Copy Cat Recipe: Mini Warm Delights

I've eyed these Mini Warm Delights in the grocery store for a looooong time, but always refused to buy them because you have to pay about $3.00 for two teeeeeny tiny little single serving cakes.  I also thought that if I wanted a chocolate cake that bad, I'd just whip up an entire cake.  Well, in a moment of weakness, I finally bought them a few weeks ago.  I thought they were good, but still didn't think they were worth $1.50 each.  However, I was quite consumed with the idea of making myself a delicious little cake in just a couple of minutes. So, I decided I'd try to copy the recipe. 


I searched the Internet far and wide and found a lot of different recipes, but none were really all that appealing to me.  So, I experimented with my own recipe.  It turned out fabulous!  Much better than I ever could have expected.  And, I did a little taste test with my man friend and we both determined that my little recipe beats the Mini Warm Delights!  My cakes are more moist and more dense than the Mini Warm Delights.  I also think mine have a stronger chocolate flavor.  Take that Betty Crocker! ;-)  


I will warn you, the recipe below makes massive quantities.  But, you have options.  You can  make the recipe as directed below and store your mix in Tupperware at home.  I've even placed individual servings into small sandwich baggies and taken them to work so that whenever I need chocolate, it's there for me.  Or you can just cut the recipe down and have less on hand -- if you do so, just make sure you maintain the chocolate cake mix to brownie mix ratio (1:2). 


What you need for the cakes:
1 Chocolate Cake Mix
1 Box of Instant Chocolate Pudding
2 Boxes of Chocolate Brownie Mix
Miniature Chocolate Chips
Water


What you do to make the mix:
1.  Pour the chocolate cake mix and instant pudding mix into one bowl.  Stir well to combine the two powders.
  
2.  Add the two boxes of brownie mix.  Stir well. 


THAT'S IT!


When you want to make yourself a little cake, put 1/4 cup of the mixture and a teaspoon or two of miniature chocolate chips into a ramekin dish.  Add 7 Tsps (or 2 Tblsps + 1 Tsp) of water.  Stir well with a fork.  Microwave for 30-45 seconds. Then enjoy!


I put 1/4 cup of the mixture + some miniature chocolate chips into some baggies and took those, a ramekin, and a teaspoon to work.  So, when I need a little pick-me-up, it's there -- more delicious than the Mini Warm Delights, less expensive, and just as convenient!


Also, if you add about 1 Tsp of  Fudge Ice Cream Topping (like this, not like Hersey's Syrup) to the center of the ramekin before you microwave, you end up with a mini lava cake.  See the gooey fudge there:

Experiment away with toppings for these little cakes!  We've added whipped topping and ice cream and loved both! 


Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Marshmallow Cupcakes

See that right there?  That's the most amazing mistake ever.  Seriously.  I decided to try to make this.  Except I didn't really read very closely and I accidentally bought the wrong ingredients.  And, I love cupcakes, so I made them in cupcake form, of course.


I was making these for one of my book club meetings.  Except I ran out of time to make them in advance and had to make them after I got home from teaching the night before our meeting.  So, I got home around 9:30 pm and quickly threw together my version of this cupcake.  But I didn't want to make a whole batch of my version and have them be terrible, because I had no time to make something delicious if they bombed.  So, I made one cupcake and put it in the oven, thinking if it came out terrible, I could try to save the rest of the batter.  Then I heated up my dinner and sat on the kitchen floor in front of my oven and watched my single cupcake bake.  It was kinda like watching grass grow, except way more exciting.  And, the end result was much more rewarding, I think!


See how the center of the cupcakes are darker than the outside?  That's because the center is filled full of delicious moist fudge.  And see how the tops look all sticky and gooey?  They are.  In the most delicious way possible, too.  I thought the marshmallow would have been over the top with all the chocolate, but I couldn't have been more wrong.  Marshmallow + Chocolate = LOVE.  


These cupcakes must be eaten warm. (See the italics PLUS the underline??? I'm not kidding.)   I took leftovers to work and left step by step instructions requiring those eating them to heat them in the microwave before eating.


The marshmallow melts into the cupcake, which gets pretty messy.  I recommend eating with a fork. 


Source:  Confessions of a Cookbook Queen 


Here's what you need:
1 Box Devils Food Cake Mix and the eggs, oil and water called for on the box
1 Jar Hard Shell Chocolate Ice Cream Topping (like this)
1 7oz jar Marshmallow Fluff


Here's what you do:


1.  Prepare and bake cupcakes according to directions on the box. 


2.  As soon as the cupcakes are baked, pull them out of the oven.  Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke one large hole in the center of each cupcake (you want one large hole, not many small ones). 


3.  Fill each hole with the chocolate ice cream topping.

4.  Put a dollop of marshmallow fluff on top of each cupcake. 


5.  Return the cupcakes to the oven and bake for about 2 more minutes. 


6.  SERVE WARM!


Enjoy!

Hot Fudge Sundae Cupcakes

For Father's Day I made my dad a delicious Carrot Cake that I owed him.  But, since I don't like vegetables with my dessert, I had to make something else, cause I'm not going without dessert.  I saw a recipe for Hot Fudge Sundae Cupcakes and thought they looked adorable, so I decided to give them a try.  I simplified the recipe and they ended up being not only adorable, but delicious too.  I was really surprised at how much they actually tasted like a hot fudge sundae.  And they really are quite easy to make.

Adapted from: Joy the Baker

Here's what I used for the cupcakes:
1 White cake mix and the ingredients needed to make the cake according to the box
3 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

Here's what I did to make the cupcakes:
I prepared the cake mix according to the directions. I also added 3 Tbsp of Vanilla Extract.  I baked the cupcakes according to the box, removing them from the oven when they were golden brown.  I put them on a cooling rack upside down until they were cool.



Here's what I used for the chocolate ganache:
2 1/4 Cups Miniature Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (a little more than a 12 oz bag)
3/4 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

Here's what I did to make the chocolate ganache:
I poured the chocolate chips into a bowl.  I put the cream in a pan and simmered it on the stove until it was very warm (but I did not let it boil).  Once the cream was warm, I poured it over the chocolate chips.  I let that sit for about a minute.  Then I stirred the mixture together, letting the cream melt the chocolate, until the mixture was completely smooth. 

     Hint:  If you didn't get the cream warm enough to melt the chocolate chips all the
      way, just put the bowl in the microwave and heat it up for 10 seconds at a time. 
      Stir after you heat it up each time to see if the chocolate chips are melted -- you
      only want to heat it enough to melt the chocolate chips.



Here's what I used to assemble the cupcakes:
Caramel
Whipped Cream
Maraschino Cherries
Chocolate Sprinkles

Here's what I did to assemble the cupcakes:
I wanted to try stuffing the cupcakes, so the first thing I did was use an apple corer to remove the center of each cupcake (Bonus!  I get to eat all the centers!).  Then I filled about half of the center of each cupcake up with whipped cream.  I filled the other half of the center up with caramel.  (The caramel was a last minute idea.  I was at my mom's house and she happened to have those little cups of caramel for dipping apples in, so I used those.  I just heated each one up a bit in the microwave to make the caramel easy to work with.)

Then I iced the cupcakes with the ganache.  I made sure to put a little extra ganache over the center of each cupcake so that the ganache would seep into the center of each cupcake as well.

After I let the ganache cool until it was firm, I put whipped cream, a cherry, and chocolate sprinkles on each cupcake.  

Enjoy!