I’ve never met a cupcake I didn’t like. Chocolate, vanilla, carrot, red velvet, the delicious possibilities are endless. Don’t even get me started on icing! I could seriously eat buttercream icing with a spoon. Okay, I’ve totally eaten buttercream icing with a spoon on multiple occasions. Could this be why my exercise routine isn’t producing the results I want? Meh. Some things I’m just not willing to give up. Since St. Patrick’s Day is around the corner I was needing to come up with a sweet treat.
A party just isn’t a party without cake or cupcakes so I wanted to create something fun and made these St. Patrick’s Day Hidden Treasure Cupcakes! My son loves Lucky Charms cereal (well, he loves the marshmallows in it) so I decided to use those in these fun cupcakes with hidden “gold” and Lucky Charms marshmallows.
Hidden Treasure Cupcakes:
This recipe makes 12 cupcakes. Need more for a party? Go ahead and double the recipe – they turn out just as tasty with 2x the ingredients.
Ingredients for St Patrick’s Day Hidden Treasure Cupcakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup warm (not hot) water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup Lucky Charms marshmallows
- ¼ cup gold candy coated chocolate
Ingredients for Icing
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (softened but not melted)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- green food coloring
If you are like me looking at these hidden treasure cupcakes for St. Patrick’s day has you drooling. I am not going to lie whenever I bake these I eat one of them once it is complete, I just can’t help myself.
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- Cupcakes:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup warm (not hot) water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup Lucky Charms marshmallows
- ¼ cup gold candy coated chocolate
- Icing:
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (softened but not melted)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- green food coloring
- Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Line 12 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Add egg, buttermilk, water, vegetable oil and vanilla extract to dry ingredients.
- Beat on medium speed until thoroughly mixed (about 2 minutes). Scrape down sides of bowl occasionally.
- Evenly distribute batter to 12 cupcake liners.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Remove cupcakes from tins and let cool completely before filling.
- To fill cupcakes, cut a quarter size hole in the middle of each cupcake. Don’t cut all the way to the bottom of the cupcake – go about half way down. Eat the pieces you cut out. {wink}
- Fill each cupcake tunnel with gold candy coated chocolates and Lucky Charms marshmallows. Leave some chocolates and marshmallows for decorating the tops of the cupcakes after you add the icing.
- Icing:
- In a large bowl, beat shortening and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Beat in vanilla.
- Gradually add confectioners’ sugar (one cup at a time) scraping down sides of bowl to make sure everything is mixed together well.
- Beat in water and green food coloring then continue to beat for about 2 minutes. If icing is still too thick, add in 1 teaspoon of water at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
- Top each cupcake with swirls of green icing (I use a Wilton 1M tip for this).
- Top each cupcake with Lucky Charms marshmallows and candy coated chocolates.
Visit our St. Patrick’s Day page for even more creative recipes, free printables, party ideas and more! Here are a couple of our favorites…
Chocolate Mint Shamrock Mix – for all the chocolate and mint fans!
Rainbow Rice Krispie Cake – a delicious no-bake treat!
We’re always adding new ideas for family fun. Never miss an update by following us on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
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