20 Cadbury Egg Cupcakes

...and 4 Chocolaty Ones

The Story of a Cupcake's Journey to Conner

So a few things have led me to make these cupcakes. First, I love Cadbury Creme Eggs, and honestly, who doesn't. Before Easter, there were recipes for these all over Pinterest. I wanted to make these like crazy, but I was smart about it (and patient for once). I waited until after Easter for the post-holiday sales. I grabbed up a ton of Cadbury Eggs and then, literally, 5 dozen mini eggs at 75% off. Conner, one of my awesome friends, has yet to be graced by the deliciousness of one of my cupcakes. Because I'm very confident that these cupcakes can survive a few days in a taped up box, I'm mailing one to him. I'm kind of excited about it. I want to see how well my little cupcake does in the mail for future reference for long distance friends, and I'm excited for Conner to try a delicious homemade cupcake.

Freezy Cadbury Eggs

Normally, when I bake cupcakes, it's pretty spontaneous. Like I mentioned before, I've been reading the recipes for different variations of these cupcakes for weeks now. Even though this particular recipe doesn't mention it, I unwrapped a bunch of big eggs the night before and put them in the freezer so they would stay more egg-shaped after they were in the oven. It seemed to have worked pretty well. In my never ending quest to bake cupcakes with little mess and less dishes (even though we have a dishwasher), I was excited to see that I could make these cupcakes in one bowl. I would recommend mixing these in a large measuring cup. The batter is really thin and it would have been easier to just pour it into the cupcake cups, than spooning it in. I ran out of frozen eggs, so I just made a few plain chocolate cupcakes. A lot of my cupcakes baked over, so, if anything, put in less batter. They baked for about 23 minutes, a little longer than the suggested 15-20 minutes. Just keep an eye on them. You can't stick a toothpick in them to see if they're done since the Cadbury Eggs are in them. To see if they're done, touch the tops of the cupcakes and if they spring back, they're ready!

This icing is just another simple butter cream. I have made butter cream icing a thousand times before. Normally, I pretty much just dump everything into the mixer and let it rip. But, as always, I followed the recipe to the letter. The consistency of this icing was perfect. When I piped it onto the cupcakes, it came out so smoothly. I just unwrapped a bunch of mini Cadbury Eggs, stuck them on top, and that was that.

These definitely weren't the prettiest cupcakes I've made. They weren't my favorite either. The chocolate cake was good, not anything to brag about. The bigger sized eggs made it look cool, but it was kind of difficult to eat. The egg breaks apart and it's pretty sticky. I'd try using the mini eggs. It would probably cut down on the stickiness and definitely make it easier to eat. Despite the cupcakes not being what I wanted, the icing was the best butter cream I have ever made. It was buttery more than sugary. I don't like really, really sweet icing. It was amazing. Maybe it was how the recipe said to mix it. Whatever it was, it worked magic.

Regardless of what I think of these cupcakes, I sent the single pioneer cupcake off this morning. I promised Conner a Cadbury Egg cupcake, so that's what he's going to get. I got a little box from my Nanny to pack everything up in. First, I wrapped up the cupcake in press-and-seal wrap (my mom swears by the stuff). Then, I put all the left over icing in a sandwich bag. I know it's way more than he needs, but I was just going to throw it away anyhow. Everything got tied up with ribbons. I threw in a whole pack of the mini eggs and 2 big ones, since I have quite a surplus right now.  Finally, I wrote him exact instructions on a card. Then, I said goodbye to my little cupcake and wished it best of luck of its long journey to the outer edges of Pennsylvania. The box got taped up and I wrote his and my addresses on it. Lastly, $5 and some odd cents later, I dropped the package off at the post office before work. I will never see it again. I'm hoping that the often not so gentle hands of the United States Postal Service will take good care of my little cupcake on it's way to Conner's house.

...One Day Later

So, it's Thursday, I'm sitting in my car, getting ready to head home from work, and I got a text. It was Conner! He already got his cupcake. Great job Post Office!! The cupcake made it intact. According to Conner, it was just as fresh as the day it left my house. I can't put on here the exact words he texted me about the cupcake, but I think if I just say that he really, really loved it, that would about sum it up.

Cupcake, icing, instructions, and extra Cadbury Eggs
all arrived safe and sound.

I'm really glad that this went so well. I can't wait to send my next cupcake care package.

Lots of Icing

Cupcake Ingredients

3/4 c cocoa powder

1 1/2 c flour

1 1/2 c sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

3/4 c warm water

3/4 c buttermilk

3 Tbsp safflower oil

1 tsp vanilla

about 24 Cadbury Creme Eggs

Cupcake How to

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Mix until smooth, for about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides and bottom to assure batter is mixed well.

4. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling them 1/2 full for full sized eggs and 3/4 full for mini eggs. Add Cadbury Eggs.

5. Bake until tops spring back when touched. 15-20 minutes.

6. Allow to cool.

Into the oven!

Icing Ingredients

1 1/2 c unsalted butter

4 c powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Icing How to

1. Beat butter on medium-high for 2 minutes

2. Reduce speed to medium. Add sugar 1/2 c at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bowl as needed; after every 2 additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds to aerate the frosting. This should take about 5 minutes. Frosting will be pale and fluffy.

3. Add vanilla and beat until smooth.