This has been (and will continue to be) such a crazy week. On top of the dreary weather and wind storm we had last night, I’ve been doing tons of lab work and practicing for the first part of our licensure exam on Friday. It’s one of those weeks where I see Ryan for only about an hour each night and am impressed with myself if I manage to have a proper dinner. It’s stressful, it’s busy, but it’s also fourth year of dental school so I should not be surprised – this is what I signed up for after all! So when looking through my recipes on file to share today, I chose the happiest, most colorful dessert of them all to help counter all of this crummy anxiety. Anything funfetti makes me happy, but when you add ice cream to the mix, it’s a done deal. These were so easy to make and went over extremely well – hopefully just like my exam coming up :)
I made these cupcakes for Ryan’s Dad’s birthday last month, and they were the perfect ending to a great BBQ birthday party on Cape Cod. I knew I wanted to make something for his birthday, but I’m always cautious when planning to bake in someone else’s kitchen. That’s why I chose this recipe – it’s “semi-homemade”, requires minimal kitchen equipment, and fits the birthday bill perfectly. The ice cream is store-bought vanilla with boxed cake mix mixed in and then poured over a thin layer of funfetti cake and topped with some whipped cream and a generous amount of sprinkles. The result is a delicious combo of vanilla cake batter amazingness in cake and ice cream form all served up in one forkful.
The trick to these is baking the little bit of cake batter in foil liners. That way, once they’re baked, smooshed down, and cooled, you can pour the ice cream into the liners and they’ll peel away nicely once the ice cream is completely frozen. It’s the same technique from the Mint Oreo Ice Cream Cupcakes I made a few years ago. But instead of a brownie/mint combo – we’ve got straight up cake better this time around. It’s an extremely approachable recipe that is perfect for birthday parties, and who cares that it’s almost fall – ice cream is good by me all year round!
For the funfetti cupcake base:
1 cup Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix
1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
1 egg
1/3 cup water
1-3/4 tbsp vegetable oil
For the cake batter ice cream:
1 quart vanilla ice cream
1 cup Funfetti cake mix
1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles
For the funfetti cupcake base:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 12 muffin tins with foil cupcake liners.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cake mix, sprinkles, egg, water, and oil. Beat on medium speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed for 2 minutes, until well mixed.
- Pour 2 tbsp of cake batter into each cupcake liner and bake for 10 minutes. Cupcakes will have risen during baking, so use the bottom of a measuring cup or shot glass to compress the cake down to a thinner layer.
For the cake batter ice cream:
- Let the ice cream sit out for a bit to get soft, then transfer to a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer.
- Use the beater blade on your mixer or a rubber spatula to mix in the cake mix and sprinkles until well incorporated.
- Divide the ice cream among the cupcake liners until they are all full flush to the top.
- Place cupcakes in the freezer for at least an hour to firm up. Keep cupcakes in freezer until right before serving, then top with whipped cream and sprinkles and enjoy!
