Cadbury Egg Cupcakes!

I know I promised this recipe yesterday, and I apologize for my tardiness in posting. This weather has been wreaking havoc on my sinuses and I just haven't been myself.

Anywho, on to the fun part - my recipe for Cadbury Egg Cupcakes: milk chocolate cupcakes with a Cadbury creme filling and a Cadbury creme buttercream. Enjoy!

First, make the cupcakes.

Ingredients (for 12 cupcakes)

• 1 c all-purpose flour
• 1/4 c cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 c buttermilk
• Chocolate from 4 Cadbury eggs (cream scooped out), melted and cooled

Directions

1. Preheat to 350 F
2. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer and a large bowl), beat the butter at medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for two minutes, til blended. Add the egg, then the yolk, beating for 1 minute between each addition.
4. Beat in the vanilla, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing only to combine. Add the buttermilk, mixing until incorporated, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Add the melted chocolate, mixing it in by hand with a rubber spatula.
5. Divide the batter evenly into lined cupcake tins. Bake for 22 - 25 minutes, or until the tops of the cakes are springy and a tester inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool completely.
6. Once cooled, cut small cones out of the top of each cake with a paring knife. Then, cut the tips off of each cone, creating a small lid for each cupcake. You’ll replace the “lid” once you’ve filled the cupcakes.

Then, make the crème filling.

Ingredients

• 1/2 stick (4 tbsp) butter, softened
• 1/4 c light corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 drops orange extract (optional)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1-2 c powdered sugar
• Yellow food color

Directions

1. Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment (you can also use a hand mixer). Add the syrup, salt, orange extract (if using), and vanilla and mix on medium-low til combined.
2. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the powdered sugar til consistency is smooth but not too thick to spread (similar to the inside of a Cadbury egg).
3. Place 1/3 of the mixture into a small bowl and add enough food color to obtain desired color (note: don’t use gel color, you won’t get the pigment you want. I used an entire tube and only got a pale yellow. Stick with the liquid stuff.)
4. Using icing bags or a ziplock with a small hole cut in a corner, fill each cake partially with a small amount of yellow crème filling, following with the white crème filling. Replace the tops of the cupcakes to seal in the filling.

Finally, make the buttercream.

Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter, at room temperature
• Powdered sugar
• Milk
• Crème filling from 4 Cadbury eggs (scraped out from the eggs used in the cakes)
• Vanilla
• Yellow food coloring
• Mini-Cadbury eggs

Directions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter til light and fluffy. Slowly add in powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Add in milk (I use anywhere between 1-4 tbsp depending on the day and my mood) and Cadbury crème and beat til fluffy. Add in vanilla to taste and additional powdered sugar as needed to maintain consistency.
2. Separate out 1/3 of the buttercream into a smaller bowl. Tint with yellow food coloring as desired (again, stick with the liquid stuff. The gel is a joke as you can see from the lack of color in my photos).
3. Frost cupcakes first with white buttercream, then a swirl of yellow.
4. Top with a mini Cadbury egg. 

Aren't they fun?!? Enjoy, y'all.