Mardi Gras Cupcakes ‘Fit for a King’

Instead of making the traditional King Cake, a colorful braided brioche with a miniature plastic baby baked inside, I chose a perky, playful approach for my contribution to the Fat Tuesday potluck for diocesan employees at the Pastoral Center tomorrow. I created both chocolate and white cupcakes with a bite of cream cheese and candy morsels filling. Another layer of cream cheese flavor was added through the ambrosial frosting which was sprinkled with the customary purple, green and gold sugars. And, inside one white and one chocolate cupcake there is a plastic baby figurine. I hope the recipients of that tiny trinket feel like a “king or queen for the day.” CJK

Mardi Gras Cupcakes ‘Fit for a King’

 (Recipes adapted from All Recipes.com)

Photo by Bill Vossler

Cake

1 (15.25 oz.) package Dark Chocolate Cake mix

Ingredients to prepare cake mix

Filling

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips*

Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened

3 cups confectioner’s sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Adornment and Surprise**

3 oz. green decorating sugar

3 oz. purple decorating sugar

3 oz. gold decorating sugar

1 (1” plastic baby figurine)

Preheat oven to 350°F (or to the temperature recommended on the cake mix package). Line cupcake tins with paper baking liners.

Prepare the cake mix according to the package directions, but do not bake.

In a separate bowl, cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg until well blended, then stir in the chocolate chips.

Place the plastic baby in the bottom of one of the cupcake liners.

Fill each cupcake liner only 1/4 full with cake batter and then top each about 1 1/2 tbsp. of the cream cheese mixture. Follow with another layer of the cake batter — taking care to fill each paper liner only 2/3 full.***

Bake according to package directions for cupcakes.**** Cool on wire racks.

To prepare frosting, beat softened butter and cream cheese until well blended. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until creamy.

Ice cooled cupcakes with frosting and sprinkle with decorating sugars.

Yield: 24 cupcakes

 A note from Carol: *Any flavor of morsels would be pleasing — it’s your choice. I chose to use “swirled milk chocolate and caramel morsels.” (Delicious!)

I had the same problem as some of the reviewers as far as the filling sinking to the bottom. One reason could be that it is heavier than the batter. I decided that with cream cheese frosting on top, cream cheese filling on the bottom and a few nibbles of sweet cake in between I could accept this minor problem.

Photo by Bill Vossler

**I was able to find the green decorating sugar at a grocery store but the gold and purple sugars and the plastic babies came from our local bakery. They had the items on hand as they were preparing to make traditional “king cakes” themselves. 

You might also choose to forgo the sugar and simply divide and color the frosting green, purple and gold. Another diminutive trinket, an orange wedge or dry bean or pea could be substituted for the plastic baby figurine.

*** You could use a small scoop to put the cake batter and cream cheese mixture in the cupcake liners. 

Or, put the mixtures into separate “snap and seal” plastic bags and snip off a small corner of each bag to pour the batters into the paper liners. (Actually, I used a Williams Sonoma Pancake Pen to dispense the cake batter — it made the process so easy!)

****We all know that ovens can vary in “true” temperatures so I don’t want to give too much advice in this area. However, just for the record, one reviewer said she only baked her cupcakes for exactly 18 minutes and they weren’t burned on the bottom (which must have been a problem for others).

And, another reviewer said she removed them when they “still seemed a bit jiggly” to avoid burning and she also mentioned that “the cream cheese filling needs time to cool and set up.” So after reading those comments, I chose to bake mine for only 18 minutes, which also worked perfectly for my oven! (They weren’t “jiggly,” but if they had been, I wouldn’t have worried.)

The second batch of cupcakes that I made for the potluck were created with a French Vanilla cake mix, strawberry cream cheese and classic white chips, as one reviewer of the recipe suggested. (Nice combination!)

It’s important to tell those who will be eating the cupcakes that a baby figurine or other trinket (which could be a choking hazard) is hidden inside one of them. That way all the  “eaters of the sweets” will be on the lookout for it and happy to be named the “special person of the day” if it is hidden inside their cupcake.