That aside, I've got a new recipe for everyone today that's actually my husband's idea. I was kind of surprised when he brought this idea to me. Don't get me wrong -- he's a great cook, he's just usually not into sweet things, which is what caught me as odd about his suggestion. But, whatever. I present: Fruit Gusher Cupcakes! (As I typed that, there were fireworks going off outside. Heh. Makes me feel like I did something important.)
Now, I'll admit, I'm no professional chef or anything. As stated, I have a *very* different day job. I'm just the kid that figured out through trial and (more than I'll ever admit) error, how to feed herself through means other than the takeout window. Although I'm guilty of using that option more than I should. That having been said, these are very much an experiment. We kind of just... rolled with it, really, and went on a grand scavenger hunt through the house for ingredients. Over all, things turned out fairly well. My only real complaint was that it was storming at the time I was doing the frosting, so the humidity and the decoration didn't dance to the same tune.
Spoiler Alert: the Fruit Gusher doesn't melt. I was kind of surprised by this, as I've seen what happens to these if you accidentally leave them in your car. Yes, I am an adult. Yes, I am eating Fruit Gushers. I am old enough to make my own decisions and buy my own groceries.
Anyhow, here's what you'll need for to set up your own laboratory:
Equipment:
- Mixer and Bowl
- Mini Muffin Pan
- Mini Muffin Liners
- Mini Muffin Holder (Optional)
- I used the Wilton 3-in-1 caddy. I really like the design as it keeps the cupcakes nice and secure
- Piping Bag + Tips
- Spoons
- Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
Cupcakes:
- White Cake Mix
- I used a Pillsbury Moist Supreme White Cake mix
- Fruit Gushers
Icing:
- 4c Powder Sugar, + Additional
- 1/2c Butter or Similar
- I used the store-branded "vegetable oil spread". What can I say? Real butter is **expensive**
- 1tbsp Whole Milk
- 6tbsp Tang Drink Mix, + Additional
The cupcakes themselves are pretty much straight forward. Follow the directions on the back of the box for making the batter. Yes, I am that much of a bum. What can I say? Fill your muffin pan full of liners, and fill each cavity roughly half way full. Much fuller than that, and they'll overflow when cooking. No dentistry here. Then, push a singular Fruit Gusher into the middle of each batter cup. Okay, I somewhat lied. The dentistry will have to come later.
I got a hold of a mixed box of Fruit Gusher packs, where apparently half the packages are strawberry, and the other half are some sort of tropical roulette. I wound up drawing out 3 strawberry packages and 1 fruit roulette. The odds were not quite in my favor. Hence why most of them are red.
You'll want to bake these until they're fully cooked. For me, that was 10 minutes at 350F, in a convection oven. Baking times may vary. Just keep an eye on them. That's the most important part here.
While the cupcakes are roasting, start on making the frosting. Start off with the butter and milk in the bottom of the mixer, and mix in about half the sugar and Tang drink mix. Slowly add in more powdered sugar until the icing is thick enough to use. Humidity can play a huge part in the amount you'll have to use. You'll want for the icing to be fairly thick so that it'll stay together when you put it on the cupcakes and not slide right back off. Unless you want a glaze. Then by all means, go for runny. Your call.
Making judicious use of ye olde taste test, add in more Tang mix as needed. Just do it in small increments, because you can quickly turn from barely being able to taste it to having your face turned inside out. Anybody remember the face from the warhead candies? Yep. Right there.
Let your cupcakes cool completely, so that they don't melt the frosting, then go to town with all your icing and frosting skills. I used a star tip and just did a generic swirl about the cupcake, but feel free to turn loose with it. Also, general note: I found that they were *much* easier to apply frosting to once they were in my cupcake carrier, because the edges of the mini cupcake tray held them perfectly in place and apart at a decent enough distance. Do yourself a favor and start on the row away from yourself and work across then forwards. Yeah, there's a nice streak of delightfully-flavored frosting running up my arm that says I speak from experience.
Enjoy!
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