Big Brain Cupcakes Recipes

BRAIN CUPCAKES

Steps:

• One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth.
• Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to wire racks, and let cool. Cupcakes will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.
• Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Place sugar and egg whites in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers; it should feel completely smooth.
• Transfer bowl to mixer stand. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until mixture has cooled completely and formed stiff and glossy peaks, about 10 minutes.
• Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated after each addition. Don't worry if the buttercream appears curdled after all the butter has been added; it will become smooth again with continued beating. Add vanilla, and beat just until combined.
• Switch to the paddle attachment, and beat on the lowest speed to eliminate any air pockets, about 5 minutes. If using buttercream within several hours, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature in a cool environment. Or transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator, up to 3 days. Before using, bring buttercream to room temperature, and beat on the lowest speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 5 minutes.
• To decorate, use a medium round tip (such as Ateco #12) to pipe a mound of buttercream in the center of cupcake, then outline and pipe a brain design over it.

BRAIN CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the egg white, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla and beat on medium-high speed for about 1 minute.
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix the flour mixture and the milk into the egg mixture in three parts¿flour-milk-flour, taking care to scrape down the sides as you go, and incorporating each addition well. Mix until smooth.
• Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups using an ice-cream scoop--the batter should come about three-quarters of the way up the sides. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 16 minutes.
• Let the cupcakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Then remove from the pan to the rack to cool completely.
• For the filling and decoration: Use a cupcake corer to hollow out the center of the cupcakes, saving the tops; then fill with a couple tablespoons of candy goo. Slice the top off of the plug you removed from the cupcake and place back in the hole to seal in the filling. Use a couple of drops of red food coloring and the smallest amount of yellow and black to color your frosting. Frost the tops of cupcakes with a thin layer of buttercream. Place the remaining buttercream into a pastry bag fitting with a medium round tip. Pipe squiggles around the top of the cupcakes, creating two hemispheres of the brain. Thin the red piping gel with a teaspoon of water and use a spoon to drizzle over top of the brain to get into crevices.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine all the ingredients. Whip the mixture on low speed for a while. When the sugar is incorporated, turn the mixer speed up and whip until the buttercream is smooth and looks right to you. If it's too cold, persuade it with a blowtorch if you have one. If it's too wet, add a bit more powdered sugar. If it's too stiff, add a bit more butter. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice to make sure everything is combined.
• Use immediately, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for 24 hours or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Rewhip cold buttercream before using it.

RED VELVET CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners. This recipe makes 14 cupcakes, so you will have 2 cupcakes to bake in a 2nd batch.
• With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat 2 egg whites on high speed in a medium bowl until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. See photo at the bottom of this post for a visual. Set aside.
• Sift the flour and cornstarch together to make sure it is evenly combined. Whisk this, along with baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy - about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together fairly well. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the oil and beat on high for 2 minutes. The butter may look "piece-y" and not completely combine with the oil. This is normal and ok.
• Add 2 egg yolks and the vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the vinegar and the food coloring- until you reach your desired color. I use 2 Tablespoons. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Fold whipped egg whites into cupcake batter with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The batter will be silky and slightly thick. (If there are still pieces of butter - and there were in 1 test batch for me - again, this is ok. They will melt inside as the cupcakes bake. Making them even more buttery.)
• Spoon batter into cupcake liners filling 1/2 - 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-21 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don't overbake; your cupcakes will dry out. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Prepare cream cheese frosting. Frost cooled cupcakes immediately before serving. I used a Wilton #12 tip; I don't recommend a star tip. This frosting is a little too thin.

MINI BRAIN CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Place mini paper baking cup in each of 72 mini muffin cups. Make cake mix as directed on box for cupcakes, using water, oil and eggs. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Gently press 1 chocolate chunk into center of each muffin cup.
• Bake 11 to 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Frost cupcakes with vanilla frosting. Top each with 1 walnut half. Using red gel, pipe along edges of walnut halves to look like brains. Store cupcakes loosely covered at room temperature.

BIG BRAIN CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Make frosting: Combine 2 cups chopped 3 MUSKETEERS® Brand FUN SIZE® Bars with 1 cup heavy cream. Microwave for 1 minute, stirring frequently until smooth. Chill mixture for 1 hour. Beat cream cheese until smooth and blend with chilled 3 MUSKETEERS® Brand FUN SIZE® Bars mixture. Set aside 1 cup of frosting and spoon rest into resealable bag, snip off a 1/3-inch corner, chill until ready to use.
• Make cupcakes: Combine cake mix with eggs, buttermilk and oil. Fold in oats and M&M'S® BAKING MINIS® Chocolate Candies into batter. Divide batter evenly between 24 muffin cups fitted with paper cupcake liners. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Cool completely.
• Spread cupcakes tops with thin layer of frosting. Pipe brain shapes on top. Add a toothpick banner if desired and sprinkle with M&M'S® BAKING MINIS® Chocolate Candies.

BRAIN CUPCAKES

Steps:

• 1. Line cupcake tins with the liners. Fill the cupcake liners two-thirds full with the batter and bake the cupcakes as directed in the recipe .
• 2. Mix a drop of red and black food coloring into the frosting to make it a pinkish gray brain color.
• 3. Using the pastry bag, pipe the frosting in a squiggly pile on half of each cupcake top (brains have two hemispheres, you know). Now pipe the frosting in a squiggly pile on the other half of the cupcake top.

GIANT CUPCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). If using a metal giant cupcake pan, thoroughly grease all sides and dust with flour, tapping to remove any excess. If using a silicone cake pan, there is no need to grease.
• Combine sugar and butter in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add in flour alternately with beaten eggs, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract. Divide the mixture between the top and bottom giant cupcake pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Cool in the pan, then turn out to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, frost and decorate as desired with your favorite frosting.