Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes

There are, indeed, several Creme Egg Cupcake recipes on The Tubes, but all of them seem to be beating people over the head with chocolate.  My secret is I only really like the inside of Cadbury Creme Eggs. I know, I am one of those crazy chocolate un-enthusiasts. I don't hate chocolate, but I like it balanced with a whole lot of not chocolate.

My Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes have a yellow cake base peppered with creme eggs and mini chips and a delicious dark chocolate frosting on top. Just the right amount of chocolate for everyone (unless you're allergic to chocolate... or hate it, in which case there is just way too much. =P )

What you'll need for 24 cupcakes:

For the cake:
1 boxed yellow cake mix and the ingredients it requires to make it (mine used 1/3 cup of butter, 1 cup water, and 3 eggs)
1-2 packages of 12 mini Cadbury Creme Eggs
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1 tablespoon of all purpose flour

For the frosting:
1/2 cup of dark cocoa powder
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), melted
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 lb of powdered sugar
Splash of vanilla
2-5 tablespoons of milk

Garnish:
2 packages of mini Cadbury Creme Eggs

You'll also need:
24 cupcake liners
24 holes worth of cupcake pans (like two 12 cup pans or one 24, etc... you know, the maths)
An ice cream scoop (for filling your baking tin, or not)
A mixer (unless you wanna work out your arms like mad)
Access to a cooling appliance (fridge or freezer)
Plastic zipper bag
Coupler and piping tips, if you want to be fancy.


Before you start this recipe, you'll want to chill your Cadbury Egg Minis so that cutting them is less goopy. Or not. I didn't, and then realized I probably should have. Now, onto the recipe.

Preheat your oven to 350 F (or whatever your box of cake mix indicates for the type of cupcake pan you have).

Now, unwrap all of your tiny Cadbury Eggs. You are welcome to say bad words while doing this. It makes it more fulfilling.

Cut 2 packages of Cadbury Eggs into about 8 pieces each and measure your mini chocolate chips in the same bowl.

Now, add about 1 tablespoon of flour into the bowl and toss it all around to coat the cut up candy and mini chips. This helps the pieces to hang in the batter so you don't end up with cupcakes with a big lump of chocolate at the bottom. You'll likely need to separate your eggs while doing this, because they might stick a little.

Now, don't be really tired while taking pictures of your recipe for your blog, causing you to need to tell people to just make a cake according to the box, because you apparently spaced while you were doing that.

If that was unclear. Make a cake batter using the box mix, according to the box directions, and then, once it has beat for 2 minutes, on the lowest setting, mix in your floured chocolate.

I don't have a picture, but I trust you to follow the box directions.

Then, using an ice cream scoop, fill your cupcake liners about 2/3rds full and bake for the suggested time. Mine were done in 17 minutes- they were springy to the touch and golden colored.

While your cupcakes bake, melt a stick of butter in a microwave safe container, then add in your 1/2 cup of dark cocoa. Stir it until it is smooth and chocolatey looking (remember, no sugar in there so tasting it now will be icky).

Then, beat your shortening in your mixer (or with a hand mixer in a large bowl) and then add your melted butter cocoa mixture.

 Then, slowly, add your powdered sugar. Remember to start with the slowest speed so you don't dust your entire kitchen with sugar. As you add the sugar, you'll need to add a bit of milk to give it the right texture. I only needed about 2 tablespoons of milk... but you'll need to gauge it by feel since humidity can affect the texture of your frosting. Once all the sugar is in and it is looks like frosting instead of lumpy butter and sugar, beat it for about 2 more minutes, to make it fluffier.

By now, your cupcakes should be done. You have to let them cool completely before frosting them, or the frosting will melt. Place your frosting into a plastic zipper bag and cut off one corner to pipe your frosting. I jammed a coupler in one corner of my bag and grabbed a piping tip to make my frosting fancy. 

The best technique for frosting these is to go around in a spiral, and then make a smaller spiral on top of the first spiral, because frosting is delicious and the best part of a cupcake in my opinion, so I want plenty of it without going frosting wild. 

Now, with your remaining Cadbury Creme Egg Minis, use the tip of a knife and crack open your eggs. Place one on top of each cupcake, allowing the adorable middle parts to leak out like a cracked egg. (Was that unclear? Perhaps... That's why I provide pictures!)

Now, package them up and give them to your favorite people...but be sure to save a few for yourself!