Bake It in a Cake

These cupcakes have a double dose of hot chocolate! Homemade Mexican hot chocolate pudding is inside, and hot chocolate buttercream is on top! Of course they’re topped with a few mini marshmallows, too. This recipe will make about 18 cupcakes (with extra pudding left over, which is delicious on its own). 

For the pudding you’ll need:

1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. and 1 T finely grated Mexican hot chocolate (I used Ibarra, you can use any brand you prefer)
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 t. salt
2 3/4 c. whole milk
2 T. unsalted butter
1 t. vanilla 

For the cupcakes you’ll need:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar 
3 eggs
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
2 t. vanilla 
2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/3 c. whole milk 

For the buttercream you’ll need:

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 c. hot chocolate powder
2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. mini marshmallows (optional)
2 T. finely grated Mexican hot chocolate (optional) 

Directions:

Begin by making the pudding. Put all the dry ingredients into a medium saucepan, then stir in the milk. Put it over medium heat, and bring the mixture to a boil while whisking constantly. The mixture will start to thicken after about 10 minutes. Once the pudding begins to boil pour it through a fine-screen strainer (to remove any lumps of cornstarch) and mix in the butter and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface of the pudding (to avoid a skin), and let cool in the fridge while you make the cupcakes. 

First, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees (F). 

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and salt. Mix for about a minute, until creamy (be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice, to ensure everything is getting worked in). Then add the milk and flour, alternating between the two ingredients (to avoid lumps) until the batter is smooth and everything is well combined. 

Fill paper-lined cupcake tins about 2/3 of the way full. Plop a heaping teaspoon of the cooled pudding in the center of the tins and then top that off with just enough batter to cover the pudding. The pudding will sink to the bottom as it bakes, so the closer to the top you can get it, the better. (I’m working on a way to avoid sinkage, but it’s hard and it doesn’t ultimately matter because the cupcakes taste delicious no matter where the pudding is in the cake, so whatever). 

Bake for about 23 minutes, until the cupcakes are golden brown on the edges and the cake has set (it’ll bounce back when you gently press your finger into the top of the cupcakes). 

Allow to cool for about 10 minutes in the cupcake tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Then make the buttercream!

First, whip the butter for about 20 or 30 seconds to get it good and creamy. Then whip in a 1/4 cup of the powdered cocoa mix and half the powdered sugar (I add the powdered sugar about a 1/2 cup at a time, it helps avoid lumps). Give the frosting a taste and add more cocoa powder (if necessary) along with the rest of the powdered sugar. Beat the buttercream until it’s smooth, then pipe or spread onto the cupcakes. Top with mini marshmallows and a sprinkle of finely grated Mexican hot chocolate, if desired (and of course you should desire to do that, who wouldn’t want marshmallows on their hot chocolate cupcake?).

This recipe was created by Megan Seling for Bakeitinacake.com. See more things baked inside other things here!