“Surprise Plate” Cupcakes: Chocolate chip with marshmallow filling and cinnamon mascarpone frosting

Every once in a very great while, when my sister and I were little, my mom would bestow on us the mythical “surprise plate.” This usually occurred when we were watching cartoons (mostly Scooby Doo, if memory serves) and asked for a snack. This request usually elicited something more commonplace – apple slices or fruit snacks or those little crunchy breadstick things that you dipped in cheese. But sometimes, when we were least expecting it, we would get a Surprise Plate: a little round plastic plate with three different compartments. One would have chocolate chips in it, another mini-marshmallows, and the third would have sliced-up pieces of string cheese that we dipped in cinnamon and sugar with a toothpick. It’s really good, I promise.

Though not exactly a family recipe, this semi-traditional snack is such a nostalgic idea for me that I decided to try to transform it into a cupcake. How could I blend all of those disparate ingredients (whose separation into the compartments was kind of part of the point) into one cohesive treat? I set out to find the answer.

My first attempt was, frankly, a failure. I learned two things from the experience: don’t try to bake things with mini-marshmallows in them.

The marshmallows melt and leave sad little craters in your cupcakes

And whole milk is not an appropriate substitute for whipping cream in a frosting recipe.

Sad, flat, non-pipeable frosting

This is the main reason for my inexcusably long hiatus from this blog; I was fairly discouraged after Surprise Plate Cupcakes attempt #1. But eventually, I felt recovered enough to try version two, which luckily was much more successful!

To transform the surprise plate into a cupcake, I decided to make a vanilla cupcake with chocolate chips, fill it with marshmallow creme, and top it with this cinnamon mascarpone frosting. The mascarpone takes the place of the string cheese – it’s similar to cream cheese but lighter and more subtle in flavor. I think I might be obsessed with this frosting; it’s super light, almost like whipped cream but with the added richness of the cheese, and it pipes beautifully. I will probably be trying other flavors of it in the future.

The Original

Chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and string cheese with cinnamon-sugar dip in a plastic plate watching Scooby Doo.

The Re-interpretation

A chocolate chip vanilla cupcake, filled with marshmallow creme, topped with cinnamon mascarpone frosting. (Note: I based the cupcake recipe on this vanilla cupcake recipe, with a few of my own tweaks.)

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter

2 eggs

1/3 cup vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup buttermilk

1 cup chocolate chips

1 jar marshmallow creme

Frosting

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In large mixing bowl, combine first five ingredients.

3. Add butter and mix until you achieve a crumb-like texture.

Crumb-like texture

4. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, yogurt, oil, and vanilla extract. Add to flour mixture and mix until just combined.

5. Add milk gradually until just combined. The batter will be very liquid.

Very liquidy batter

6. Fold in chocolate chips.

7. Prepare a cupcake tin with liners. Fill liners three-quarters full.

8. Bake for 14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

9. Let cupcakes cool completely.

10. Prepare a piping bag with the long round tip used for filling cupcakes. Fill with marshmallow creme and pipe into each cupcake.

Piping bag

Full of marshmallowy goodness

11. Make the frosting:

• Beat heavy cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

• In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients until smooth.

 

• Fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture.

12. Prepare another piping bag with a large star tip. Fill with frosting and frost cupcakes.

13. Enjoy!

 

 

Red-Hot Cinnamon Apple Cupcakes

When I was growing up, we had three apple trees in our backyard, right in a row along the back fence. Three trees may not sound like much, but they produced a LOT of apples for a family of four. We had to get pretty creative with our apple usage, and during peak harvest season we made every apple-based thing you can imagine. Applesauce, apple crisp, apple pie…we also just ate a lot of apples. Preferably with peanut butter.

But even with all of that, we had more apples than we knew what to do with, and we had to start seeking out new ideas. That was how we came across the recipe for German Apple Cake, which became an instant family favorite. It’s a unique cake – very apple-centric, which was good for our apple-using needs, with just enough batter to hold the apples together. The result is a cake with a pleasantly flaky, almost crunchy top and sweet, soft apple chunks baked in.

I think we first made it for a potluck where every family had to bring a dish that represented their cultural heritage. Though we’re of pretty diverse ancestry, the 3/8 German heritage was the majority, so German Apple Cake seemed like a good choice. And once we discovered it, we just kept making it! From family gatherings to Fall evenings at home, it was perfect for everything.

To put my own twist on it, I decided to try the cake in cupcake form, which turned out quite well! It was still perfectly moist, with the same flaky top. Though the original recipe calls for a cream cheese frosting, which is delicious (as cream cheese frostings tend to be), we sometimes made the cake and served it with just a dollop of whipped cream on top, which I found I liked even more! So I went with a whipped cream frosting for this recipe. And I decided to drizzle a red-hot cinnamon syrup on top to add a pop of flavor and color.

The Original

German Apple Cake: A cinnamon-y sheet cake with apple chunks baked in and classic cream cheese frosting.

The Reinterpretation

German Apple cupcakes with a light whipped cream frosting and a drizzle of red-hot cinnamon syrup. (Makes about 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

3 eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups chopped peeled tart apples (for me, this ended up being about 4 medium-sized apples. I originally misread the directions and bought 4 pounds of apples, which is definitely more than you need. The next post here may be apple-based as well…)

3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

For frosting:

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1/3-1/2 cup powdered sugar, to taste

1 box red-hot cinnamon candies

2/3 cup boiling water

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cupcake pan or fill with cupcake liners.

2. Peel and chop your apples, and nuts if using; set aside.

This is more apples than you need.

Cut apples into small-ish chunks, but not too small – you still want them to be the star of the cake!

3. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla until blended.

4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add to egg mixture gradually, mixing well. (Batter will be quite thick and sticky).

Well-mixed batter

5. Fold in apples and nuts, if using.

6. Fill cupcake wells about 3/4 of the way to the top.

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until tops are evenly browned and spring back at touch.

Delicious flaky tops!

8. Cool cupcakes completely on wire rack.

9. While cupcakes are cooling, pour heavy whipping cream into a large bowl and beat on medium speed until cream begins to thicken. Add powdered sugar gradually, to taste. Place bowl in refrigerator to chill while you prepare the syrup.

Heavy whipping cream, ready to become whipped cream!

10. Pour about half of the red-hot candies into a small bowl and cover with 2/3 cup boiling water. Let stand for a few minutes to dissolve the coating from the candies. Strain the remainder of the candies out and pour liquid into a small saucepan.

You should get a nice vibrant red color!

11. Bring liquid to a boil. Add 1 1/3 cups sugar and stir constantly until completely dissolved. Boil for about 2 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside to thicken.

12. Prepare a piping bag with a large star tip and fill with whipped cream. Pipe the whipped cream onto the cooled cupcakes.

Preparing a piping bag

All frosted!

13. To add the syrup, I filled another piping bag and cut a very tiny hole in the bottom, then drizzled the syrup across the frosted cupcakes. I put some waxed paper under the wire tins for this part of the process.

14. Add the remaining candies for garnish!

Bonus!

I saw this idea for packaging cupcakes on Pinterest a while ago and have been wanting to try it out. Could be a good way to give people homemade treats as gifts for the holidays!

1. Place decorated cupcake into a clear plastic tumbler.

Like one of these.

2. Wrap in a piece of plastic wrap.

3. Tie a bow with a piece of ribbon.

Enjoy!