M&M's cupcakes

 

These were the third set of cupcakes for this weekend's fundraiser (the other two can be found here and here) - and I hate to say this, but I think they will be the biggest hit of the three. They look really impressive, especially en masse, what with all the colors and all. And besides those who abhor chocolate, who doesn't like M&M's?

I'd been thinking about a cupcake using these candies for awhile, but I'd wanted to use the mini's. Two stores later and no luck (really? Because both stores actually use the mini candies in cookies from their respective bakeries), so I just threw caution to the wind and used the regular size. Did some of them sink to the bottom? Sure. Did I mind? Not at all.

The real show stopper here was the fudge filling. If you don't have it yet, David Leibowitz's The Perfect Scoop is a wonderful book that I have used over and over again. It's worth it for this hot fudge sauce recipe alone. And the fresh mint ice cream. And the toffee. And...well, I could go on and on about it. You can grab one here. It is dark and rich and almost pudding like, and I plan to incorporate it into many future cupcakes. He's also got a marshmallow sauce...well, anyhow...

These cupcakes would be perfect for a kids' party, a baby shower, a Thursday...whatever. There's not too much frosting, they are colorful and fun, and really, they are quite delicious. And it just goes to show that you don't need to be fancy to impress. Sometimes I forget that (with cupcakes - I'm anything but fancy otherwise).

M&M-studded white cupcakes (makes 24 cupcakes)

• 1 cup milk
• 6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature (I used the ones from a carton and you can, too!)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar 
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened 
• 1 cup m&m's candies (mini if you can find them, but regular is okay too)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-count muffin tins with baking liners; set aside.

Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into small bowl, and mix with fork until blended.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating on low speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs.

Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to bowl and beat at medium speed for two minutes. Add remaining half cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium speed and beat 20 seconds longer. Fold in candies.

Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15-17 minutes. Let cool completely before filling and frosting.

Hot Fudge Sauce (from David Leibowitz's The Perfect Scoop)

• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter

Mix together the cream, brown sugar, cocoa, corn syrup, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir constantly for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and add in the chocolate and butter, stirring until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Add in vanilla and serve. This will make more than you need for the cupcakes - store any leftover in the refrigerator and serve warm over ice cream. Let the sauce cool completely before using to fill the cupcakes.

Basic Vanilla Buttercream

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 - 4 tablespoons milk or cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• gel food coloring (I used blue, green, red, and yellow)

 In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add in half of the powdered sugar and all of the salt, and mix until combined. Add in the heavy cream and vanilla. Add in the rest of the powdered sugar, and mix until incorporated. Add in more cream and/or sugar until the frosting is of the desired consistency. Set aside about 1/2 cup of white frosting for your m's, then divide the rest evenly and color however you prefer. You'll need a separate bag for each color, unless you want to clean the bag after every use, and I used a large round tip for frosting.

To assemble:
After cupcakes have cooled, cut a cone-shaped piece out of the middle of each one, trimming the bottom of the cut bit so it forms a lid. Using teaspoon, scoop in a bit of fudge sauce into the cupcake's cavity, then top with the lid. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes. Chill before frosting.

To decorate:
Using a large round tip, pipe a swirl of frosting over the cupcake, not quite touching the sides (you want this to look like a flat round surface sitting on top of the cupcake). Smooth this surface as much as you can with a spatula (but it need not look perfect). Repeat with remaining cupcakes. Let set at room temperature until the frosting has crusted over (give yourself about an hour to be safe). Fill a small bowl with warm water; set aside. Using a CLEAN finger, dip into the warm water and gently smooth over the frosted surface of each cupcake. Change water between colors and wash your hands frequently. Let cupcakes dry for about a half hour. Using the white frosting and a small writing tip (or use a ziptop baggie and snip off the corner), write an "m" on the top of each cupcake.

Rough surface before smoothing

Store in the refrigerator. These are optimal if you let them come to room temperature before serving, but they're pretty tasty cold, too.

So some of the candies sank to the bottom. Big deal!