BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND TWITTER BACKGROUNDS

10.27.2011

Post #30: Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

Sometimes I feel like the only things worth blogging are totally homemade.  100% from scratch, or I'm not impressed.  But!  I always have a box of cake mix or brownies in the ol' pantry, just in case I get a craving and don't have time to from scratch it.  Today is one of these stories. 

I had just put in my morning workout, had a yummy lunch, but something was missing.  Something...sweet.  But, I didn't feel like messing up the kitchen for the 543498573495th time in 2 days, so I went for my boxed cake mix.  Milk chocolate.  I had no frosting.  Crap.  Well, I'll make the frosting from scratch then.  No fuss, no muss!  Then my eyes saw this little box of strawberry creme pudding mix that I had to buy because I'd never seen it before.  Then the wheels started turning.  I could do something with this.  And so I did.  :o)



Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

For the Cupcakes:

1 box of your favourite chocolate cake mix.  Prepare according to the cupcake directions.  (A really dark one would work nicely!)

For the Filling:

1 box of Jell-o strawberry creme pudding mix.  Prepare according to directions.  I did half heavy whipping cream, half milk.  Creamy, rich, and wow!

For the Frosting: 

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream (the love of my life!)
1 - 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip these ingredients until nice and fluffy in your mixer.  Easy as that.  This makes a crap ton of frosting, fyi!  Also, this is the best buttercream I have ever made, hands down! 

To Assemble:

 Make the pudding filling while the cupcakes cool.  When it has set up, it is time to fill!  I have a handy dandy Wilton cake decorator with a filling tip.  It injects right down into the center of your cupcake, fills it up, and leaves nary a trace that the cupcake was ever disturbed.  If you do not happen to have one of these (they are $12 at WalMart, so why the hell not?)  you can do this the slow poke way: take a knife and cut a circle out of the top of each cupcake.  Keep the "lid" you have just created, and remove a small amount of cake from the middle.  Proceed to spoon the filling into your little crater until it is full, then replace the "lid" and you're good to go! 

Top with the frosting, and serve these bad boys.  They are SO yummy!  I was impressed fo sho.  Easy too.  Start to finish, less than 1 hour.  How sweet it is!

0 comments: