Tag Archives: cupcakes

Fishing Bobber Cupcakes!

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Ruthanne

If your dad loves fishing, these fun bobbers on waves of blue buttercream frosting will make him smile!

A perfect Father’s Day treat!

The idea for this recipe began last year before Father’s Day. I was pondering the idea of cutting a hole in the top of a cupcake and finding (or making) an edible golf ball to set inside of it. One morning the lightbulb came on: Lindt White Chocolate Truffles! They were perfect, and as I unwrapped all that yummy chocolate I brainstormed for other ideas.

One of those ideas was another Father’s Day treat- fishing bobbers! I filed the idea away until this year came around and then gave it a go. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to dip the truffle in warm chocolate without it melting, and if it would actually look like a bobber– but I love them! My dad loved them too.

Here’s how we made these yummy treats for dad: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed cake mix (plus water, oil and eggs to make according to package)
Blue food coloring gel
2 sticks (one cup) of salted butter
2 sticks (one cup) of unsalted butter
3 cups of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons of clear vanilla flavoring
24 Lindt white chocolate truffles
One bag of Wilton candy melts in red

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package.
Divide out about 1/3 of batter and color it blue
Swirl the 2 colors together (don’t mix too much!) and scoop into 24 cupcake liners placed in a baking tin.
Bake according to package and cool cupcakes completely
Make frosting by placing butters, powdered sugar and vanilla into a large bowl and beating on high until light and fluffy.
Divide frosting in half and color one half blue. Swirl together the blue and white frosting and place into a large zip-top bag, fitted with a decorating tip.
Pipe frosting on top of cupcakes.
To make toppers: Unwrap all Lindt truffles.
Melt red candy melts in a bowl in the microwave for 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
Allow candy melts to cool a little before dipping.
Use a small skewer or fork to dip each truffle into red candy melts, covering the bottom half in red. Place these on clean parchment paper to cool and harden.

Place remaining melted red chocolate into a small zip-top bag. Clip a corner and carefully pipe a small circle of red on the top of each “bobber”, covering the hole made by the skewer used for dipping.
Once “bobbers” are completely cooled and hardened, place them on the top of each cupcake and enjoy!!!

My thoughts: I really have the most incredible dad. He is funny (hilarious!) and smart and brave. He loves golf (last year’s cupcakes) and he loves fishing (this year’s cupcakes)~ he goes to Canada every summer to fish for GIANT Walleye and Pike and then he fries them up for us all when he gets back- and they are delicious! He does roll his eyes when I say that I like bobber fishing best….but in any case, these are for you dad! I love you!!!!!!!

Need more ideas for your Father’s Day celebration? Try some of these! (click on a photo to see the recipe)

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Posted in Cupcakes and tagged best, chocolate truffles, cupcakes, dessert, desserts for dad, edible fishing bobber, Father's Day, Fathers Day cupcakes, fishing bobber cupcakes, fishing cupcakes, fishing dessert, fun, lindt chocolate, lindt white chocolate, recipe, summer, white chocolate. Bookmark the permalink.

Pecan Praline Cupcakes

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Ruthanne

If you love pralines, you will love these pecan praline cupcakes with delicious homemade pralines on top!

Two desserts in one!

I’m a huge fan of pecan pralines. Our family has often traveled to the southeast part of the US and there’s just nothing better than a still-warm praline in Charleston or Savannah… YUM! I’ve always wanted to try making homemade pralines, but I’ve never had a good recipe. Last month, we visited family friends, Dave and MaryAnne, and Dave told us he has the BEST pecan praline recipe. He whipped some up for us and oh my…. He shared his recipe and I had the idea to carry some of those flavors over into cupcakes.

Really, these two desserts stand alone, but are especially fun together!

Let’s start with those pralines (printable recipe):

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups of sugar
1 1/4 cups of hot water
1 1/4 cups of chopped pecans
24-36 pecan halves
1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon of maple extract

DIRECTIONS:

Use oil or butter to coat a mini muffin tin well.
Place all ingredients (except the whole pecans) into a large saucepan and heat over stove, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 234F degrees.
Remove from heat and stir for 5-8 minutes until the candy loses it’s glossy look and gets more cloudy and granular.
Spoon (carefully!!!) into well- greased muffin tin.
Press a pecan half into the top of each praline and allow to cool.
When cooled, tip onto clean surface and ENJOY!

Now for those cupcakes…..! (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

Cupcakes:

2 1/2 cups flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 teaspoons of vanilla
2 teaspoons of maple flavoring
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup of chopped pecans (as desired)

Praline Buttercream frosting:

1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 sticks (one cup) butter
5 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS: (start the frosting first, as it needs to cool before beating)

Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with 24-30 cupcake liners
In a large bowl, use a mixer to cream together the sugar and butter for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add eggs once at a time until incorporated and then mix in vanilla and maple flavoring.
In a different large bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add flour mixture to the sugar and butter, alternating with the cream.
Stir in pecans.
Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake for 15-18 min. Be careful to not over-bake.
Cool in pan for a few minutes before removing to finish cooling on the counter.

Frosting:

In a small sauce pan, heat brown sugar, cream and 2 tablespoons of butter on medium heat, stirring often, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool completely.
In a large bowl, beat together the cooled brown sugar mixture with remaining butter until smooth.
Add powdered sugar and beat on high until light and fluffy.
Place in a zip-top bag fitted with a decorator’s tip, and pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.
Top with a praline- or even a pecan half instead.
Enjoy!!

My thoughts: These are perfectly wonderful together in one beautiful dessert, or they can be made as individual recipes. Either way, if you love pecan pralines, you will love these yummy treats! Enjoy! ~r

Other fun cupcake recipes from Easybaked (click on the photo to see the recipe):

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Posted in Cupcakes and tagged best, brown sugar, brownsugar frosting, cupcakes, dessert, fun cupcakes, pecan cupcakes, pecan praline cupcakes, pecan pralines, pecans, praline frosting, pralines, recipe, sweet, unique cupcakes. Bookmark the permalink.

Banana Split Cupcakes!

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Ruthanne

Do you like banana split sundaes? If so, you will love these little cupcake treats- tasty and oh, so cute!!

I love going out for ice cream- not the soft-serve window kind, but the sit-down in a cute parlor with a million combinations of ice creams and toppings to decide from kind. I usually skip the banana split, because I’m not a huge fan of bananas unless they are in bread (or, in this case a cupcake!). Banana splits are the gold-standard of ice cream though- they have that sundae “look” to them. They are pretty.

I wanted to capture the look, and flavor of a sundae in these cupcakes and I love how they turned out! YUM!!!!

A few months ago I made Root Beer Float Cupcakes using scoops of Cool Whip as ice cream. They were so easy and cute and DELICIOUS, that I used the same idea here~ with banana cupcakes and a yummy strawberry ice-cream-topping filling!

Want to try them? Here’s how we made them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed banana cake mix (I used Duncan Hines), plus water, oil and eggs to make according to box.
1 stick (1/2 cup) of salted butter (softened)
1 stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons of strawberry flavoring
2 tubs of Cool Whip (frozen)
One jar of strawberry ice cream topping
One bottle of chocolate “shell” ice cream topping
1/2 cup of chopped pecans
Sprinkles and spoons (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Make cake mix according to package and bake in 24 cupcake liners in muffin tins.
Make frosting by combining butters, powdered sugar and strawberry flavoring in a large bowl and beating on high until light and fluffy. Place in a zip-top bag, fitted with a decorating tip.
When cupcakes are cool, remove a core from the center using a knife or a cupcake corer. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of strawberry ice cream topping into the middle (you could use pineapple here too, if you wanted) Place “top” of core back on cupcake.
Use a cookie scoop or a small ice cream scoop to scoop frozen Cool Whip onto the top of one cupcake. Immediately pipe frosting around the edges of the scoop to hold it in place. Keep cupcakes chilled as soon as they are frosted, and keep your second tub of Cool Whip in the freezer until ready to use.
Once all cupcakes are frosted, drizzle them with chocolate shell- this makes a little bit of a mess, but I just dropped them into a second cupcake liner to catch the drips 🙂

Immediately sprinkle with nuts and decorations.
Keep cupcakes refrigerated until serving.
Enjoy!!!

My thoughts: These are a little more time consuming that your average cupcake– but look at how fun they are!! The flavors and textures are just perfect too- that cold Cool Whip and those crunchy nuts with the banana cupcakes… YUM! I really hope you get a chance to try these little treats! ~r

Other ice cream- inspired treats here at Easybaked: (click on a photo to see the recipe)

7 Comments

Posted in Cupcakes and tagged banana cupcakes, banana split cupcakes, banana split dessert, chocolate, cool whip, cupcakes, dessert, fun summer dessert recipe, ice cream, ice cream sundae cupcakes, pecans, recipe, summer dessert, sundae cupcakes, unique dessert. Bookmark the permalink.

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)

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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)

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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