Mini Eggs in Mini Cupcakes?

[MissMegan]

I wanted to bring mini cupcakes to class for Easter next week (my class /really/ needs happy things every once in awhile!).

My initial dilemma was this: I don't have anything that will enable me to transport two layers of iced cupcakes in one go, but plain cupcakes are so sad-looking! So, I thought that instead of icing them I would stick a Cadbury's Mini Egg in the center of each mini cupcake, in keeping with the holiday theme. My initial thought was to just stick the Mini Egg in the middle of the batter and bake (mini cupcakes = less baking time so less melting time, right? but I'm still thinking that something will go wrong: burnt candy shell, melted and re-solidified "chocolate" turning funny, some sort of explosion, whatever. I didn't want to stick them in afterwards because I don't think it will look as nice.

So, my question is this: Has anyone tried baking Mini Eggs into things? And/or have a brilliant idea for how I can have layerable-for-transport *not-sad* cupcakes on a very limited grad-school student budget? I have one tupperware-ish container that is about 10x10x2 and another that is a cylinder that is about 5x10.

Any ideas would be much appreciated!

[doughgirl]

How about putting the icing/frosting in the middle? Just a cone-shape out of the middle of each cupcake, fill with frosting and then cut off bottom of cone and replace the top. I've done that, then covered the top with a thin layer of buttercream that stiffens up real well and dipped the tops in those multi-colored sprinkles/teeny tiny balls. In the case of mini-cupcakes you could skip filling them and just do the topping. I piled them on top of each other in those big cheap disposable aluminum pans (9x13) that you can buy at the market...they usually come with a clear top, and they arrived at my destination fine with little-to-no mushing.

My next investment is a Cupcake Courier. I've been waiting until they came out with their new colors and I have my eye on that sage green one!

[alanamoana]

i might use the mini-eggs to decorate the top of your cupcake rather than placing them inside the cupcake. if you want to bake them into something, you can do a mini-egg version of the peanut butter blossom (usually a peanut butter cookie with a hershey's kiss implanted at the end of the baking process) instead of the cupcake.

the concern i have is that when you place a solid object in the middle of a cake batter, the surrounding cake batter doesn't tend to bake very well because of the difference in consistency between the batter and the solid object. granted, cupcakes are small enough, but i don't know what kind of chocolate mini-eggs are made of and you might not want to experiment on something at the last minute. otherwise you throw out stuff and you state you're on a limited budget. cookies are easier to transport as well.

and finally, you can always recycle a large box to transport your cupcakes. just make sure to line the interior with clean paper or foil.

[baroness]

granted, cupcakes are small enough, but i don't know what kind of chocolate mini-eggs are made of and you might not want to experiment on something at the last minute.  otherwise you throw out stuff and you state you're on a limited budget.  cookies are easier to transport as well.

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What about rice krispie treats decorated with mini eggs, jelly beans, and/or seasonal sprinkles? They are popular, fairly non-food-allergy-provoking, inexpensive, and easy to transport.

[alanamoana]

granted, cupcakes are small enough, but i don't know what kind of chocolate mini-eggs are made of and you might not want to experiment on something at the last minute.  otherwise you throw out stuff and you state you're on a limited budget.  cookies are easier to transport as well.

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What about rice krispie treats decorated with mini eggs, jelly beans, and/or seasonal sprinkles? They are popular, fairly non-food-allergy-provoking, inexpensive, and easy to transport.

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and inexpensive! i like that idea a lot.

[MissMegan]

Thanks for the great ideas! Now I'm torn between buttercream-topped cupcakes and rice-krispie treats. I think it will come down to which one I have the most ingredients for already. And now I want one of those Cupcake Carriers! Will have to wait for Christmas - is it too early to start a list?

[sugarseattle]

you could also just ask at the bakery counter if you can buy a bakery box, it should be about 1 buck.

I think you should put the egg on top...since you're doing mini cupcakes, there is really not much room for filling. regular sized cupcakes are awesome with filling, and I just usually inject pipeable ganache into them (or even creamy filling).

One other idea, you could frost with royal icing and some sprinkles, which will dry harder and thus make them easier to transport.

[reenicake]

If you have some cardboard you can make a two-layer in your square container by just making a cross shape that is the height of 1 cupcake and placing the cupcakes around it. more cardboard over that then more cupcakes. Hard to visualize, but imagine a collapsible card table.

I vote for the rice crispie treats too. You can make them with any combo of cereal, even Froot Loops for color.