Coconut Nest Cupcakes for Easter

I saw these adorable little guys on The Recipe Club and knew I had to try them! They were soooo good! I doubled the recipe and ate way too many, but we shared lots of them too :-). They weren't even hard to make, especially since I used store bought frosting (I have bad luck with frosting), but they look super impressive. The kids LOVED helping with them and then eating them when we were finished.

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, softened (when I doubled I used 1 regular and 1 lowfat)
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup water
1 boxed white cake mix
1 tsp vanilla

1 can cream of coconut (I found a Goya can of these in the international aisle of our grocery store)
prepared whipped cream (I used a tub of Duncan Hines fluffy cream cheese frosting)
2 cups toasted coconut
1 bag candy eggs

Directions:
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together cream cheese, oil & eggs until smooth. beat in water, cake mix & vanilla. spoon into lined cupcake pans, filling about 2/3 full.
bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes.

Pour cream of coconut into a small bowl. stir until all combined.
while cupcakes are still hot, poke a few holes into the top of the cupcake with the back of a wooden spoon. spoon cream of coconut over each cupcake one tablespoon at a time, you might have to use your spoon to guide into the hole.
let cool completely before decorating. when cooled, spread whipped cream onto the cupcake. sprinkle with toasted coconut & top with candy eggs.

my crazy helpers :-)

Candy Corn Cupcakes

These were super cute and sooo tasty! In fact, I had 3 little plates of them ready to take to friends and they were so good, that I only delivered one of the plates and we ate the rest! I'll have to make more to deliver :-). This recipe was with some Kroger coupons I got in the mail last month.

Ingredients:
1 box plain white cake mix
1 c regular sour cream (I used light)
1/3 c vegetable oil (I used canola)
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
2 eggs
food coloring (yellow and orange...we made our own orange)
whipped topping (I bought a tub of whipped white frosting)
candy corn to top them

Directions:
-Preheat oven to temperature on your cupcake mix box (I think mine was 350 degrees).
-Combine cake mix, sour cream, vegetable oil, milk and eggs in a large bowl. Mix according to package directions.
-Divide batter evenly into 2 separate bowl. Color half of the batter with a few drops of orange food coloring (I just used yellow and red until I like the color it was). Color the other half with yellow food coloring.
-Place cupcake liners into cupcake tins. Fill each cupcake liner with 1/4 cup yellow batter and then top with orange batter until the liner is 1/2 full (I always overfill, but they turned out still,just didn't make as many).
-Bake according to package directions.
-Cool cupcakes completely, frost and top with a piece of candy corn.

Mint n' Chip Ice Cream Brownies

When I saw these Strawberry Ice Cream Brownies on My Kitchen Cafe I book marked them immediately. They looked SOOO good! For Ella's birthday I made them with Mint n' Chip ice cream because it's her favorite. They were delicious, but a little messy to eat. Next time I try them I think I'll make mini-cupcakes that are bite-size...or just make regular brownies, top them with the ice cream and the ganache in a bowl, because really they all taste the same and that is a lot less work :-).

*Makes about 24 cupcakes
For the brownies:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, cut into 8 pieces
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 1/8 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the ice cream:
1 quart mint n' chip ice cream, slightly softened
For the ganache:
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:
To make the brownie bottoms, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with foil liners (and using foil makes a difference, I only had 14 left so I used paper liners for the rest and they were hard to get off).
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; stir together and set aside. In a heatproof bowl combine the butter and chocolate. Microwave on 50% power for one minute. Stir. Repeat until the chocolate and butter are melted and well combined (be careful not to overheat).
In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk to blend.
Stir in the warm chocolate mixture, and then the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

Scoop 1 tablespoon of batter into each cupcake liner. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 6-8 minutes. Don’t overbake or the brownies will be dry. Leaving the brownies in the cupcake pans, cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Freeze for at least 30 minutes. Top with strawberry ice cream until the cupcake liner is full. Return the cupcake pans to the freezer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

To make the ganache, place the chocolate chips in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour the cream evenly over the chocolate, let stand for 1 minute. Stir until smooth with a rubber spatula. If the ganache is too thin, allow it to stand at room temperature to cool and become more easily spreadable. Once the ganache is thick but still pourable, scoop it by the teaspoonful on top of the ice cream cupcakes and spread over the tops. Return to the freezer.

Remove the cupcakes from the freezer about 10 minutes before serving.

Rainbow Cupcakes

I wanted to do something festive for Saint Patrick's Day and I knew the girls would have a blast helping me make these cupcakes (not to mention they thought the rainbow inside was beautiful). They took a little time to prepare, but they were just as easy as making plain cupcakes and the results are impressive :-). I found this idea (and many others to choose from) in the latest Family Fun magazine.
Ingredients:
* White cake mix
* Food coloring (red, blue, green, and yellow)
* Baking cups
* Whipped cream or icing
Directions:
1. Prepare your favorite white cake mix, then divide the batter evenly among six small bowls. Following the chart below, dye each bowl of batter a rainbow color.

RAINBOW COLOR DROPS OF FOOD COLORING
Purple: 9 red and 6 blue drops
Blue: 12 drops
Green: 12 drops
Yellow: 12 drops
Orange: 12 yellow and 4 red drops
Red: 18 drops

2. Line 16 muffin pan wells with baking cups. (I only had enough batter for 12, but mine were a little too full) Evenly distribute the purple batter among the cups, then the blue, and so on, following the order shown. As you go, gently spread each layer of batter with the back of a spoon to cover the color underneath.
3. Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe directions. Before serving, remove the paper wrapping, and if you like, top each cupcake with a whipped-cream cloud.