Food: Chocolate “Ice Cream” Cupcakes
June 18, 2009 · Posted in amy i, cooking and food, dessert, recipes by amy i
I have a fun new tradition of baking for my friends on their birthdays. It’s pretty much the best win-win situation ever: I satisfy my incessant compulsion to bake, and get to avoid doubling my own waistline while making someone else happy. For my most recent friend-birthday-baking escapade, I made chocolate cupcakes. This recipe, originally from a vintage cookbook, has a secret ingredient: softened ice cream mixed in with the batter. I know, right? Why didn’t I think of that?!
These are great if you’re in a time crunch, or if you’re not a fan of following complicated recipes. If you’re new to baking, this foolproof dessert could be a crowd-pleasing way to ease yourself in. They are the moistest cupcakes I’ve ever had… I’m never using another chocolate cake recipe again!
They’re also highly customizable: you can use any flavor of cake mix, ice cream, and frosting. I stayed basic this time with Betty Crocker chocolate fudge mix, Ben and Jerry’s chocolate ice cream, and this cream cheese frosting, which I tinted pink (the birthday girl’s favorite color). Next time, I’m thinking yellow cake with dulce de leche ice cream… or maybe funfetti mix with strawberry ice cream? I also used a pastry bag and tip to inject frosting into the center of the cupcakes before icing the tops. I promise it’s not as hard as it sounds (would anyone be interested in a tutorial?).
I made 24 standard cupcakes and 24 minis, but the recipe will just as easily make 36 standard. If you’re not into cupcakes, this also works well in a bundt pan.
Chocolate “Ice Cream” Cupcakes
Adapted from Omnomicon
Makes 36 cupcakes.
1 box chocolate cake mix (or any other flavor)
1 pint chocolate ice cream, softened (again, any other flavor)
3 eggs
1 c. water
Preheat oven to 350o F.
To make cupcakes, line cupcake tins with paper liners or spray with baking spray (I like the Crisco brand with flour). To make a cake, grease a tube or bundt pan, then dust with cocoa powder.
Beat all ingredients together for 4 minutes. Pour into tins or cake pan and bake 17 minutes for regular cupcakes, 12 minutes for mini cupcakes, and 45 minutes for a cake. Serve with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar, a thin icing, whipped cream or the frosting of your choice.
I’d like to hear about injecting the icing!
Do you literally just inject it, or do you do the standard cut out a cone, fill the cone hole, cut off the tip of the cut-out cone, and put the lid back on top? Because that’s what I always do, but your method looks a little different. Could you do it for injecting peanut butter or ganache or something like that, or just frosting? (I hate frosting, so I’d have no reason to need MORE of it!)
Julie’s most recent blog post: Potstickers (Daring Cooks’ Challenge)
Literally just stick the metal tip of the pastry bag down into the cupcake and squeeze the filling in, raising the tip gradually as you squeeze. I use the long, thin-ish tip. Not sure where that extra tunnel of cupcake disappears to, but it works. My mom’s done it with jam, so I’m sure you can do it with any kind of filling.
I think I’ll start working on a tutorial!
amy i’s most recent blog post: Swirly Peanut Butter Brownies
Trying this tonight! Chocolate cake with mint chocolate ice cream. Let you know how it goes!
Still freaked out that you can bake a cake with ice cream, but it worked! the perfect hint of mint and really moist. My new favorite, very easy recipe!
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I made this with banana cake mix, vanilla bean ice cream, and cream cheese frosting and it. was. divine. And EASY, which is my favorite quality in a recipe!
