Boston Cream Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups cold whole milk
• 1 (3.4-ounce) box vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 12 pre-made cupcakes baked from a cake mix
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Directions

Combine milk, instant pudding mix, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Beat mixture with a hand mixer for 2 minutes, or until it thickens. Place mixture in refrigerator for 15 minutes. Spoon filling into a pastry bag fitted with a medium-size plain tip. Fill cupcakes with vanilla pudding filling by inserting tip into top of cupcake and squeezing a couple of tablespoons of filling into each cupcake.

Heat cream in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat until bubbles appear around the edges. Remove from heat, add chocolate morsels to pan, and whisk until smooth. Spoon or drizzle glaze over cupcakes, or dunk the tops into the glaze. Refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour, before serving.

S'mores Cupcakes

I must say, these are sooooooo good! One of my favorites. I injected the core of these graham-crust bottomed chocolate cupcakes with a marshmallow cream filling. Mounded just enough marshmallow cream on the tops of the cakes to stick the mini-marshmallows on top. Then I toasted the tops with a kitchen torch and garnished with a single Hershey's square. Super adorable, delicious, and perfect for the summer months.

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
• ¼ cup sugar
• 5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 cups plus 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1½ tsp. baking powder
• 1½ tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter; mix well with a fork. Drop about 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down to line the bottom. (Note: I found the bottom of my squeeze bottle to be the perfect size to do this job neatly and quickly.) Sprinkle a small amount of the chopped chocolate on top of the graham cracker crusts. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, and maintain the oven temperature.
• To make the cake batter, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on low speed just to combine. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract; whisk together. Add to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the boiling water and stir just to combine (batter will be thin).
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about ¾ of the way full. Return the pans to the oven and bake about 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  
  Marshmallow Cream Filling:
  

  1

  jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme

  1/2

  cup butter or margarine, softened

  2

  cups powdered sugar

  1

  to 2 teaspoons milk

In large bowl, beat marshmallow creme, butter and powdered sugar on low speed until blended. Beat in enough milk, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to make frosting spreadable.