Brain Cupcakes

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Halloween is by far my favorite holiday in the year. I love everything about it. From the costume making, home decorations, to the spooky festive baked goods. Apparently my love for the holiday has been passed down to my 4 year old because as soon as the Halloween items began showing up in the stores, he insisted on decorating...in August. He also insisted that we decorate his room for Halloween as well!

I love making holiday inspired treats and knew my kids would get a kick out of these Brain Cupcakes. When they returned home from school I served them a platter of brains on some fresh greens and they loved it! Not only are they cute and fun, the cupcakes are quite good too. Being quick and budget friendly, these are great cupcakes to take to a school Halloween party or spooky party!

For the cupcakes, I made a white chocolate cake batter. The melted BAKER’S White Chocolate really stood out in the cake! In order to add a little bit of brain blood to the cake, I used the poke cake method and infused the cupcakes with some JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin. This is my first time making a poke cake and it was quite good!

For the brains, I made a Marshmallow frosting using JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme. Normally I use a Swiss or Italian meringue to cover my cakes and cupcakes, but this was so much easier and tasted just as good! I tinted the frosting with some pink food coloring and squirted a bit of extra strawberry gelatin over the top for the "bloody" part of the brain. Kind of gross, but so good, and kids love it!

I easily found all of the ingredients in the Bake Center display at Walmart. Now that I did my creepy dessert, I can't wait to create some cutesy Halloween treats. Stay tuned for a stellar spider web cake next week!

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Brain Cupcakes

Author: Jackie

Ingredients

White Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 ½ cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup butter room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 4- oz BAKER’S White Chocolate , chopped
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup
• 1 package JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin – 6oz
• 2 cups water

Marshmallow Creme Frosting

• ¾ cup unsalted butter , softened
• 1 (7 ½ ounce) JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 ?2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• red food dye

Instructions

1. To make the cupcakes begin by preheating your oven to 375 degrees (must be reduced to 325 once the cupcakes are in the oven). Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. Boil about 2 cups of water in a small pan. Place a heat resistant bowl on top to create a double boiler.
3. Place chopped white chocolate in bowl and stir until chocolate is melted and smooth, remove from heat and cool until room temperature.
4. In a small bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. In the bowl of your mixer, beat butter and sugar to light and fluffy.
6. Add eggs, one at a time, thoroughly mixing after each addition.
7. Stir in vanilla.
8. Reduce mixer speed to low, and slowly incorporate flour mixture and milk in three additions, alternating between flour and milk. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix.
9. Full cupcake liners ⅔ of the way full.
10. Place in oven and immediately reduce temperature to 325 degrees.
11. Bake cupcakes for 17-20 minutes or until a knife is inserted and comes out clean.
12. Cool for ten minutes.
13. To make the JELL-O, boil 2 cups of water. Once boiling, remove from heat and whisk in powdered gelatin.
14. Using a fork, poke holes into the cupcakes.
15. Spoon about ½ tablespoon of liquid into each cupcake.
16. Refrigerate cupcakes for 30 minutes.
17. While cupcakes are in the fridge, make the frosting.
18. Beat butter, JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a couple of drops of red food dye on medium speed until ingredients are incorporated.
19. Increase mixer speed to high and beat for about 4 minutes.
20. Spoon frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a round tip.
21. To frost cupcakes, make a line of frosting down the center. On each side do a squiggly line. Sprinkle each cupcakes with a few drops of remaining JELL-O.
22. Serve immediately or place in a air tight container for up to 2 days.