Cream-filled Cupcakes

It was my brother-in-law's birthday. I am the assigned Sunday dinner dessert maker, so he requested chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Well, I couldn't just stop there. I mean I love chocolate and all, but I watch "Cupcake Wars" (on the Food Network) and needed to make these cupcakes a little more special. I decided a filling would be the best choice. I found a recipe I thought sounded delightful and turns out it was! Here's how it went down.

I made this recipe, but turned it into about 20-24 cupcakes. Filling paper cup liners 2/3 full. Baking them for 18-22 minutes.

Once they were cool, I used my handy-dandy apple corer to remove some cupcake from the center, taking care to not go all the way down. If you don't have said corer, just use a small spoon to remove. Or, you can just make the filling, put it in a piping bag and pipe directly in the center of the cupcake. No piping bag? No problem, just spoon some filling in the center and it doesn't have to look pretty because you'll be covering it up with frosting.

After filling the cupcakes, frost with your favorite chocolate frosting. One of my favorites is listed below. I kept these guys refrigerated. And they were devoured in no time!


Filling:
2 tsp very hot water
1/4 tsp salt
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow cream
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Dissolve the salt in the hot water and allow to cool.
Whip the marshmallow cream, shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla until it begins to get fluffy. Add the water and whip well.

For the frosting:
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 – 8 ounce block cream cheese, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

Beat cream cheese and butter until creamy. Slowly add in cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Add vanilla. Spread and enjoy!