cupcake surprise

Sure they look like just a normal bunch of cupcakes you think to yourself. But then this little voice from grade school pops into your head and whispers "Don't judge a book by it's cover." What? Yeah. Don't judge.

So you take a bite and discover this...
See? Aren't you glad that you didn't judge.

I love making these cupcakes because no one expects anything more than a plain old chocolate cupcake. And then they bite in and find the surprise. Surprise! And they love it. These are fun cupcakes to eat and not that hard to make. I mean, they are hard. I slaved over them. If I ever bring them to your house be assured that I worked and slaved all day and night and another day to make these delights. Yeah.

Cupcake Filling (via: Our Best Bites)
For directions with pictures click on this link.

3 T flour
1/2 C milk (whole milk is best, but I used non-fat when it's all I have and it's actually fine)
1/2 C real butter
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 t vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. I think this is the critical point for any of you who have had problems with this recipe. I have a feeling people are under-cooking this part. Let it cook, while stirring, until it looks like pudding (you should be able to see the bottom of the pan when you stir it). Even though it's thick, you can still it through a mesh strainer (just whisk the mixture in the strainer to push the thick stuff through) and then let it cool completely to room temp. or chill it in the fridge. It needs to be cooled completely. If you don't let it cool completely, it will melt the butter and you'll have runny frosting.

It an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy. You'll want to use the whisk attachment on a stand mixer, not the flat paddle. Then while beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla. Beat on the highest speed you can get to without it spraying all over the place for 7 minutes. Yes, 7 whole minutes, maybe even 8 or 9. I know that seems like a long time, but that's when the magic happens!

You will be scared because it will look like a weird goopy mess at first and you'll wonder what on earth you did wrong. Keep beating and something amazing happens. It goes from that goopy mess to something thick, velvety smooth, and perfectly fluffy.

One batch makes enough to fill 24. Store filling at room temperature.

"So," you're saying "how do you get the filling into the cupcake?" Easy. Put a large tip (star or round - it doesn't matter) on a pastry/frosting bag and fill the bag with the delicious white creation. Plunge the tip into the center of the cooled chocolate cupcakes and squeeze. With the flour recipe you will hear a "pop" to know that it is filled, but I didn't find that with the marshmallow cream filling so just look for the top of the cupcake to bulge. Fill all the cupcakes and then cover the tops with frosting to hide the filling hole. Enjoy!

cupcake photo shoot. necessary.

click to enlarge.

stop drooling on your keyboard.