Drop of Disney

Happy Wednesday! Today is National Dog Day and I was inspired by two Disney dogs to make this savory looking treat! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Lady and the Tramp, but one of the main scenes I remember is when Lady and Tramp spend an evening sharing a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. While I do love regular spaghetti and meatballs, I love sweets more, and so I re-created this classic dish on a cupcake! These chocolate cupcakes are topped with buttercream spaghetti, raspberry jam sauce, malted milk ball meatballs, and white chocolate cheese.

This cupcake recipe is a little different from my usual ones as it only makes six cupcakes. Since there’s only two of us at my house, I’ve found making smaller batches of cupcakes to be particularly useful. If you need more, you can double it, try my absolute favorite chocolate cupcake recipe, or just use your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe. If you are looking to make only six cupcakes, I’d recommend a six-cup muffin pan, but you can also use a regular muffin pan.

To make the cupcakes, first whisk the cocoa powder into the boiling water. Set it aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the batter. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. Pour in the cocoa mixture and beat until just combined. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating on low until combined. Add the milk and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Stir in a couple drops of gel food coloring to make a pasta color. I used a combination of Wilton’s copper and golden yellow colors. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a grass piping tip. This tip makes a lot of small strands of frosting and will look like spaghetti when you pipe it.

Then, prepare the jam. Since it’s representing tomato sauce, you’ll want to use a seedless red jam. I used red raspberry jam, but you could also use strawberry or cherry. To make it easier to spread on the cupcakes, warm it briefly in the microwave. Make sure it doesn’t get too hot or it will melt the frosting.

When you’re ready to decorate, pipe the icing onto the cupcakes. Pipe the frosting in a circular motion, piling the strands on top of each other to make it look like a pile of spaghetti. Use a spoon to drop some of the jam on top of the frosting and then add the malted milk balls or other round candy to the top. Grate some white chocolate over the cupcake to make it look like fresh parmesan cheese.

Enjoy a bella notte with these spaghetti cupcakes!

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Freakier Friday Cupcakes

These Freakier Friday Cupcakes are chocolate cupcakes with a swirl of purple and green frosting!

Course Dessert

Keyword Chocolate Cupcakes

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 6 cupcakes

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ cup boiling water
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoons baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Buttercream Frosting

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
• purple and green gel food coloring

Equipment

• 6 cup muffin pan
• piping bags
• large star tip (Wilton 1M)

Instructions

Chocolate Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. Whisk cocoa powder into boiling water. Set aside to cool.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well-mixed.

6. Add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Stir in the cocoa mixture.

7. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream Frosting

1. Beat the butter until creamy.
2. On low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar.
3. Add the milk and vanilla and beat until fluffy.

4. Divide the frosting into two bowls. Stir a couple drops of purple gel food coloring into one bowl and a couple drops of green gel food coloring into the other bowl.

5. Transfer the frostings to two piping bags. Place the two piping bags into a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip.

Assembly

1. Frost the cupcakes by piping the frosting into a swirl on the tops of the cupcakes.