The Story:
My grandfather’s birthday is this week, so as a tribute to him, I wanted to create a cupcake in his name.
When I think about my grandfather, two flavors come to mind, jalapeños and Idaho Spud candies. I don’t know how many people would be interested in a cupcake that makes your taste buds want to cry, so I decided to stick with the candy bar cupcake.
For those of you who are unaware, and Idaho Spud is a cocoa flavored marshmallow covered in dark chocolate and then rolled in coconut.
So happy birthday Grandpa! I know you won’t be able to have any of these because you live hundreds of miles away, but they were made just for you!
My grandfather and me at the beach in Mexico for Christmas when I was 6
Chocolate Cake:
¼ cup water
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup oil1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs
Devil’s Food Cake Mix
Chocolate Coconut Filling:
½ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon coconut extract
Marshmallow Topping:
1 jar mashmallow cream
½ cup butter
1 ¾ cup powdered sugar
4 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, use a whisk to combine water, buttermilk, oil, sour cream and vanilla extract.
3. One at a time, add the eggs. Be sure to stir well in between each addition, you do not need to beat the eggs though.
4. Slowly add Devil’s food cake mix while stirring.
5. Fill cupcake liners (with the cookie crumbs on the bottom) ¾ full and bake for 13-18 minutes depending on how hot your oven gets. The tops should spring back when you touch them.
6. Place into airtight containers as they cool to seal in moisture.
7. While the cakes are in the oven, make your filling by melting the chocolate chips and heavy cream together in the microwave or on the stovetop. (I used milk chocolate chips, if you use semisweet or dark, you may want to add a tablespoon of powdered sugar.)
8. Once melted, stir in vanilla and coconut extract and put in a squeeze bottle if you have one.
9. When the cakes are out of the oven, insert the tip of the squeeze bottle into the cakes and fill with the chocolate. If you do not have a squeeze bottle, let the cakes cool for a few minutes, then dip the tops into the filling and use as a ganache.
10.Marshmallow topping: Beat butter, marshmallow cream, and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cocoa. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and roll in coconut.
What a sweet tribute to your grandpa. Mine has been gone for 20 years, but I can still hear his laughter and his voice. He was diabetic and was not supposed to have treats, however, he turned any occasion into an excuse to indulge. We still repeat his famous words of "It's not (insert holiday, someone's birthday, etc) everyday" as he had cake, icecream, etc. I hope your grandpa has a wonderful birthday and gets to enjoy an Idaho Spud.
As a side note, I feel like I am part of the celebration since I got to try a cupcake. They are delicious!
I have nevr heard of Idaho Spud! Beautiful tribute to your grandfather, too bad he cannot enjoy that yummy cupcake!
what a great post! I love the picture of you and your grandfather! too freakin cute! your cupcakes look delicious as always!
I love Idaho Spud candy bars, growing up in Idaho this is something that I really loved growing up. Now I live in Georgia so I have to stock up when I go visit. They freeze pretty well, now I can make this cupcake and be reminded of those days growing up.
The recipe says “Fill cupcake liners (with the cookie crumbs on the bottom) ¾ full and bake…” Sorry, but WHAT cookie crumbs??? I couldn’t find any listed in the ingredients.