Giant Cupcake Cake with Sprinkle Surprise
White cake mix and vanilla pudding giant cupcake cake with buttercream frosting and candy melt liner, topped with a cherry garnish.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 boxes white cake mix (like Pillsbury)
- 1 3.4 ounce box vanilla pudding mix (like Jell-O)
- 6 large eggs
- 2/3 cup canola oil
- 2 cups water
Cupcake Liner
- 1 12 ounce bag Wilton's Candy Melts
Buttercream Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups butter, softened (3 sticks)
- 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 tablespoons milk
- food coloring
Cherry Top
- 1 cup sprinkles or candies (for filling and decorating)
Instructions
Cake
Mix batter and preheat:
Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, and water with an electric hand mixer until smooth.Bake in two stages:
Coat the bottom half of a cupcake pan with nonstick spray. Fill with roughly 3 1/2 cups batter, leaving 2 inches headspace. Put a damp kitchen towel in the top half of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Take out the towel carefully, wipe away any moisture, then spray the top half and add about 2 1/2 cups batter, again leaving 2 inches. Bake 40-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean. Let cool on a rack.Carve and fill cupcake:
After cooling, slice off the top and bottom of each cupcake, saving the trimmings. For a sprinkle-filled center, carve a 2-inch-wide, 4-inch-deep hole in the cupcake base, fill with sprinkles, and seal with a piece of saved cake. Shape the base so it sits neatly in a cupcake liner.
Cupcake Liner
Make candy liner:
Wash and dry the cupcake base pan. Melt the whole bag of candy melts per package instructions. Pour half into the base pan, using a silicone brush to cover the sides. Chill 5 minutes to set. Add the rest of the melted candy and brush the sides again. Refrigerate until the candy liner releases easily from the mold; if it sticks, freeze briefly. Insert the trimmed cupcake base into the candy liner.
Buttercream Frosting
Frost and decorate:
In a large bowl, beat softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until creamy. Tint with food coloring if wanted. Spread a generous layer of frosting on the cupcake base, then press the cupcake top onto it. Load the rest of the frosting into a piping bag with your chosen tip; pipe decorative swirls to conceal any gaps. Add extra sprinkles or decorations as desired.
Cherry Top
Make cherry garnish:
For the cherry garnish: Crumble leftover cake scraps in a bowl. Mix in enough leftover frosting to shape a 2-inch ball. Freeze briefly. Warm any remaining candy melts in the microwave and stir in red food coloring. Dip the cake ball into the colored candy and let it set. For a stem, cut a small cylinder from a Tootsie Roll. Poke a hole in the cherry with a toothpick and insert the stem. Set the cherry on top of the cake.