Banana Pudding Cupcakes

My little boy had been asking for cupcakes all day today.  For those of you who know him you know he can be pretty persistent about getting a C-U-P-C-A-K-E!  We were out running errands so I thought I would make him happy by picking up a cupcake at Starbucks...but much to my surprise they were out of those yummy things.  So we came home and I started looking for what I might have on hand (I refused to go to the grocery store one more time) to throw together a cupcake surprise for him.  Here's the end result - Banana Pudding Cupcakes! 

I only had half a cake mix, so this recipe will need to be doubled if you are using a whole cake mix! 

Ingredients:

Half a box of French Vanilla or Yellow cake mix
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sour cream
1 single serve container vanilla or banana pudding
1 egg and 1 egg white
Vanilla Wafers (9 for cupcakes and about 15 more for garnish)
1 banana sliced and tossed in a little lemon juice to keep from turning
Icing:
Whipped Topping (I used the kind in the can)
Crushed Vanilla wafers and wafers cut in half for garnish

Directions:
Mix cake mix with 1/4 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1 egg, 1 egg white and container of vanilla pudding until well blended.  Do not follow cake mix instructions on the box.  Line muffin pan with cupcake liners and lightly spray with Pam.  (This is a nice trick to keep cake from sticking - just don't spray too much!) Put a small amount of cake batter in each cupcake liner (about a spoon full) Then add one whole vanilla wafer and top with two slices of banana.

 

Now top each with enough batter to completely cover the bananas.  As you can see I fill mine pretty full.

Bake cupcakes at 350 degrees for about 18-20 minutes or until done in the center.

Remove cupcakes from oven and let cool completely.  

Do not top with whipped cream until you are ready to serve the cupcakes and only top with the cupcakes you are going to be eating at that particular time, using the whipped cream in the can allows you to make them really pretty.  After adding the whipped cream garnish with vanilla wafer crumbs and half a vanilla wafer.  They are gorgeous and really taste like Banana Pudding!

E-N-J-O-Y!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes - AMAZING!

I made these amazing Caramel Apple Mini Cupcakes last week for a small dinner party we threw.  They turned out wonderful!  This is the perfect Fall cupcake!

Cake Ingredients:

1 box French vanilla cake mix

1 can apple pie filling

1 - 2 teaspoons apple pie spice

3 eggs

Directions:

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.   Open the can of pie filling.  Using a knife, slice the large pieces of apple into smaller, bite-sized pieces.  I did this with the filling still in the can by inserting the knife into the center and letting it hit the bottom and then cutting against the wall of the can all the way around. 

3.   In a bowl, mix together the cake mix, eggs, pie filling and apple pie spice.  If you don’t have apple pie spice you can use cinnamon and nutmeg.

Spoon batter into cupcake liners and bake for 14-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool completely.  


Cream Cheese Buttercream Ingredients:

½ cup butter

8 oz cream cheese

1 - 2 lb box powdered sugar. 

1 t. apple pie spice

¼ cup caramel sauce (store bought)

Directions:

1.  Let butter and cream cheese soften at room tempature.

2.  Mix butter and cream cheese with mixer until well combined and then gradually add powdered sugar until desired consistency.  Mix in apple pie spice.  Put icing in piping bag or ziplock bag and then pipe onto cupcakes.  Gently drizzle caramel sauce on top then refrigerate.  

I halved this recipe and it made 24 mini cupcakes.  If you half the cake, half the icing too.  ENJOY!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

These cupcakes are fantastic...my family was very happy I made them today. I found them on a great blog called The Larson Lingo  I only had a bite since I have been watching my sugar intake but I can tell you from that one bite these are a must try...very easy and impressive.  Here's what you need:

1 box devils food cake mix (any brand)

1 package ready to cook chocolate chip cookie dough (I used Nestle break apart)

Frosting of your choice - I made my own vanilla (recipe to follow) but any will do.

Prepare devils food cake per box instructions.  Fill cupcake liners a little more than half full and then add one pieces of the cookie dough to center.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes.  Let cupcakes cool completely.  

Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting

1 box powdered sugar

1/ 2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup milk

1 stick of butter at room temperature

Combine frosting ingredients and mix well with mixer.  When frosting is at the desired consistency put in a large ziplock bag and clip off one corner and start frosting away.

Here's what the cupcakes look like in the middle - the cookie dough is cooked but still soft - YUM!