I wanted to bring some sort of dessert to my co-workers one day and after going through various options through my head, came to the decision that the cupcake would be the best idea. Because I wanted to feed about 30 people, I knew it would be the easiest because it would be simple to carry and people could grab a treat and go.
I decided to make a black forest cupcake because I knew I wanted to make something that was chocolate. This recipe is one of my favorites because it contains a little surprise when you bite into the cupcake. Not only do you get the cream cheese frosting on the top, but each cupcake is layered with cream cheese frosting and a cherry in the center. Additionally, the cake is soaked with the juice from maraschino cherries to give each bite of chocolate a kick of cherry. I adapted the cupcake recipe from Kraft Foods. The frosting was taken from Simply Recipes.
Ingredients:
Cupcake & Filling
- 1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 can cherry filling
- 1 jar maraschino cherries
Frosting
- 2 - 8 oz. cream cheese
- 2 sticks butter
- 4-6 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 chocolate bar of choice, shaved
Preheat oven to 350 and prepare cake mix as directed on box. Pour half of maraschino cherry juice from jar into batter. In a separate bowl, mix cream cheese, egg, and sugar for filling.
Fill prepared cake batter into lined cupcake tray until each liner is 1/3 full. Spoon 1 tbsp filling mixture onto cake batter mixture. Use cherry pie filling on top of cream cheese mixture. Fill remainder of cupcake liner with cake batter.
Bake for 20-25 minute. Cool for 5 minutes.
Mix butter and cream cheese for frosting. After well mixed, slowly pour in vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Continue adding powdered sugar to reach desired sweetness and consistency.
Decorate cooled cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and chocolate shavings. Top with a maraschino cherry.
This is a fun, little dessert if you're looking for something different and simple. It's also a great way to make new friends at work - everyone loves the girl who brings treats to share. From my past experience, I have learned that people gravitate to free baked goods on someone's desk. And if they're going to take a dessert, they're bound to stop and chat for a while. So if you love baking but not eating your creations like me, why not give it to your friends at work? You get the enjoyment of making, they get the enjoyment of eating. It's a win-win situation for all.
