Drop of Disney

Happy Earth Day! As I thought about what to bake this week, I knew I wanted to do something for Earth Day as taking care of our planet is really important. And so I thought of WALL-E. I haven’t seen the movie in a long time, but one of the scenes that stuck out to me was when WALL-E finds a plant sprout growing on Earth and scoops it up to take care of it. This scene made me think about all of the things we need to do to take care of our planet and the plants and creatures that live on it and was my inspiration for this week’s bake. I’m excited to share WALL-E’s Sprout Cakes! These black chocolate cupcakes have a marshmallow filling and are topped with black chocolate frosting, Oreo crumb dirt, and a chocolate sprout!

When I thought about make a dirt/plant inspired cupcake, I knew I wanted to use Oreos as a topping and so I decided to use black cocoa powder, which not only gives the cupcakes a dark dirt like color, but also gives them an Oreo chocolate flavor. I use black cocoa powder from King Arthur Baking. If you don’t have black cocoa powder or would prefer a more traditional chocolate taste, you can just substitute unsweetened cocoa powder for the black cocoa powder in this recipe.

To make the cupcakes, start by combining the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla and beat until combined, about 2 minutes. Then, stir in the boiling water. Don’t worry, the batter will be thin and runny.

Transfer the batter to free-standing baking cups or to a muffin pan lined with cupcake wrappers. For these, I used brown baking cups I found on Amazon but you could also use regular brown cupcake wrappers. Bake the cupcakes at 350 F for 15 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the filling, I used a marshmallow frosting. It’s one of my favorite frostings and I liked that it also mirrored the flavors of the Oreo, with the black cocoa and marshmallow. To make the marshmallow frosting, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add in the marshmallow fluff and beat on low speed just until combined, about 30 seconds. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat on medium speed until fluffy. Make sure not to overbeat the frosting. If desired, stir in a couple drops of green gel food coloring. For this, I used Americolor’s “Leaf Green”. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag to make it easier to fill the cupcakes later.

To frost the cupcakes and hold the Oreo crumbs, I used a black chocolate frosting. To make the frosting, combine the melted butter and the black cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Alternately add the powdered sugar and milk. Beat until the frosting is spreadable and then stir in the vanilla. Again, if you want to use unsweetened cocoa powder, just substitute it in for the black cocoa powder.

For the decorations, I first crumbled some Oreo cookies into fine pieces to make dirt. Then I used green candy melts to make plant sprouts. To make the plant sprouts, place the green candy melts into a plastic piping bag. Heat them in the microwave, checking every 30 seconds, until they’ve melted. Pipe a sprout design on a piece of wax paper and then let the candy melt set, about 15 minutes.

To assemble the cupcakes, first use an apple corer to remove the centers of each cupcake. Then, fill each cupcake with marshmallow frosting. To frost the cupcakes, use an offset spatula to spread a layer of black chocolate frosting onto each cupcake. Sprinkle a layer of Oreo crumbs on top of the chocolate frosting. Finally, gently press one of the sprout pieces into the center of each cupcake.

Enjoy! Happy Earth Day!

If you’re looking for more Earth Day treats, check out my Mickey Earth Day Cookies!

Print

WALL-E Plant Cupcakes

WALL-E's Sprout Cakes are black chocolate cupcakes with a marshmallow filling. They’re topped with black chocolate frosting, Oreo crumb dirt, and a chocolate sprout!

Course Dessert

Keyword Earth Day, WALL-E

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

Black Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup + 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons black cocoa powder
• ¾ teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup boiling water

Marshmallow Frosting

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3 ounces marshmallow fluff or creme
• 1 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Black Chocolate Frosting

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
• ⅓ cup black cocoa powder
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Decoration

• 10-12 Oreo cookies, crushed into fine pieces
• ½ cup green candy melts

Equipment

• brown free standing baking cups
• piping bags
• wax paper

Instructions

Black Chocolate Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place freestanding cupcake wrappers on a baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and black cocoa powder.
3. Add egg, milk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
4. Stir in boiling water. Batter will be thin and runny.
5. Pour batter into the prepared baking cups, filling each cup about ½ -⅔ full.
6. Bake cupcakes for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Cool the cupcakes on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Marshmallow Frosting

1. On medium speed, beat butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Add in marshmallow fluff and beat on low speed just until combined, about 30 seconds.
3. Gradually add in powdered sugar and vanilla and beat on medium speed until fluffy. Make sure not to overbeat the frosting as it will become tough.
4. If desired, stir in a few drops of green gel food coloring.
5. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag.

Black Chocolate Frosting

1. Combine the melted butter and black cocoa powder in a medium bowl.
2. Alternately add the powdered sugar and milk. Beat until spreadable.
3. Stir in the vanilla.

Chocolate Sprouts

1. Place green candy melts in a plastic piping bag.
2. Heat in the microwave, checking it every 30 seconds, until melted.
3. Place a piece of wax paper onto a flat work surface.
4. Pipe a sprout pattern onto the wax paper.
5. Let the candy melts set, about 15 minutes.

Assembly

1. Using an apple corer, remove the center of each cupcake. If the cupcakes feel sticky and are hard to work with, place them in the refrigerator to chill for 10-15 minutes.
2. Fill each cupcake with vanilla buttercream by placing the tip of the piping bag in the center of the cupcake and applying even pressure on the bag until the frosting fills the cupcake.
3. To decorate the cupcakes, use an offset spatula to spread a layer of the chocolate buttercream onto the top of each cupcake.
4. Sprinkle a layer of Oreo pieces on top of the chocolate buttercream.
5. Gently press a chocolate sprout into the center of each cupcake.