Bake It in a Cake

Choco-pie Wall Street! A chocolate cupcake with a chocolate pudding pie baked in the center of it, topped off with cream cheese buttercream and, of course, a gold coin.

Learn more about the Occupy Wall Street movement at occupywallst.org—donate, spread the word, and find out what you can do in your own city. 

And if you want to make your town’s protesters a treat, here’s the recipe—makes about 20-24 cupcakes, depending on the size of your cupcake tins.

For the pies you’ll need:

1 14.1 oz package of pre-made pie crust (you’ll only need about half the package)
1 3.4 oz box cook-and-serve style chocolate pudding (you’ll only need half)
1 1/2 cup cold whole milk

For the cupcakes you’ll need:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. milk 

For the frosting you’ll need:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature 
2 cups powdered sugar
gold coins, for garnish

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees (F). Roll out the pie crust and use a 2.5” round cookie cutter (I used the top of a small juice glass) to cut out 20-24 circles (depending on the size of your mini cupcake tin). Press the dough circles into a greased mini cupcake tin. Use a tooth pick to poke a few holes into the bottom of the crust so it doesn’t puff up too much while baking. Bake the crusts for about 10 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Set aside to cool while you make the pudding.

Mix the milk and half the box of pudding in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking every few minutes. Once the mixture starts to boil and thicken (it will take about 10 minutes) remove it from the heat and pour it into a small bowl. Place plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pudding (to keep the pudding skin from forming) and place the bowl in the fridge. 

To make the cupcakes, turn the oven down to 350 degrees (F). Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Mix until well-combined (don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice to make sure everything gets mixed in). Add in the flour and the milk, alternating between the two ingredients a half cup or so at a time and mix until everything is smooth.

Remove the cooled pudding from the fridge and use a small spoon to fill the cooled pie shells. Put a heaping tablespoon of cupcake batter into paper-lined cupcake tins. Gently press one small pie into the batter and cover with another heaping tablespoon of batter. Smooth the batter down over the top and sides of the pie—the pie should be completely covered with batter and the cupcake tins will be about 3/4 of the way full, maybe a smidge more.

Bake for about 22-25 minutes until the cupcakes are set (the cake will slightly bounce bake when you press your finger into the top of it). Allow to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Frost when cool.

For the buttercream, use a stand mixer with the whisk attachment to whip together the butter and cream cheese at high speed. It will be creamy. With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, a heaping 1/2 cup at a time, until you get the desired tasted and texture (some like a lot of powdered sugar, some don’t—you’re the boss!). Pipe or spread the frosting onto the cupcakes and top with a gold coin.

My cookbook, Bake It in a Cupcake: 50 Treats With a Surprise Inside, is available now at: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Indiebound.com!