As you know I’m the birthday cupcake maker at work! We had two birthdays in October. I usually let hem pick what flavor they want. They said just surprise us and use what you have on hand. So I went to the pantry and came up with turtle cupcakes! I’m a semi homemade kinda cupcake maker….I mean why do all the measuring when they do it for you right?? 😉

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rted with a devils food box cake mix and followed the instructions other than I add instant coffee to the water (this gives the chocolate a deeper flavor) and I always sub Greek yogurt for the oil. This makes them healthy right…😂

Another tip is I always use an ice cream scoop to control the size of the cupcakes. It’s a perfect amount for a nice size cupcake and it makes them relatively uniform in size!

Then I bake according to the directions. In my oven they are usually done on the low end of the bake time recommendations.

After they have baked and cooled I cut a small cone out of the center of each cupcake. This will give space to fill the cupcakes with carmel (keep the cone to replace after filling) I could make my own carmel but the stuff they pour over ice cream is pretty tasty don’t you think?? (Sorry I didn’t get pics of the last two steps as this post was an afterthought…😏)

After all the the cupcakes are filled replace the cone into the cupcake and then they are ready to frost! I used a dark chocolate buttercream (recipe below) But don’t feel bad if you decide to use ready made frosting it’s pretty tasty too!

After they are frosted I sprinkled chopped pecans and drizzled more carmel sauce over each cupcake! The girls loved these cupcakes and a few of them said they were their favorite that I have made them! Hope you give this recipe a try! If you do let me know how they turned out!!

Dark Chocolate Buttercream

Ingredients:

2 sticks salted butter

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3 to 3-1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons milk or cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

• With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy – about 2 minutes.
• Add confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, milk, and vanilla extract with the mixer running on low.
• Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add up to 1/2 cup more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or another Tablespoon of milk if frosting is too thick.

This makes enough to frost 12-16 cupcakes.