Hi everyone! I’m Rachel! I’m so excited/honored/nervous/thrilled/intimidated to be filling in for Amanda today. I mean…how insanely talented is she? And she does it all with five kids. Whaaaaaaa? I can barely hold things together and I only have two children. But, I was able to hold it together long enough to give these Vanilla Cupcakes with a Surprise Inside a try. Amanda has a lot of yummy cupcake recipes, so be sure to try ones like her Vanilla Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting!
Vanilla Cupcakes with a Surprise Inside
When thinking of Amanda and what I wanted to share on her site, I immediately thought of her “surprise inside” cakes (and her upcoming book) which are amazing, gorgeous and so creative. I was inspired by her creativity and pushed to come up with my own “surprise inside” creation. These vanilla cupcakes are a cinch to make (if I can do it, you can do it!) and they are so, so fun!
Not everybody loves surprises, but there is nothing not to love about these Vanilla Cupcakes with a Surprise Inside. Plus, they are easier to make than you might think! What’s not to love about cupcakes, buttercream, and M&Ms? If you serve them at a party, all your guests will be so surprised (in a good way) when they bite into these.
Vanilla Cupcakes with a Surprise Inside Recipe
There are three parts to this fun and yummy treat–the vanilla cupcakes, the candy surprise, and the frosting. I used M&M’s for my surprise inside, but you could always experiment with other kinds of candy!
Cupcakes Ingredients (full recipe below)
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs (one egg using just the yolk)
- All-purpose flour
- Milk
Filling
- Mini M&M’s (or any candy you choose)
Frosting Ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla extract
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Milk
- Sprinkles
How to Make Vanilla Cupcakes with a Surprise Inside
The first thing you have to make is the vanilla cupcakes. When you get to incorporating the eggs, add one egg at a time and only use the yolk of the third egg. Alternate between adding the flour and the milk and mix everything together on low.
After the batter has been made, use cupcake liners to line a cupcake tin. Fill each liner about 3/4 of the way full. Bake the cupcakes for 16-18 minutes at 350°F, or until a toothpick pulls out with a few crumbs on it, but not wet batter. Let the cupcakes cool before you go on to the next step of filling them with the candy (the surprise). While the cupcakes are cooling would be a good time to make the frosting. To make the frosting, simply use an electronic mixer to cream all the ingredients together until it is soft and fluffy.
Assembling the Cupcakes
After the cupcakes have cooled and the frosting made, make a hole in each cupcake. You could use a cupcake corer or a sharp knife to make the holes. Fill each hole with the M&M’s and top each cupcake with the frosting. Add some sprinkles to really make them fun! Serve the cupcakes immediately since the M&M’s absorb some of the moisture, thus losing some crunchiness. You could always make the cupcakes the day before and put in the candy immediately before serving them. I was super happy with how they turned out!
Vanilla Cupcakes (with a surprise inside!)
Verdict: Simple to make and fun to eat! Win-win.
Husband’s take: He loved these! Again, what’s not to love?
Changes I would make: None are necessary but you could experiment with different types of candy in the cupcakes. Also, if you’re new to baking you could definitely use a boxed mix and premade frosting if you wanted to really throw these together quickly.
Difficulty: Easy!
Thanks for having me, Amanda…and thanks for inspiring me to create this fun recipe!
Looking for More Cupcake Recipes?
Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream
Vanilla Cupcakes (With a Surprise Inside!)
Ingredients
CUPCAKES
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/3 cups (267g) granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, using only the yolk of one egg
- 1 1/3 cups (167g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (184g) milk
FILLING
- 1/3 cup mini M&Ms
FROSTING
- 1/3 cup (76g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375g) confectioners' sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- sprinkles, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment on medium-high speed, cream together butter, sugar, salt, baking powder and vanilla until fluffy and light colored (about 5 minutes).
- Add eggs one at a time until incorporated (adding only the yolk of the third egg). Scrape down sides as needed.
- With the mixer on low, add one third of the flour, then half the milk, then another third of the flour, the rest of the milk and finally the remaining flour. Scrape down sides as needed.
- Pour into a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Each liner should be about 3/4 full of batter.
- Bake cupcakes for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool cupcakes completely before moving on to the next steps.
- When cupcakes have cooled, hollow out a small hole in the center (using a cupcake corer or a small sharp knife). Fill each hole with mini M&Ms.
- Prepare frosting by using an electric mixer to cream together all frosting ingredients until smooth and fluffy. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes, decorate with sprinkles if desired, and serve immediately.
- Note: Serving immediately is recommended because the M&M’s soak up some moisture and lose their crunch after being inside of the cupcakes. Feel free to make cupcakes a day ahead and fill and frost immediately before serving.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
M&M’s inside is brilliant. These are so fun!
Soooo cute!!!! My little boy would love these!!!
Haha that’s a cute surprise.
Now I really want one!! Those look great!
Do the M&M’s fall out when you take a bite? This looks like lots of fun. Everything is better with chocolate!
Only a little bit! 🙂 And I agree, everything is better with chocolate! These would be great with chocolate cupcakes and chocolate buttercream too. 😉
This cupcake looks really delicious and fluffy
I will try it surely
What a cute idea – I love these!
what an awesome cupcake
Fun!! I’m sure my kiddos would love these too!
Ohhh! My kids would love jelly beans for Easter or Candy corn for Halloween. Hmmm, cinnamon hearts for Valentines?! This is such a good idea, Rachel, especially with all the different M&M flavors/colors available.