One of the best parts of having a baking blog is using seasonal posts as an excuse to buy the respectively-themed candy screaming my name from the ends of the grocery store aisles. And let’s face it, Easter’s egg-shaped treats are hard to beat. Last year I gutted Reese’s eggs to make whoopie pies and this year I sacrificed some Cadbury creme eggs to make this creme-filling frosting. I had no specific occasion for baking these cupcakes (rather than making a few friends at school very happy), but I’ve seen similar cupcakes around the blogosphere and knew they’d be a great Sunday afternoon recipe to tackle.
The cupcakes are a devil’s food cake recipe from David Lebovitz and the buttercream is vanilla with the centers of Cadbury creme eggs mixed in. Lindsay of Love and Olive Oil provides a recipe for making your own creme egg filling, so if you don’t have Cadbury eggs laying around your grocery store, give the homemade version a try! The deep chocolate flavor balances the sweetness of the icing and the chocolate shell adds a sweet Easter touch. I mixed in a bit of yellow food coloring to imitate the “yolks” and I probably could have mixed it in a little less for a streakier effect, but coulda woulda shoulda, right?
Do you love the blooms behind the cupcakes as much as I do? Ryan and I attended my friend Cailtin’s wedding this past weekend (remember her bachelorette cake pops?) and we got to take home one of the centerpieces. How could I not do an Easter post with such beautiful spring flowers in the house! If the change in season has inspired you too, or if you’re just looking for a good reason to throw a few Cadbury eggs in your cart this week, include these cupcakes in your Easter dessert line up. And don’t forget the cookie dough eggs and chick egg cookies too! Apologies to my friends celebrating Passover this weekend, but matzo just doesn’t seem to motivate me to bake as much as egg-shaped candies do each year. But happy and healthy festivities to all!
Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody
Yield: 10 cupcakes
Ingredients:
for the chocolate cupcakes:
4-1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cups cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup brewed coffee
1/4 cup whole milk
for the creme egg buttercream:
The centers of 10 Cadbury creme eggs scooped out – save the chocolate shells for decoration
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
About 1/4 cup milk
Directions:
for the chocolate cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 10 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the cocoa powder, cake flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Combine the coffee and milk in a small bowl.
- With the mixer on low, add half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, then add the water and milk. Add the other half of the dry ingredients and beat until just combined.
- Divide batter among muffin tins, filling liners 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.
for the creme egg buttercream:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Slowly add half of the powdered sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract.
- Add the rest of the powdered sugar and beat well for 2-5 minutes until frosting is smooth and creamy.
- Add the creme centers and beat until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the frosting is of desired consistency.
- Add a little yellow food coloring and gently swirl color into frosting . Transfer frosting to a piping bag fit with a large round tip and frost as desired.
- Use chocolate candy egg shells for decoration and enjoy!
When I was little i LOVED how Easter was an excuse to eat copious amounts of chocolate… especially Cadbury creme eggs. Although I confess that they have kind of lost that whimsical feel for me (I think I overdosed on milk chocolate). Now I just need to find some dark chocolate ones and I’ll be right back on board. They have to make them somewhere right?
AWESOME recipe!
Cadbury eggs are like my favorite thing in the world!
OMG OMG OMG! Making these this weekend!
O.M.G.
Bring me one of these please!! :)
Oh. Mai. God. Will make. It’s the right thing to do.
For the 1/4 cup coffee, I’m assuming it’s brewed already and not the grounds, is that right?
Erica — April 5th, 2012 @ 1:37 am
Yup, brewed coffee (I’ll update that in the recipe). Good luck!
These look amazing! Creme Eggs are my number one favorite thing about April :)
How many cupcakes does this recipe make? They look amazing!
Erica — April 6th, 2012 @ 9:48 pm
The recipe as is yields 10 cupcakes
Definitely making this! Great recipe!
Yum might make these tomorrow!!
I wasn’t going to do Easter cupcakes, and now that I have seen this….I changed my mind :) Thank you!
I made these and they turned out amazing! I have my own food blog and was wondering if you would check it out sometime! :) http://sweetmelody-mels.blogspot.com/
Just finished making these…do you know of any tips to make the frosting thicken? I’m only in middle school and don’t know much about frosting (haha), and when I frosted mine the frosting dripped all over the edges…it was a mess. They were VERY tasty though!!!!!!