Happy Friday! I’m so excited for the Daredevil: Born Again premiere that I had to make these Daredevil Cupcakes! These rich Devil’s Food Cake cupcakes have marshmallow frosting and fondant decorations inspired by Matt Murdock and his alter ego Daredevil!
I first learned about Daredevil through the series on Netflix. I didn’t watch it as it aired since I have mixed feelings about the a lot of the Marvel universe. But I came across it a few years after that series had ended and I just immediately loved the characters of Matt Murdock and Daredevil. I tend to like superhero/ hero vigilante characters that are self-made as opposed to just having superpowers. So I love that Matt Murdock/Daredevil simply uses his wits, (heightened) senses, and boxing skills in his work.
I also think it’s so cool that Matt Murdock/Daredevil is blind and that his blindness isn’t portrayed as a hinderance, problem to be solved, or a reason to pity him. As a lawyer, Matt Murdock is smart, caring, and fully capable of getting justice for his clients. As a hero vigilante, Daredevil is similarly smart, creative, and throughly focused on delivering a different kind of justice. The fact that he’s blind simply makes it more interesting.
And so, I was so sad when I discovered the Daredevil series had been cancelled and that the story was left unfinished. However, I began to hope when Matt Murdock made an appearance in one of the recent Spiderman movies, and only got more excited when it was finally announced that Daredevil would be returning and would be bringing back the full cast from the Netflix show. So, these cupcakes are to celebrate Daredevil: Born Again premiering March 4 on Disney+!
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Taking inspiration from Daredevil’s name, these cupcakes are a rich Devil’s Food Cake. Espresso heightens the the cocoa powder in the cake giving it a full, rich chocolate flavor. The cupcakes are topped with a marshmallow frosting and decorations inspired by Matt Murdock’s glasses and Daredevil’s costume.
To make the cupcakes, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Then, in a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vegetable oil, espresso (coffee), egg, and vanilla. Since I’m not a coffee drinker, I just went to my local Starbucks to get a couple shots of espresso. But you could also use regular coffee. Add the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture, beating on low speed until incorporated.
Transfer the batter to a muffin pan lined with red foil cupcake liners, filling each cup ¾ full. I used cupcake liners that I found on Amazon. Bake the cupcakes for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cupcakes are cooling, make the fondant decorations and then the frosting. To make the fondant decorations, you’ll need red and silver fondant and some letter shaped fondant cutters. I used red and silver fondant from Stain Ice and the D and O letter shaped cutters from a set from Michaels.
Roll out a couple ounces of red fondant to about ¼ inch thickness. Use the D fondant cutters to cut out 10 D shapes. Attach one D to another, laying it on top to create the DD Daredevil logo. Use a dab of water to attach the two pieces of fondant together. Roll the leftover fondant into 10 small horns. Set all of the decorations aside.
Roll a couple ounces of red fondant to about ¼ inch thickness. Use the O fondant cutters to cut out 10 O shapes. Cut 5 small strips from the leftover silver fondant to make the nose bridge of Matt Murdock’s glasses. Use a dab of water to attach the nose bridge to two O shapes to make glasses.
Take a fresh piece of red fondant and mix a dab of black and red gel food coloring into it to darken it to a maroon color. Use your hands to fully mix the colors into the fondant. Use a regular size round piping tip to cut out 10 circles. Press the maroon colored circles into the glasses frames to complete the glasses. Set aside.
Next, make the frosting by beating the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the marshmallow fluff and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until fluffy. Divide the frosting in half, into two separate bowls.
Add a couple drops of black gel food coloring to one of the bowls to make a light grey color and a few drops of red gel food coloring to the second bowl to make a strong red color. Stir the colors into the frosting until they’re fully incorporated. For my colors, I used black and red colors from the Ann Clark set. Transfer the frostings into piping bags fitted with a large star (Wilton 1M) piping tip.
To assemble the cupcakes, pipe a swirl of grey frosting onto five of the cupcakes. Place one fondant glasses decoration onto each of the five cupcakes. Then, pipe a swirl of red frosting onto the remaining five cupcakes. Place one fondant DD and two horns onto each of the cupcakes.
Enjoy these Daredevil Cupcakes! If you check out the Daredevil: Born Again, definitely let me know!
Daredevil Cupcakes
Ingredients
Devil’s Food Cake Cupcakes
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¼ cup (2 shots) espresso or coffee
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Marshmallow Frosting
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 7.5 oz jar marshmallow fluff or creme
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- black gel food coloring
- red gel food coloring
Fondant Decorations
- red fondant
- silver fondant
- D shaped fondant cutter
- O shaped fondant cutter
- round piping tip
Equipment
- 12 cup muffin pan
- red foil cupcake liners
- large star piping tip (Wilton 1M)
- large piping bags
Instructions
Devil’s Food Cake Cupcakes
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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the muffin pan with 10 cupcake liners. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vegetable oil, espresso (coffee), egg, and vanilla.
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Add the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture, beating on low speed until incorporated.
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Transfer the batter to the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup ¾ full.
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Bake the cupcakes for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
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Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
Fondant Decorations
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Roll out a couple ounces of red fondant to about ¼ inch thickness. Use the D fondant cutters to cut out 10 D shapes.
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Attach one D to another, laying it on top to create the DD Daredevil logo. Use a dab of water to attach the two pieces of fondant together. Set aside.
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Roll the leftover fondant into 10 small horns. Set aside.
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Roll a couple ounces of red fondant to about ¼ inch thickness. Use the O fondant cutters to cut out 10 O shapes.
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Cut 5 small strips from the leftover silver fondant to make the nose bridge of Matt Murdock’s glasses. Use a dab of water to attach the nose bridge to two O shapes to make glasses.
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Take a fresh piece of red fondant and mix a dab of black and red gel food coloring into it to darken it to a maroon color. Use your hands to fully mix the colors into the fondant.
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Use a regular size round piping tip to cut out 10 circles. Press the maroon colored circles into the glasses frames to complete the glasses. Set aside.
Marshmallow Frosting
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On medium speed, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
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Add in the marshmallow fluff and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
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Gradually add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until fluffy. Make sure not to overbeat the frosting as it will become tough.
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Divide the frosting in half, into two separate bowls.
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Add a couple drops of black gel food coloring to one of the bowls to make a light grey color. Stir the color into the frosting until it’s fully incorporated.
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Add a few drops of red gel food coloring to the second bowl to make a strong red color. Stir the color into the frosting until it’s fully incorporated.
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Transfer the frostings into piping bags fitted with a large star (Wilton 1M) piping tip.
Assembly
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Pipe a swirl of grey frosting onto five of the cupcakes. Place one fondant glasses decoration onto each of the five cupcakes.
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Pipe a swirl of red frosting onto the remaining five cupcakes. Place one fondant DD and two horns onto each of the cupcakes.
Recipe Notes
Devil’s Food Cake adapted from Bigger Bolder Baking