Just For Fun Cupcakes

 

 

Making cupcakes is always a fun adventure.  Sometimes my imagination runs wild with cute and occasionally crazy ideas using up what I have on hand at home or what I think people will like.  I tend to add leftover bits and pieces of nuts, partial bags of chocolate or other chips, coconut, etc. to suit the occasion. Be creative—don’t just make plain old cupcakes when you can whip up ones that not only taste great but will leave people thinking “WOW!!”.

I always start with cake mixes from the store.  They come in so many different flavors, are handy to have on hand, and usually on sale about every other week.  If I can get a mix for a buck it is worth every penny.  Another cupcake item I get on sale is the liners.  They have special liners for each holiday, and if you can wait until the holiday is over you can get them for pennies.  I have been known for using Christmas liners in July, but who cares??  You peel them off and just throw them away anyway. Trust me when I say no one will even notice what kind of liner you use.  They just want to taste the ooey gooey cakey goodness inside!

Top your cupcakes with candy (everyone loves a mini Reese cup), fresh fruit or dried (which you can get in a bag at the dollar store for a buck), nuts, or an endless array of frosting flavors and colors.  I also like to cut out the top of my cupcakes with a melon baller and fill the cavity with cream cheese or peanut butter filling. YUM!!  And don’t forget to sprinkle the top of the frosting with sea salt or sparkling sugars as this adds that extra special touch. Again, use your creative side and create something fantastic!

Here are some pretty amazing cupcakes I made that got rave reviews from tasters:

 

Pineapple Upsidedown Cupcakes

I baked 24 cupcakes from a pineapple cake mix.  While they were baking I combined a drained 16 oz. can of crushed pineapple with a cup of brown sugar and 4 T. of melted butter (1/2 stick) in a medium saucepan.  I cooked them over medium high heat until boiling, stirring often.  Cook for approx. 3 minutes until thick.  Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.  Remove baked cupcakes and allow to cool as well.

To assemble I cut out the top of the cupcake to make a nice depression for the filling (I can’t lie—I ate several of the cut tops along the way!). Fill the hole with the cooled pineapple filling, covering as much of the top as you want.  You can stop there if you choose and it would definitely work well.  But I took mine a step farther.  I had some frosting that I wanted to use up so I piped a swirl off to one side and added a maraschino cherry to mimic a true pineapple upsidedown cake. Perfection!!  And the taste?  It was delicious.  Everyone who tried them couldn’t believe the wonderful pineapple flavor. And if you look at the photos, I used red Christmas liners that match the red cherry on top.  Very cute!

 

Leftover Hot Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Recently it has become very popular to give hot chocolate or cocoa in canning jars as gifts for Christmas.  I have received this gift every year for the past three or four holidays.  But what is a person to do with a half-used jar once hot chocolate season has ended?  I say make Hot Chocolate Chip Cupcakes! This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.

½ cup hot chocolate mix

½ cup sugar

1 ½ cups flour

1 T. baking powder

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

¾ cup milk

½ cup (one stick) butter, melted

1 cup chocolate chips, your choice of flavors + 1 T. flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place 12 liners in cupcake pan. In a large bowl combine hot chocolate mix, sugar, flour, and baking powder.  In another smaller bowl stir together eggs, vanilla, milk, and butter.  Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine (do not overmix as this will make your cupcakes dry!).  Mix the 1 T. flour with the chocolate chips and add gently to cupcake batter.  This will ensure that the chips will not sink to the bottom of your cupcakes.

Divide batter evenly among the 12 lined cupcake cups.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.  Remove from oven and take out of pan and allow to cool completely on wire rack.  Top with your choice of frosting—I like a dark fudge variety.  Enjoy!

As you can see from the pics I made these cupcakes at Easter time.  It was about time to use up the leftover hot chocolate mix from Christmas and I had some marshmallow Peeps that I thought would look perfect on top. I added cute little white frosting tails to complete the bunny look.  Like I always say—use what you have and be creative.  Everyone thought the cupcakes were wonderful, and I used Christmas liners and no one said a word.

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise Cupcakes

Another favorite cupcake of mine is the one filled with a yummy and decadent peanut butter cream cheese filling. For the filling you need 1 cup peanut butter and 4 oz. cream cheese.  Using an electric mixer, whip these two together.  Place in a gallon-size plastic zip-top bag.  Cut off one corner and you are ready to pipe into the cupcakes.

Bake chocolate cupcakes per directions on store-bought mix.  Cool completely.  Using melon baller or small scoop remove approx. one good sized scoop from top center of each cupcake.  In hole remaining fill with peanut butter filling piped from plastic bag.  Replace cake top on each cupcake and frost with your choice of frostings ( since we are chocolate lovers I use a dark chocolate frosting).

 Wait for the surprised looks and the oooohs and aaaahs when your family and friends take a bite and discover the surprise peanut butter filling inside!!

 

Strawberry Glaze Filled Cupcakes

The possibilities are endless!!