Tag Archives: cupcake liners

Malted Milkshake Cupcakes

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Ruthanne

Dark chocolate cupcakes topped with the creamiest malt frosting ever. Like a malted milkshake minus the cup!

I have an addiction to chocolate malts. Not chocolate shakes, just malts. The creamy, chocolatey kind that you drink through a striped straw at the pool. My mom makes the best chocolate malts ever. They are really simple to make, but there’s just something about her leaning out of the patio door and asking, “Anyone want a malt?” that makes me smile. It’s one of our summer traditions.

{Her easy recipe? Ice cream, malt powder, cocoa and milk~ a blender full of ice cream plus cocoa and malt to taste, and milk to desired consistency}

I wanted to make a frosting that tastes like a malt. It took me a couple of tries, but I finally hit the mark. It’s wonderfully creamy and smooth. It is also a very soft whipped icing that must be kept refrigerated because it has milk in it, and because it will not keep a pretty piped finish if it gets warm.

Believe me, the flavor and texture are worth it!

Here’s how to make these yummy cupcakes! (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed dark chocolate cake mix (plus water, eggs and oil to make according to box)
4 packets of Dream Whip
1 1/2 cups of cold milk
6 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
6 Tablespoons of malt powder
1/2 -1 cup of powdered sugar (to desired consistency)

DIRECTIONS

Make cake mix according to box and bake in 24 cupcake liners placed in muffin tins.
Cool cupcakes completely.
Put Dream Whip, milk, cocoa powder, malt powder and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl and blend together.
Using a mixer, beat until stiff peaks form (3-4 minutes)
Add extra powdered sugar if needed, to desired consistency. This is a soft whipped frosting, so it won’t be the consistency of a stiff buttercream~ even with lots of powdered sugar. (believe me, I tried!)
Spoon frosting into a zip-top bag fitted with a decorating tip and pipe frosting on cupcakes.
Refrigerate until serving and just before serving add a malted milk ball and sprinkle with cocoa powder if desired for garnish.

ENJOY!!!

My thoughts: these are *almost* as good as my moms malts. This frosting is really yummy. It would be a great filling for a layer cake too~ or even a filling for cupcakes. You could fill chocolate cupcakes with this and then just spoon some chocolate ganache over the top. Oh the possibilities! Hope you get to try these and enjoy them as much as we did! ~r

More recipes you might like:

17 Comments

Posted in Beverages, Cupcakes and tagged baking, chocolate, chocolate cake mix, cocoa powder, cupcake, cupcake liners, dessert, dream whip, fun cupcakes, malt, malt balls, malted milk, malted milk balls, milkshake, muffin tins, recipe, summer dessert, unique cupcakes, whipped frosting. Bookmark the permalink.

Gender Reveal (Surprise!) Cupcakes

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Ruthanne

These cupcakes hold a secret—- is it a boy, or is it a girl? The latest trend of having a gender reveal party is SO much fun when the gender is revealed with a yummy dessert! Plus, I’ve included free printable cupcake toppers to go along with your party theme!

A few weeks ago, Easybaked featured a Polka Dot Cake using a Cake pop maker. It was so much fun that I couldn’t help but think of other ways to use the idea. These cupcakes are just wonderful– when you bite in the color is seamless- you can’t even tell that the cake pop was baked ahead. Want to know how to do this?

Here we go:

INGREDIENTS:

1 white cake mix (for about 18 cupcakes) or 1 white/ one chocolate for a combo and about 36 cupcakes
The oil, eggs and water required by your boxed mix(es)
Gel food coloring
Frosting (I used my buttercream recipe ~double it if you add the second cake mix)

This little chart should help you see how many cupcakes are made with just the white mix and how many are made when you use both a white and chocolate mix (I’m bad with math…I need visuals!!):

DIRECTIONS:

Plug in/heat up your cake pop maker
Make white cake mix according to box.
Take about 3/4 cup (1 1/4 cup for the double batch!) of batter and place it into a smaller bowl.
Color the batter using color gel (I like Wilton brand of Gel food coloring because they always come out bright. Try Aqua or Pink.)
Follow the directions on your cake pop maker to use the colored batter to make cake balls. Helpful hints: work fast and use a small cookie scoop to evenly spoon batter into cups, and check them- I burnt my 1st batch following the directions! You should have enough batter to have a practice round and adjust.

While cake balls cool, spoon small amounts of your remaining white cake mix into 12-18 cupcake liners in a cupcake tin. (start with 12 and see how much batter you have left for the rest).
Spread the batter out along the bottom so you have a thin layer in each liner.
Set a cooled cake ball in the center of each liner and carefully scoop batter over the top (I found a medium cookie scoop to make this job MUCH easier!)

After your 12 are filled, continue on until you have used up all of your cake batter.
Bake at 350F degrees for about 20 minutes.
(If you are making the double batch, make your chocolate cake mix while the white cupcakes bake. Set these up with the cake balls hidden inside the batter and bake for the same amount of time.)
Remove from tins immediately and cool on the counter. Frost and decorate as desired.

Do you see how I piped the two-tone icing colors? I’m sure there must be a better method than this…I am so not a cake decorator. It turned out ok- but it was a little fussy to keep equal pressure on both colors at the same time.

The toppers are easy and inexpensive to make. Simply click here to get a free pdf file of the owl toppers. Print them on a heavy card stock paper, cut them out and use double sided tape to stick them back to back around a toothpick (one boy owl and one girl, back to back).

It’s a boy!!!

My thoughts: I love how the final cupcake is….just a cupcake. It isn’t anything fancy or cream-filled…just a cupcake with a surprise. These would be fun cupcakes for any party- you could even incorporate them in a game—whoever gets the (__color___) cupcake gets a prize! I hope these make their way into a party of yours soon! Enjoy!!! ~r

It’s a girl!!!

Want some other shower ideas from easybaked? Click on the image to be taken to the recipe.

18 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged baby shower, baby shower dessert, baking, buttercream frosting, buttercream recipe, cake pop, cake pop maker, chocolate, cupcake, cupcake liners, cupcake toppers, cupcakes, dessert, desserts, food, free printable, gender reveal cupcakes, gender reveal party, owls, polka dot cupcakes, two-color frosting, unique cupcakes, vanilla, yummy dessert. Bookmark the permalink.

Mocha Caramel Cream Cupcakes

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Ruthanne

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.

52 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.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Ruthanne

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

29 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.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes (with Halloween MISfortune cookies!)

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Ruthanne

Caramel cupcakes dipped in gooey caramel cream and topped with tangy green apple frosting~ yum! Add a caramel MISfortune cookie on top to celebrate Halloween with some laughs.

INGREDIENTS:

One box of Duncan Hines Caramel cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box)
One bag (14 oz) Kraft Caramels
1/2c. sweetened condensed milk
1/4c. butter or margarine
1 stick (4oz) salted butter
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter
2 c. powdered sugar
2 t. clear vanilla flavoring
1 packet of Crystal Light drink mix- Appletini flavor

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Make cake mix according to box and divide into 24 cupcake liners in a cupcake tin.
Bake according to box. Remove from oven and cool completely.
In a small saucepan, combine 16 unwrapped Caramels, 1/2c. sweetened condensed milk and 1/4 c. butter.
Melt (stirring constantly) until creamy and smooth.
Pour warm caramel into a small bowl. Dip tops of cooled cupcakes into caramel to coat the top. Stir caramel occasionally to keep it smooth. (I had to spoon the remaining caramel onto the last few cucpcakes instead of dipping them)

Allow caramel to cool completely.
Make frosting by adding butters, powdered sugar, vanilla and Crystal Light drink mix together in a mixing bowl. Beat together on low until combined and then beat on high until light and fluffy. **note: the apple flavor in the drink mix is strong and tart– I LOVED it, but you might want to add it a little at a time and taste as you go to decide how strong a flavor you want.**
Pipe frosting over the caramel on each cupcake and enjoy!!!

To add fun little misfortune cookies on the top for Halloween party:

Unwrap the rest of your Kraft Caramels and place about 15 in a large ziplock bag. Microwave for about 15 seconds to soften them, remove them from the bag and knead them into a ball.
Place the ball back in the bag and using a rolling pin, roll the caramel out flat and thin.

Carefully remove the flattened caramel from the bag and use a round cookie or fondant cutter to cut circles out of the caramel.

Slide a funny misfortune in the center and fold into a fortune cookie shape (fold lightly in half and then pull the corners back and together).

Need ideas for MISfortunes? Print a free PDF of my favorites here

Place each MISfortune cookie on a cupcake and enjoy!

To give credit where it is due: this GENIUS idea of using Kraft Caramels to make fortune cookies came from a wonderful book called What’s New, Cupcake? I was browsing the cookbook aisle a few weeks ago and came across this book- it is AMAZING. If you click on the title it will take you to Amazon and you can see pictures of some of the cupcakes other people have made using this book…..amazing creativity!

My thoughts: These are such a unique cupcake– the tart green apple frosting is the perfect balance to the sweet caramel and the misfortune cookies just make everyone laugh. The frosting is a tart and strong green apple flavor- a little like Jolly Rancher candies. You can add less drink mix to tone it down if you’d like- just add a little at a time and taste as you go. I loved it exactly the way it turned out!

I want to apologize ahead of time to my international fans. I’m pretty sure you are going to have a hard time finding caramel cake mix and almost positive you won’t be able to get your hands on the Appletini drink mix. A homemade caramel cake would work, and any powdered drink mix with a green apple flavor..? As I said- my apologies!!!

I hope you really enjoy surprising people with these unique cupcakes!! ~r