Melted Ice Cream Cupcakes

You could also call this treat "Last Minute Easter Cupcakes". I woke up this morning and realized that I hadn't baked anything holiday-ish. Not having little kids in the house anymore doesn't mean I shouldn't have fun making yummy Easter cupcakes decorated with sprinkles and jelly bean eggs. Most adults will admit that they love them just as much as kids do.

Melted ice cream cupcakes (or cake) are perfect when you don't get a chance to plan ahead. This recipe requires only three ingredients and you'll probably have all of them in your pantry and freezer. A box of cake mix ( I prefer white cake), 3 eggs, and 2 cups of melted ice cream of your favorite flavor. Butter and confectioners' sugar for the frosting and you're all set. Yes, the ice cream goes in the batter and not the frosting. Ice cream has a milk fat content of at least 10%, some premium brands contain even 16% fat, which makes it a perfect substitution for butter or oil in the cake batter. Just take a walk down the freezer aisle of your local grocery store and you'll realize that the flavor combinations for this recipe are endless.

You could try chocolate cake mix and add peanut butter ice cream or pair yellow cake with peach ice cream. Anne Byrn features a melted ice cream cake recipe with Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia super-premium ice cream in her book "The Cake Mix Doctor".

Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

1 box of  white cake mix

3 eggs, at room temperature 

2 cups melted  French vanilla ice cream

Frosting

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup butter (2 sticks), at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

sprinkles and Easter candies for decoration

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

Combine cake mix, eggs, and melted ice cream in mixing bowl and beat with mixer for one minute on low speed. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and increase speed to medium and continue mixing for another 2 minutes.

Divide batter evenly among liners and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden. Let cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Beat butter for 5 minutes until light an fluffy. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time and beat for 5 minutes after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract. Frost cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles and egg candies.