Cadbury Creme Egg Surprise Cupcake

In Canada, we always have an innate sense of when Easter is. It's not because we're all religious, nor have we memorized the calender. This knowledge comes exclusively from our grocery stores. You see, whenever Easter is close, the clucking bunny is not far behind. Yes, you know what I'm talking about - it's chocolate. It's sweet. It's got a molten candy filling that can burn a hole right through your teeth.

Cadbury Creme Eggs. They're dangerous. Not because they're full of calories, but because the evil minds of Cadbury really have developed a master plan to keep us addicted. The creme egg is only available during Easter. This means that, every year, we forget how sugary sweet the little egg is. And that means, every year, we buy a creme egg. As soon as we bite into one, we remember. We remember and think to ourselves, "Why do we do this every year?" But, every year, we do the same thing.

We wanted to make the yearly ritual a bit more pleasant. The only way to do that is to hide the creme egg completely into something way more delicious - a cupcake.





Cadbury Creme Egg Surprise Cupcake
makes 18 Cupcakes

18 small Cadbury Creme eggs (it's better if they're frozen)
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 cup strong coffee
2 large eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1) Preheat your oven to 350F. Chop up your bittersweet chocolate and melt it into your strong coffee. Make sure to stir so that there are no large bits of chocolate left. Set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

2) In a large bowl with a mixer, whip up the eggs for about 3 minutes - until they're fluffy, pale in colour, and almost doubled in volume. One at a time, add the oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix while adding to make sure everything is incorporated. Add the chocolate/coffee mixture and beat until everything is evenly mixed.

3) With a wooden spoon, stir in your dry ingredients until just combined - do not overmix! Pour a large spoonful of the batter into each cupcake liner. Toss the creme eggs in some flour until they're lightly covered, then set each one right on top of the batter, careful not to press down too much. Spoon the rest of the batter over top of the eggs. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until your cake tester comes out clean. Set out to cool before icing.

Marshmallow Icing
1/4 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
unsweetened coconut and mini eggs, to decorate

1) In heatproof bowl, whisk together the water, sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar and salt. Set the bowl over saucepan of simmering water and beat constantly until mixture holds stiff peaks (about 5 to 7 minutes).

2) Remove from saucepan. Beat until frosting is cooled, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract. Pipe onto the cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with coconut and decorate with mini eggs. Enjoy!