They're Always After Me Lucky Charms...

Joe, JJ, and I had an annual St Patrick's Day Party to attend this past weekend. It snowed on Friday, but the skies cleared and it was sunny, warm, and over 50 degrees for Saturday afternoon. Last year I made Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Bailey's Frosting but I didn't want to repeat the same thing. Luckily I had pinned these fun looking Lucky Charms Cupcakes a month or so ago:


Source: Just Call Me Maria

It doesn't look like Maria is actively blogging anymore, but she also posted about some mint bailey's brownie bites last year that also look tasty if you want to check them out.

I had limited time Saturday morning so I actually baked up the cupcakes Friday night. I started by crushing up 1/2 cup of the cereal pieces and pulling out the marshmallows:

I was definitely eating the marshmallow as I was going along - that little bowl needed to be refilled!

When I realized that 1/2 cup whole pieces does not equal 1/2 cup of crushed pieces, I had to do it all over again and crush up some more. Not really a big deal because the rest of the recipe is easy. I added the cake mix, eggs, vanilla, sour cream, milk, and oil to my mixer and had it going for about a minute.

Then I slowly started adding the green food coloring drops. I used about 20, but it could have used a bit more.

Once it was all mixed thoroughly, I folded in the cereal pieces and divided it into lined cupcake pans.

Gently folding in the crushed cereal pieces

 

Here they are fresh out of the oven

You can sort of see the cereal pieces in them.

I let them cool and stored them in an airtight container until I made the frosting Saturday afternoon. The frosting was pretty easy, just a little sticky and messy. Start by beating the butter, fluff, vanilla, and 2 cups of the powdered sugar:

mmmmm, butter

And then gradually add in the rest of the sugar at 1/2 cup intervals.

Once it was done, I piped it on the cupcakes, sprinkled on some green sugar, and right before we left I added the marshmallow pieces on top.

All ready for their sprinkles and marshmallow!

Here are a couple shots of the final product:

 

 

 I also typed up a quick label and taped it to the bottom of the cupcake holder - that way everyone would know what they were grabbing without having to hunt someone down and ask. It took maybe 3 minutes and I thought it would be helpful.

 

The Verdict: I have got to be honest, I never got a chance to actually taste a completed cupcake. I ate one of the cupcakes Friday night, and taste tested the frosting while making it, but I never ate an assembled version. By the time I was ready to grab one at the party, they were gone. Considering it was only a little more than an hour after we got there, I think that means they were a hit. The cake alone was tasty and light (I think the secret is the sour cream), but to be honest I didn't really taste the cereal pieces. The frosting was good, but very sweet (13oz of Fluff and 4.5 cups of powdered sugar is a lot!). I think the cake with it would have helped balance it out, but I can't say for sure.

 

Things to Consider: I have never worked with Fluff before. To be honest, I have never before even purchased a jar of it. I do not know why I was surprised, it is marshmallow afterall, but it was very very sticky. And because of all the Fluff and all of that powdered sugar, I thought the frosting wasn't going to work out. I thought there was too much dry and not enough wet ingredients, but it came together in the end. And I think the consistency of it was probably the best I have ever made in terms of piping ease. It wasn't too stiff that it would be too hard to squeeze out, but it wasn't too wet that it dripped all over the place. Also, for some reason, my cupcakes never really rose that much. I am not sure if I over or underfilled the cups or make some other error, but they were a little flat.

 

I will definitely have to try these again so I can get a taste. There were a lot of kids at the party (which is another reason I wanted to avoid a boozy baked good) and they all seemed to enjoy them. Before I leave, here's a little pic of me and my boy from the party. Please ignore the bruise on his head, he was running around like a wild man and not really watching his step. Happy (early) St. Patrick's Day Party everyone!

 



 

 

Lucky Charms Cupcakes

from Just Call Me Maria

1 box white cake mix

3 eggs

¾ cup sour cream

¾ cup milk

1/3 vegetable oil
½ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup finely crushed Lucky Charms (cereal pieces only, no marshmallows)

~25 drops green food coloring

Marshmallow Buttercream

4 ½ cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup room temperature unsalted butter

1 (13 oz) container marshmallow fluff

Optional: Green sprinkles

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with liners.
2. In a large bowl blend cake mix, eggs, sour cream, milk, oil, and vanilla extract.
3. Mix in drops of green food coloring until desired color is achieved.
4. Mix in finely crushed Lucky Charms crumbs until combined.
5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter and bake 18-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.
6. Take cupcakes out and let cool completely.
7. In a medium bowl beat room temperature butter with an electric mixer.
8. Add two cups of the powdered sugar, the vanilla, and the marshmallow fluff and mix until smooth. Continue to add the powdered sugar, a half cup at a time, mixing between each addition.
9. Pipe onto each cooled cupcake. Top with green sprinkles and a Lucky Charms marshmallow (do not top with Lucky Charm marshmallow until ready to eat*).

Tip: Marshmallow buttercream may become difficult to mix. If it becomes too stiff, stop adding powdered sugar and finish mixing by hand. *The Lucky Charms will get mushy and loose their crispness if they remain on top of the frosting too long before eating.