Crimes in the Kitchen: The Exploding Cupcakes
Note to self: do not try to stuff a regular white mini cupcake with a mini candy bar. Disaster will result. Just Saying.
Yes, I know, Another disaster-rescue story. Why do I keep trying? And this one, I knew BEFORE I started. Sigh. But stay tuned. Here we go!
This is the Story of how this:
Was supposed to look like this:
What was I thinking? Stuffed White cupcakes? Mini-cupcakes even? Sigh. I’m impossible. White cake alone is just too light to support a heavy “surprise inside”. I already knew this. But I was so excited about the potential “fun-ness” of this recipe. Right off, you may be saying, well, why white then? Why didn’t you just whip up something else? Well, as I started about 8pm and needed them the next day, I went for quick and easy. That meant cake mix. The only cake mix I had on hand was white. So, thinking like every other dreamer that maybe this time would be different, I plowed ahead.
The baking procedure did seem fine. I filled the little muffin cups about 1/2 to 3/4 then plopped a mini candy in the center. Baked for enough time then sat them out to cool.
I knew right away I might be in trouble because many of the little guys had, indeed, exploded. Not kidding. Milky Way and Snickers were ‘volcano-ing’ out the center and over the pan. But I was still in denial. I thought, “Don’t Panic”. Nothing that a little frosting or chocolate drizzle can’t hide. I continued in my blissful hopeful state running a plastic knife around each after a couple minutes of cooling. Despite a good amount of cooking spray, they both stuck and fell apart at the same time. Ugh. Double Ugh.
I have to get over the reluctance to take pictures of my self-made awfulness. After all, that’s the most fun, right? To look at someone else’s failures and take comfort in the fact that at least you aren’t THAT bad! But I was so (unreasonably) disappointed at the results, I couldn’t bring myself to take pictures. So, just imagine ruined white minis..They looked something like this.
It was well after 10pm when I finally admitted partial defeat. I ruefully scooped what was left of the “Stuffed Cuppies” into a plastic container and let them chill in the fridge for a night (“Time Out” for misbehaving cupcakes). The next morning about 5am or so I put the whole mess into my 6 cup stand alone mixer and threw in a1/4 cup or so of crunchy peanut butter. I then added a small tub of toasted marshmallow fluff (I mean, why not at this point) and mixed the concoction up. Mini-M&M's were stirred in next for some color. I rolled the dough into large teaspoon balls and placed them onto a Silpat cookie sheet. Lastly, I flattened the top and re-baked for about 18-20 mins at 350 until the bottoms were golden, the tops crispy and the centers still soft.
Now, as you know by now, I can never leave well enough alone, so I dressed them with a chocolate dip (my Go-To) and some confetti sprinkles to match the M&M's. Finally, success at about 8am (12 hours later)!!! Don’t worry, I was multi-tasking.
I called the colorful re-inventions “Triple Sweet Toasted Marshmallow” drops and amazingly they didn't last long!
So, bottom line, get creative with your "disasters". Usually, throwing them together in another form and adding some more mix-ins will do the trick (if all else fails, dip ‘em in chocolate). It is a little bit of extra work, but it’s usually way better than throwing out all those delicious ingredients. Besides, you can learn from your mistakes. I did. Of course I did! Next time I’ll let the little cuppies bake a bit before plopping the mini bar inside. Now, whether I’ll remember about the white cake, well, that’s anyone’s guess. But I probably wouldn’t bet on it!