freeze for a few minutes.
Coat a second time (it needs to be nice and thick since we aren’t filling them before popping them out of the mold).
Pop these cups out of the mold by peeling the silicone away. Repeat.

Assemble cupcakes by cutting a small core out of the center of each one, pipe a little frosting into this core, and set a chocolate cup on top.

Pipe frosting dots all the way around the edge of the cup.

You can hold the cupcakes here until serving and do the next steps right beforehand- or do the following steps and keep the entire cupcake frozen until serving. Depends on how and where you will be serving them.
Place a small scoop of ice cream into the center
Top with Cool Whip, and sprinkles as desired

Enjoy!!!!!

My thoughts: Well, I didn’t try these, but I did share them and according to others, they are a yummy success! These work best if you keep them at room temp and add the ice cream just before serving. If you add the ice cream ahead of time, let the cupcakes and ice cream warm up and soften a bit before serving- otherwise they are fairly difficult to eat! At room temperature though… cake and ice cream all at once!!! YUM! Enjoy!!! ~r