Category Archives: Cupcakes

Watermelon Cupcakes

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Ruthanne

What could be a better picnic treat than these sweet watermelon cupcakes~ covered in “ants” and filled with chocolate chip seeds???

These are so fun to make- and watching people’s surprise at that filling is fun too! My favorite comment? “Oh my, this tastes like WATERMELON!” Um…yes. It does. *smile*

This recipe uses a cake pop maker. I hesitantly purchased one a few years back to make a polka dot cake, and I thought I’d end up selling it on a garage sale after that one use. NOT SO!!! I love it! So many possibilities! I just made fun little pancake balls the other day for breakfast- not to mention all the yummy recipes we have done here with it! Get a cake pop maker!! (or, if you must, make your pink centers in mini muffin tins. Just know that you are missing out on some serious fun!)

I also used fondant on the top of these cupcakes. I know that for many of you, this step is a tedious one and I say frost these cupcakes however you like! Green frosting, pink frosting with sprinkles of mini chips….whatever! Just don’t miss out on that fun center!

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

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed white cake mix (with water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
One small packet of watermelon Kool-Aid drink mix
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 stick of salted butter
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons of clear vanilla
Green, Pink, and Black Food Color Gels
One box of Wilton fondant in white (or make your own, using my recipe)

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package
Remove one cup of batter and place in a separate bowl.
Add 1/2 a packet of Watermelon Kool-Aid powder (use more or less to taste)
Add pink color gel to intensify the color to desired shade
Mix in mini chocolate chips.
Bake in cakepop maker (or use a small mini-muffin tin), making 24 cake pops (or mini-muffins)

Add green color gel to remaining batter, mixing well.
Spoon a little green batter into a cupcake liner, placed in a cupcake tin.
Place pink cake pop on top.
Spoon green batter over the top, covering the cake pop. Use less, rather than more batter here- if you use too much it will bake over the edges.
Bake at 350F degrees for 15-18 minutes.
Cool completely.
Make frosting by placing butters, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beating on high for 3-4 minutes until very light and fluffy.
Color frosting green, if desired, and set aside.
IF you use fondant, color a batch with green color gel (leave out a little bit to make ants if desired), cut into circles that fit the top of your cupcakes using a round cookie cutter. Keep circles covered to prevent drying.
Working one cupcake at a time, spread frosting and then gently lay fondant on top of frosting and press edges down inside of cupcake liner.
Use dark green color gel with a little water (think watercolor paints) to paint on watermelon stripes.
Color remaining fondant black and roll into 3 small balls to stick together as an ant on each cupcake. use a toothpick or small brush to paint little ant legs under each ant.

***If you have used fondant before, this should all be easy, but if this is your 1st time and you are wondering what I mean by things like “color fondant”, see my tutorial on making and using fondant here. You’ll make your ants like the caterpillars shown in the tutorial.***

My thoughts… These are really fun little cupcakes. I’m not a huge fan of watermelon flavor, but only the center is flavored and for me it was the perfect little surprise “pop” of flavor. You could certainly add Kool-Aid to your frosting too- it will just end up being a little pink, rather than green.

Nothing says SUMMER like watermelon~ enjoy these little cupcakes at YOUR next summer celebration!! ~r

Other ways to use that cake pop machine you just got 😉 (click on a photo to see the recipe)

2 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged best, cake pop machine, cake pops, chocolate chips, cupcakes, filled cupcakes, fondant, fun, Kool-Aid dessert, Kool-Aid recipe, picnic treats, recipe, Summer recipe, watermelon, watermelon cupcakes, Watermelon Kool-Aid. Bookmark the permalink.

Cupcakes for Puppies!!!

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Ruthanne

These delicious little peanut butter cupcakes are a yummy treat for puppies and people!

(Just don’t sprinkle the people-ones with dog treats!)

So, I have this dog named Casper.

He was an answer to prayer 6 years ago and he has been making me smile and cheering my heart ever since. His 6th birthday is coming up in June and I wanted to celebrate with a dessert made just for him. I took my peanut butter cookie recipe (which is delightfully simple, using pup-friendly ingredients) and scooped it into mini-muffin tins to bake. They bake up into adorable little bite-size treats. I topped the puppy ones with whipped cream and puppy treats. Then I added a little chocolate on top of the “human” variety.

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

INGREDIENTS: (makes 24-30 mini cupcakes)

1c. creamy peanut butter
1c. sugar
1 egg

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Mix peanut butter, sugar and eggs together in a mixing bowl.
Use a medium size cookie scoop to scoop dough into mini cupcake liners placed in a mini cupcake tin.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes. Cool completely.
Serve plain, or top with a little whipped cream and dog treats (for dogs)
I like a little chocolate with my peanut butter (for humans ONLY though- chocolate makes puppies sick!)
Enjoy! (and help your pup with that paper wrapper!)

Just like that, his “pupcake” is gone! (he needed a little help with the paper wrapper…)

Then we played with the extra whipped cream a little bit…just for fun.

Love him!!!!!

My thoughts: Easy, fun and yummy for both you and your furry friends. Casper and I shared these with both human and puppy friends and they were a hit! There are only 3 basic ingredients in these, but you’ll want to make sure that neither dog nor human have allergies to them before serving! ~Enjoy!!!

Don’t miss Casper’s other recipe feature here: “Cupcakes for Casper”

Maple Hedgehog Cupcakes!

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Ruthanne

Hedgehogs are the MOST adorable things, and these yummy maple cupcakes capture all the cuteness in edible form!

Seems like hedgehogs are all the rage these days. I’ve seen slippers and t-shirts and recently found the MOST adorable hedgehog salt and pepper shakers at Target.

I love them. I think they fall into the category: “so ugly they are cute”, in the animal kingdom…along with the walrus and basset hound…

In any case, I decided that the cupcake world needed a cute (and EASY) version of these, and here they are!

Now, the dilemma of every blogger of desserts is this: who do I give these to, so that I don’t eat them all and gain 500 pounds?

I had an obvious answer for these little hedgehogs: Warner Press!

You see, about a year ago at this time I was getting ready for the publication of my first cookbook, and I was partnered with an absolutely WONDERFUL publisher~ Warner Press. Through the process, many of the people I worked with became dear friends. One of those friends HATES hedgehogs. In fact, it is a long-standing office joke that Regina despises the cute little rodents. Obviously, she needed Hedgehog cupcakes~ so I went for a visit!

We had a fun day of cupcakes and catching up- and I promised them I would tell you all about the (adorable!) boxed set of Hedgehog cards that Regina reluctantly approved for publication. She was so convinced that they would be an epic fail, that she agreed to a wager: If the hedgehog cards make it into the top 10 selling items at Warner Press she would take them all out for dinner…and they are close…!

I love them, and thought I’d give you all a chance to purchase some (and maybe put them into the top ten best selling items?!?!) They would be a cute gift for Mother’s Day! Click here to see the rest of the fun hedgie pictures and to order.

The cupcakes are as easy as can be! Here’s how we put them together: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

1 boxed cake mix (plus water oil and eggs to make according to package)
1 tub of pre-made vanilla frosting
2 teaspoons of maple flavoring
1 cup of chocolate jimmies
1/2 cup of Wilton’s Candy Melts in dark chocolate (or you can use mini chocolate chips)
1/4 cup of Wilton’s Candy melts in pink.

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package and bake as cupcakes for recommended time and temp. Cool completely.
Place frosting into a small bowl and heat for just 15-20 seconds in the microwave until soft. Add maple flavoring and stir until combined.
Dip tops of cooled cupcakes into frosting and pull into a slight “point” on one end of the cupcake for a little nose (see photo)
Immediately (over a plate) pour and pat jimmies into place, opposite the “point”, leaving a small circular section empty for face. Finish all cupcakes this way ( if you use mini chips for eyes you should place them now, before the frosting hardens)

Melt candy melts in the microwave in a small bowl in 30 second increments, stirring in between until smooth.
Place each color in a small zip-top bag and seal.
Clip a small corner off and squeeze out drops of chocolate for the eyes and pink candy melts for the nose- right on the end of the “point” left by the frosting.
Allow cupcakes to harden up.
Enjoy!!!!

My thoughts: Cute and easy! Plus that maple frosting is YUM-MY! You certainly could use your own favorite cupcake recipe for these too- I just used a cake mix for simplicity. Such a fun recipe for kids too! Gotta love those hedgehogs– right, Regina?!? Enjoy!! ~r

Other unique cupcakes from Easybaked: (click a photo to see the recipe)

9 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged cake mix, chocolate, chocolate jimmies, cupcakes, fun, funny cupcakes, greeting cards, hedgehog, hedgehog cupcakes, maple frosting cupcakes for kids, party, sprinkles, unique cupcakes, warner press. Bookmark the permalink.

Easy Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting~ and a GIVE AWAY!!!!

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Ruthanne

The easiest “cupcakes” you’ll ever make- plus the yummiest cream cheese frosting ever!

This recipe has a story (and my very first give-away on easybaked!!!)

Awhile back, a lovely lady named Karin emailed me with a dilemma. She had recently started a business called Baketown Girls, making products for use in the kitchen. She hired a designer to create her logo and product labels, but a short time after receiving her product she was googling “cupcakes” and immediately saw a photo of our Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes, and realized that her designer had stolen my photo for use on her product. Sigh. I cannot even tell you how many times that photo (in particular) has been stolen- people email me all the time about seeing it on products and logos. I’ve thought about slapping watermarks across all of my photos, but that’s just so SAD. I just shake my head and wish the world was a better, more honest place.

In any case, Karin felt bad, and offered to send me her product to try out. I’ve never use silicone cups (and actually never understood why you would use silicone cups), so I agreed.

About a week later, I got a box with 3 sets- one for me and 2 sets to give away to you all! More about that later.

I didn’t know how I would use them. I figured I could try making cupcakes in them, but (to be honest) my favorite part of cupcakes is matching fun liners with the cupcake recipe and these came in 6 colors which meant that no matter what, I’d be stuck with a variety of those colors. My other question- how do you give these away? I give away 99% of my blog desserts. Do I give away unwrapped cupcakes? That seems odd. And messy.

The day after I received this package of silicone cups I needed to make a batch of cinnamon rolls from one of those refrigerated tubes. I opened it (which is always a traumatic experience when it explodes open) and was ready to set them on a cookie sheet when I thought, “I should bake these in those silicone cups”. I sprayed 10 cups with non-stick spray and squeezed each roll into a circumference that would sit in the bottom of each cup and baked them according to the package.

They were AMAZING! They came out looking like little cupcakes and they were so much more moist than when they are baked on a cookie sheet.

I was genuinely surprised. I removed them from the cups, drizzled them with the provided icing and took them along with me to the event I was attending. People loved them.

I knew that if I added my favorite cream cheese icing on top that they would be even better….

They are cute in the colorful cups, but easily lift right out and can be served without the cups too. I’m a big fan of that, because I can bring them to events and not worry about tracking down my silicone cups.

Here’s how we made these cute little treats:

INGREDIENTS:

2 tubes of refrigerated cinnamon rolls- just the basic kind- not the super-sized jumbo rolls (makes 16-20 rolls, depending on the brand you use. I tried 2 brands, Pillsbury and a generic store brand, and both worked great)
4 oz (1/2 package) cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup of butter (softened)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (melted)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to temperature required by package of rolls.
Set appropriate number of silicone cups on a cookie sheet with edges, and spray lightly with non-stick spray.
Open tubes of dough and squeeze each roll into a taller, smaller diameter size so that it will sit flat on the bottom of each cup.
Set each roll into individual cups.
Bake according to package (watch to make sure you don’t over-bake)
Serve warm with provided icing drizzled on top, OR cool and top with cream cheese icing:
On medium speed, beat together cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and salt until creamy.
Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.
Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between, until smooth.
Add melted white chocolate to icing and beat on low until completely combined.
Place in a zip-top bag fitted with a decorating tip and pipe frosting on top of cooled cinnamon rolls.

Aren’t they fun?!?

Ok- so I have 2 extra sets of cups that I’d love to share with my readers! I looked into the various “raffle” sites available to host give-aways and they all seemed so complicated. I decided I will just do this myself.

Only 2 things I’d love to have you do (I can’t require them, but it would make me super happy!!):

1. Follow Easybaked here, by subscribing in the sidebar.

2. “Like” Easybaked on Facebook (here)- and COMMENT under this recipe. I will choose my winners (TWO of them) randomly from comments on Facebook under this recipe- so you actually do have to comment to be entered).

This is available for all readers in the United States (or readers who can have these cute little cups shipped to a US address).

The contest begins NOW and ends on Monday, 3-23-15 at 11pm. Good luck!!

PLEASE NOTE: THIS CONTEST IS FINISHED 🙂 Cups have already been given away!

A special thanks to Karin for providing us with these fun cups to give away. Stay tuned for another fun use of these next week here on Easybaked!

If you don’t end up winning, you can find them at this link on Amazon.com:Baketown Girls Silicone Baking Cups.

Love cinnamon? So do we! Try some of our other yummy cinnamon recipes by clicking on a photo:

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Posted in Cupcakes and tagged best, breakfast, cinnamon, cinnamon roll, cinnamon roll cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, cream cheese frosting, cream cheese icing, cupcakes, dessert, recipe, refrigerated cinnamon rolls. Bookmark the permalink.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Ruthanne

Easy and fun, these are the perfect Valentine’s Day cupcake!

The story begins: “I had an extra tub of strawberry frosting….”

Last fall, as I was preparing to leave the Navajo reservation and move back to the Midwest, I committed to using up everything in my cupboards rather than buying any new food that I would have to fit in my car for that long trip home.

One of the items in the back of my baking cupboard was one tub of strawberry frosting, and it was the inspiration for this yummy (and incredibly easy!) cupcake idea.

I used a chocolate mix for these cupcakes (also remaining in my cupboard), but you could certainly make your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe for these.

When they all were done and I’d taken some pictures, I decided to hold this recipe for February as a fun Valentine’s Day treat! Here it is!!! (printable version)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed chocolate cake mix (with water, oil and eggs to make according to package)
One tub of strawberry frosting
1/2 cup of whipping cream
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
24 Pink Sixlets candies and sprinkles (as desired for decoration)

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package and bake in 24 cupcake liners placed in tins as directed. Cool.
Make chocolate sauce by melting whipping cream and chocolate chips together in a sauce pan, stirring often, until fully melted and smooth.
Spoon strawberry frosting into a microwave-safe bowl, and heat for 15-30 seconds until smooth and liquid when stirred.
Grasp a cooled cupcake by the bottom and dip the entire top of the cupcake into the softened strawberry frosting. Set each cupcake on a cookie sheet and set these in the refrigerator to harden up for 5 to 10 minutes.
Gently spoon a dollop of chocolate onto the center of a cupcake and smooth it toward the edges, trying to keep it from running over. A couple of mine did and they were fine once they hardened up, just a little messy.
Place decorations on immediately and refrigerate until both chocolate and strawberry frosting are firm. They should be fine at room temperature once they have hardened.
Enjoy!

My thoughts: These are such an easy cupcake to make, but they are SO yummy- and cute! I love the chocolate and strawberry combination. I hope you have a chance to make these for YOUR sweetheart this year! ~Enjoy!

Other fun Valentine recipe ideas (just click on a photo to see the recipe!)

Upside Down Oreo Cupcakes

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Ruthanne

Turn these cupcakes upside down and find a cute “winter” Oreo on the top! Add a little bit of frosting in the middle and you have a delicious and beautiful winter dessert!

I saw this cute idea on the Oreo site and decided to “winterize” the idea. You’ll have to find the Winter Oreos- they have red filling and the most adorable designs on them, or you can use plain Oreos too- either way they are delicious!

These aren’t difficult to make, but you will definitely need to keep them in a sealed container until serving them. I put all of mine away, but 2 didn’t fit and since that cupcake liner is pulled off, they got all hard and stale. In a container they kept fine for a couple of days! On a side note: I used the Duncan Hines Blue Velvet mix and it was delicious! You could use Red Velvet or a White cake mix with food coloring too. Here’s how we made them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One box of Duncan Hines Blue Velvet cake mix (plus water, butter and eggs required by mix)
One package of “winter” Oreos
One tub of white frosting
Sprinkles as desired

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix as directed on box.
Place one Oreo each into 24 cupcake liners placed into muffin tins- making sure that cute winter design is facing down!
Spoon cake batter evenly into liners, making sure it get down around the sides of the Oreo
Bake cupcakes as directed by box and allow them to cool completely.
Remove cupcake liners, use a small knife to slice each one in half and spread some frosting between the 2 layers.
When cupcake is reassembled, sprinkle with fun sparkly sugars.
Store in an airtight container. I ADORE my cupcake carrier – it’s one of my favorite kitchen belongings and you should totally ask for one for Christmas!!!
Enjoy!!!!!!!

Aren’t those fun winter colors? I love reds and blues for Christmas!

My thoughts: These are really easy and fun- I think with the lighter cake mix color you get a little more discoloration or “browning” around the Oreo cookie itself, that was my only disappointment. I think if you used a darker cake batter you wouldn’t notice it so much. The flavor was wonderful though. Thanks for the fun idea Oreo!!!! Enjoy!

Other Christmas recipe ideas~ click on a photo to be taken to the recipe:

Need a fun and unique gift idea? Easybaked has adorable boxed sets of notecards. They have an Easybaked dessert photo on the front and a recipe on the back! The come in a cute box and the best part? They are ON SALE for Christmas, include free shipping and the site that is hosting them offers $10 off a $50 purchase! Enjoy!!! (Click on photo for more information)

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Posted in Cupcakes and tagged best, blue velvet cake, christmas, cupcakes, frosting, fun, holidays, Oreos, recipe, sprinkles, upside down, winter. Bookmark the permalink.

Caramel Pecan Pie Cupcakes

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Ruthanne

If you like pecan pie, you will go nuts over these cupcakes! With caramel pecan pie filling in the middle and crisp pie crust decorating the top, these say Happy Thanksgiving in a fun new way!

There’s nothing more yummy than a warm caramel pecan pie in the fall. I have a favorite- and it’s here already on Easybaked as my Christmas Eve Caramel Pecan Pie. These cupcakes take that pie up a notch and they turned out better than I even imagined they would~yum!

There are a couple of steps to this recipe, so it is a little more time consuming, but well worth the effort~ I promise!

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

INGREDIENTS:

Cupcakes:

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

Pie filling:

2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter (melted)
3 eggs (these are in addition to the eggs used for cake mix)
1 (12 oz) jar of caramel topping
2 cups chopped pecans (plus 24 pecan halves for decorating if desired)

Frosting and pie crust toppers:

One refrigerated pie crust
1 cup (2 sticks) of salted butter
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter
3 cups of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons of clear vanilla flavoring

DIRECTIONS:

Pie Filling:

Make pie filling 1st. Start by preheating oven to 350F degrees
In a large mixing bowl, beat 3 eggs together lightly with a fork.
Add sugar, stirring until dissolved
Stir in caramel topping and butter
Stir in chopped pecans
Pour into a greased casserole dish and bake for 50-60 minutes.
Cool completely (I placed this in the fridge to cool more quickly)

Cupcakes:

As the pie filling bakes, make cake mix according to directions on boxed mix and divide evenly among 24 cupcake liners placed in a tin.
Once pie filling is finished, bake cupcakes according to box.
Remove cupcakes from oven and tins and allow them to cool completely.

Frosting and pie crust toppers:

Unroll pie crust onto counter and use any cookie cutter you like to cut into 24 pieces. I used a fall leaf Linzer cookie cutter and added the leaf cut-outs on the cupcakes too.
Place pie pieces on a cookie sheet and spray lightly with non-stick spray.
Bake until slightly browned and crispy. Cool.

Make frosting by combining butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beating on high for 3 to 4 minutes until light and fluffy.

Assembling Dessert:

To assemble cupcakes, make sure everything has cooled. Use a cupcake corer to remove a core out of the center of each cupcake.
Scoop or spoon some pie filling into each cupcake and replace the top of the core back on top of the filling.

Place frosting into a zip-top bag fitted with a decorating tip and pipe swirls of frosting on the top of each cupcake.
Add a pie crust topper and a pecan half and ENJOY!!!!

My thoughts: These really do capture the delicious flavor of pecan pie. They were a big hit with everyone who tried them. I really liked the pie crusts on top- so yummy in that buttercream frosting! I hope you have a chance to try this recipe out! Enjoy! ~r

Love pecans? We do too! Here are some other yummy pecan recipes. Just click on a photo to see the recipe!

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Posted in Cupcakes and tagged buttercream frosting, caramel, caramel cupcakes, caramel sundae topping, chopped pecans, christmas, cupcakes, dessert, filled cupcakes, pecan, pecan pie, pecan pie cupcakes, pie crust, pie crust cut-outs, recipe, thanksgiving. Bookmark the permalink.

Tepee Cupcakes!

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Ruthanne

These adorable little tepees are filled with yummy chocolate cake and are sure to make everyone smile at YOUR Thanksgiving feast!

Since I spent 8 months on the Navajo Nation and learned to love their culture and traditions, I thought I’d skip the Pilgrim themes and go straight for the Indians this Thanksgiving. My first trip out to the reservation I wondered if Tepees were even used by the Navajo. They are- but only for special ceremonies. The Navajo traditionally lived in round or multi-sided structures called hogans.

Here is a picture of a ceremonial tepee and of my friend Rod by his family’s hogan.

I had quite a time making these cute little desserts, but I hope that my experimenting will help you make this perfectly the 1st time! They really aren’t difficult once you figure out what the best system is! I will give you my recipe 1st (that’s what you’re here for, right??) But after the recipe I will share my trials and tribulations in the process!

Here’s how to make these cute little treats: (printable recipe)

(The links to Amazon in this recipe are affiliate links. Your purchases help to support future recipe creations here on Easybaked- thank you!!!)

INGREDIENTS:

24 pointed ice cream cones
One boxed cake mix in chocolate (or any flavor you like!), plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box.
One bag (12 oz) of Wilton Candy Melts in dark chocolate.
Leaf sprinkles (at least one to two cups of them)
Straight pretzel sticks
DIRECTIONS:
Cover the entire top of a large springform pan with aluminum foil, wrapping it around several times.
Use a small knife or scissors to make a tiny slit in the center.
Push the pointed tip of one ice cream cone through the slit until the tip rests on the inside bottom of the pan.
Repeat this with the rest of the cones (depending on the size of your pan you may need to bake these in two batches).

Update 11.17.25!!! New equipment has been created that you can use to bake cones. You can still use the above method to bake these if you don’t wish to purchase anything new, but Wilton has created a cone holder just for this purpose. Find it here.

Directions (continued)

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Make cake mix according to box, and spoon or pipe into cones, filling them about 2/3 full.
Bake at 350F degrees for about 15-20 minutes.
Allow them to cool before removing.

Use a knife to cut the points off of each cone. I scored around the edge with the knife and then just snapped the tip off with my fingers.
Trim off tops of cupcakes to make a flat “bottom”
Melt candy melts in microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
Dip the flat end of the cone into the chocolate, coating it completely.
Dip chocolate into a bowl filled with leaf sprinkles.
Set coated cone on parchment paper to harden up.
Place remaining chocolate into a small zip-top bag and clip a corner.
Pipe a bit of chocolate on the top of each tepee and then stick 3 pretzel sticks into the top.
After chocolate has hardened up, serve and enjoy!!!

The story behind the cupcakes:

These are the result of much experimenting. I saw a picture of tepee cupcakes on Pinterest and was intrigued by this idea, but I couldn’t imagine how you would bake cake batter into a pointed cup…? So I googled the idea and discovered that nobody really has any very good ideas for this…? I wondered if I could maybe cut the top point off 1st, stick the bottom into something like cookie dough and pipe batter in to bake upside down? I tried this with the following result:

These really made the most beautiful exploding volcano-type effect in the oven. It was very entertaining, although not what I was hoping for!

Many sites recommended poking the cones into disposable tin foil pans, but they all said to watch them closely because they tip…and to be careful of the hot cake batter when righting them. Oh my. Not my sort of recipe. Sounds like one big mess in my oven!

Eventually I tried the foil and springform pan idea and it was not only easy but very sturdy. Nothing tipped even a tiny bit!

My thoughts: YUM! These are just delicious and fairly easy to make once you know how to get those cupcakes baked. My only advice: make sure you cut enough off the top that all three of those pretzels fit into the opening. A few of mine were too tight, and I had to use the chocolate melts to cement them in place. I hope you have fun making these! I certainly did! Enjoy!! ~r

Other fun fall recipes here on Easybaked (click on a photo to see the recipe):

30 Comments

Posted in Cakes, Cupcakes and tagged autumn, chocolate, creative, cupcake, cupcakes, dessert, fall, holiday recipe, holiday recipe for kids, ice cream cone, ice cream cones, indian, pretzel, recipe, teepee cupcakes, tepee cupcakes, thanksgiving dessert. Bookmark the permalink.

Creepy Earthworm Cupcakes

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Ruthanne

These fun little cupcakes will entertain your family and friends with slimy (raspberry!) earthworms poking out of the top!

Well, it’s October, and that means it is time for creatively creepy edibles! Last year I had SO much fun with my Broken Glass Cupcakes and my Toxic Slime Cupcakes! Oh my goodness, I love both of those recipes so much that it was hard to think of anything that fun and creepy for this year!!!

I loved the idea of worm-filled cupcakes and decided that gummy worms are way too cheery, with all their fun bright colors. I wanted WORMS- big fat earthworms- in my cupcakes.

I’m not sure why these are not readily available for purchase in the candy aisle of my grocery store, but fortunately I found a TON of recipes for make-your-own gummy earthworms online. I read about 10 recipes (they were all very similar) and gave it a shot.

I love them!!!! I had a hard time biting into one to try out the flavor because they were so realistic! These are really not very hard to make, and I can think of a TON of desserts these would be fun to serve with. These are even Father’s Day friendly (I realized this when the men who were eating the cupcakes started talking about fishing with earthworms…) or maybe you could “dress up” my apple cupcakes from last week with a few worms! 🙂

Here’s how to make these fun little desserts: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

1 boxed chocolate cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to package)
2 sticks (1 cup) of butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
2 tablespoons of vanilla
Green sugar crystals
About 15 Oreo cookies crushed into crumbs
brown and green food color gels
1 (6 oz) packet of raspberry jello
4 (1/2 oz) packets of unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 cups boiling water

DIRECTIONS:

WORMS: (make the day before)

Take about 40-60 bendable plastic straws and pull them out to full length.
Place them each in a tall glass with the bendable part down.
Put a rubber band around the top to hold them together and upright.
Mix jello and unflavored gelatin together in a mixing bowl and add boiling water.
Stir until dissolved and refrigerate for about 20 minutes until cooled.
Place cream and a little bit of green food coloring in a separate bowl and mix well.
Mix cream with gelatin mixture until well combined.
Gently pour the mixture over the tops of the straws until they, and the glass are full.
Refrigerate overnight.
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and lightly spray it with cooking spray.
Run warm water over the glass until you can pull the entire jello mold out (straws and all!)
Gently pull apart straws and use a rolling pin to roll each little worm out.
Place each worm on the parchment paper until all of them have been removed from the straws.
Keep covered and refrigerated until use.

CUPCAKES:

Make cake mix according to box and divide evenly among 24 cupcake liners placed in tins.
Bake according to package, and allow them to cool.
Make frosting by placing butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beating it on high for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Color frosting using a combination of green and brown to make a clay-like color for inside the cupcakes
Use a cupcake corer or a small knife to cut a core out of each cupcake.
Pour green sugar into a small bowl.
Use a knife to spread a thin layer of frosting on the top of each cupcake, around the hole cut out by the corer.
Turn the cupcake top down into the green sugar, coating the frosting entirely.
Spoon or pipe a small amount of frosting into each cored cupcake.
Set a worm into the frosting, letting it “stick” and be held in place.
Spoon Oreo crumbs over the worm and frosting, filling up the rest of the hole in the cupcake.
Keep refrigerated until serving.
Enjoy!!

My thoughts: These crack me up. Everyone loves them, but kids are SO suspicious that you might have used real worms! One of my friends gave some to her grandkids and the oldest just sat and stared at hers and finally declared, “I saw one move!” They are disturbingly life-like. These are great covered in the fridge for a day, but at room temperature the worms start to dry out after a few hours. I hope you get a chance to try this creepy little treat! Enjoy!!! ~r

Other creepy recipes for your October fun: (click on a photo to see the recipe)

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Posted in Cupcakes and tagged baking, chocolate, cupcakes, dessert, frosting, fun, gummy worms, Halloween, halloween dessert ideas, how to make gummy earthworms, Oreo dirt, party, recipe, sugar, unique, worms. Bookmark the permalink.

Fall Apple Cupcakes

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Ruthanne

Celebrate fall with these cute little apple cupcakes! Filled with a chocolate chip “seed” core, these are sure to make everyone smile!

Well. Fall is here. I just began to notice the changing leaves this week, and of course every morning it’s a little bit darker on my drive to work.

Every fall, our family makes a special trip to a local orchard to sample apples, doughnuts and cider. As the temperatures drop I find myself looking forward to pumpkins and rustling leaves and all the fun flavors that come with this new season! These little cupcakes don’t taste like apples, but they sure do look like them! I even added a fun seeded core to these, using my trusty cake pop maker.

How fun is that? Surprise chocolate chips are always a plus in my book! You can skip the “core” if you want- just make solid-colored cupcakes instead of using my added steps in the recipe. Either way, these are a lot of fun and easy to make!

Here’s the recipe: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

1 boxed white cake mix (plus oil, water and eggs to make according to package)
Food coloring gels in desired colors.
1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips (if making core)
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, softened
2 sticks (1 cups) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons of vanilla
Colored sugar sprinkles (in desired colors)
Fondant for stems and leaves (or use pretzel sticks for the stems and spearmint gummy leaves instead!)

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package
Remove one cup of batter and place in a separate bowl.
Mix in mini chocolate chips.
Bake in cakepop maker (or use a small mini-muffin tin), making 24 cake pops (or mini-muffins)
Divide remaining batter into separate bowls and color using color gels. I did green, red and yellow apples, but you can do just one of those colors if you want.
Place cupcake liners into tins and spoon just a small amount of batter into each liner.
Use a cake pop to spread batter evenly into bottom of liner and then leave the cake pop in the center.
Spoon remaining batter evenly over the cake pops, covering each pop completely.

Bake at 350F degrees for 15-18 minutes.
Cool completely.
Make frosting by placing butters, powdered sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beating on high for 3-4 minutes until very light and fluffy.
Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop frosting on each cupcake, and then turn cupcake upside down into a bowl of decorating sugar, pressing until all of frosting is covered in sugar.
Decorate with fondant leaves and stems, or use pretzels and spearmint leaves.
To use fondant, you can buy it already made in white and color it with gel in green and brown, or you can make it from scratch and color it the same way.
Use a leaf fondant cutter to make leaves and just roll and cut the stems.
If you are new to fondant, we did a tutorial on it here. It is MUCH easier than it seems like it would be, and you can make such cute decorations with it!

My thoughts: These are such a happy fall treat! You can go all- out and make little chocolate chip cores, or just make plain cupcakes in various colors. Either way, they are a yummy, easy, fall treat that look beautiful on a fall-themed table. Hope you get a chance to try these! Enjoy!! ~Ruthanne