Chocolate Carrot Patch Cupcakes
Make a sweet treat for Easter!
Bake Time: 15 minutes
Serving Size: 12 cupcakes
Featured Bakeware:
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon expresso powder
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water
24 chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies
Desired chocolate frosting
"Carrot" Ingredients
12 strawberries, washed and dried
1 bag orange candy melts
Recipe Instructions
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line your USA Pan cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners. Place flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and expresso powder in a large bowl or bowl of your mixer. Whisk or stir to combine. Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix on medium until well mixed. Reduce speed and carefully add the boiling water to the mix. Increase speed to high and beat for one minute. Equally distribute batter among the 12 cups. About 3/4 full. Bake about 12-15 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven to cooling rack and cool completely.
Allow cupcakes to cool before icing. As cupcakes are cooling, crush the chocolate sandwich cookies (take away cream from the centers) and set aside in a small bowl. Then in a microwave safe bowl melt the candy melts and whisk until smooth. Dip strawberries in the chocolate and swirl to remove excess chocolate. Set strawberries on a piece of parchment paper. Then fill a piping bag or plastic zip lock bag with the remaining melted chocolate and drizzle over the hardened strawberries. While the strawberries are setting, remove a quarter size hole in the center of the cupcakes. Then frost desired icing around the hole and sprinkle the cookie crumb on top. Put a strawberry in the center of each cupcake.