How To make Filled Cupcakes!

How do you make a cupcake frosted with creamy buttercream even more delicous????  Pipe it full of a delectable filling of course! (=  These chocolate cupcakes are filled with a passionfruit curd and frosted with a passion fruit swiss buttercream.  The steps that follow show the technique I prefer for filling my cupcakes.  Have fun with your favorite cupcake recipe and be creative with your filling to create your own unique and yummy filled cupcake!

Start with your favorite cupcake recipe.  I made my grandma's easy chocolate cake (try this Similar Easy Chocolate Cake recipe).  Bake and let cool completely.  I decided to bake them in a bright green  cupcake wrapper to build another element of fun into these cupcakes.

Using a small melon baller, scoop out the middle of the cupcake.  First scoop in the middle of the cupcake to crack through the top.  Then remove the rest of the insides through the round hole initially scooped out of the top. 

 I like to scoop out a good amount of the insides to make room for the filling; however it is important to leave a good layer of cake on all sides so the filling does not leak out. You can use the leftover cake for a fun cake ball project afterwards!

I am OBSESSED with passionfruit so it was an obvious choice to fill my cupcakes.  If you want to explore this tropical flavor, try this Passion Fruit Curd Recipe.  Any kind of pudding, mousse, or even caramel would taste delicious inside.  When filling your cupcakes, put the filled pastry bag all the way inside the hole you made and as you squeeze the bag, slowly lift it out of the cupcake.  This technique ensures that the entire cupcake cavity fills up for optimal delicousness inside.

Fill the cupcakes all the way to the top (Don't skimp!)  You could make these even more tasty by filling the cupcakes with multiple layers of filling.  A delicious combination would be one layer of lemon curd and one layer of whipped cream.  You could also make some fun cupcakes filled with jelly and topped with peanut butter buttercream.  Oh the possibilities! 

To finish the cupcake and keep the surpise inside hidden, fill a pastry bag with your favorite frosting (I used a blue passion fruit buttercream).  I fit my bag with a medium round tip.  You can use any tip you want, or simply cut the tip off the bag if you don't have any tips.  Using a plastic bag with a cut corner works, but using a pastry bag and tip has neater and more professional looking results.

I finished these filled cupcakes with a Truffula Tree decoration inspired by the recently released move The Lorax, but the bright wrapper and colorful frosting made them pretty enough to eat undecorated as well.  Filling cupcakes is an easy way to make an ordinary cupcake into something extra special.  Have fun experimenting with different fillings...you can use puddings, whipped cream, mousse, buttercreams, jams, or even caramel sauce!  I hope this project inspires you to explore your passion for the Sweet Life with unique filled cupcakes of your own. 
~Happy Baking!~