Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes

Easter is fast approaching (can you believe it?) and I found the most amazing dessert recipe that incorporated my all-time favorite Easter candy:  The Cadbury Creme Egg.  I'm addicted to them, although I was on a mission to avoid them and their high amount of calories, but then I found this recipe.  My version of the cupcakes didn't turn out nearly as pretty as the blog that I found them on, but these were still heavenly!  They're a little extra work to make and assemble, but trust me, the end result is worth it!

Source:  Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Ingredients:

Devil’s Food Cake  (Cake recipe from David Lebovitz.com)
9 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ cups cake flour (not self-rising)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup water
½ cup whole milk

Directions:

Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter (or use the baking spray) two regular size cupcake/muffin pans or two mini. I personally made 12 large cupcakes and 20 mini cupcakes.

Sift together the cocoa powder, cake flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, or by hand, beat together the butter and sugar about 5 minutes until smooth and creamy.

Add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. (If using a standing electric mixer, stop the mixer as necessary to scrape down the sides to be sure everything is getting mixed in.)

Mix together the water and milk. Stir half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, the add the water and milk. Finally stir in the other half of the dry ingredients.

Fill cupcake pans 2/3 of the way full with cake batter. For regular size bake 20-22 minutes. Mini bake 13-15 minutes.

Ingredients:
Crème Egg Filling Buttercream Frosting

The centers of 20 Cadbury Crème Egg scooped out (save the chocolate shells for décor and filling)
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 to 8 cups powdered sugar  (I used 4 1/2 and it was plenty)
1 TBSP vanilla extract
milk to thin frosting

Directions:
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.

Add 4 cups of the sugar and vanilla extract.

On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.

Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. If too thick, thin out with milk.

You can take half of the icing and color it yellow for effect. You will also probably have little bits of chocolate that stayed with the crème filling, no worries, it’s tasty.

Ingredients:
Chocolate Shell Ganache

10 ounces of chopped up Cadbury Crème Egg Shell, if you don’t have enough to make 10 ounces, then add some milk chocolate chips to it
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Put chocolate in a medium bowl.

Bring cream to a simmer in a saucepan and remove from heat. Pour over chocolate. Let sit 5 minutes.

Whisk in chocolate until smooth. Let set up at room temperature.

To assemble the cupcakes:
Take chocolate shell filling and place into a pastry bag fitted with a small tip.

Take tip and place into cupcake squeeze filling into cupcake using the cone method (or just poke into center and fill if making mini).

Frost cupcake and top with chocolate shell piece. If making the mini, they do make mini eggs. Cut those in half and use as décor.