Leprechaun Treasure Cupcakes have a fun surprise inside
St. Patrick’s Day might involve green beer, shamrock-colored whiskey shots and boozy shakes, but don’t let that fool you. There’s still lots of seasonal four-clover fun for little ones as well.
Whether you want to spoil your kids, or you’re signed up to make a treat for their school’s St. Patrick’s Day party, you cannot go wrong with St. Paddy’s cupcakes that have a little treasure hidden inside.
Over at Moms and Munchkins, Cheryl Kirkness makes chocolate cupcakes with a special “cupcake tunnel” in which she hides little treasures that would please even the pickiest leprechaun. Think Lucky Charms marshmallows or chocolate candy in golden wrappers, such as these St. Patrick’s Day chocolate coins that you can find on Amazon.
The trick is to bake the cupcakes, allow them to cool and then dig out a quarter-size hole in the middle. Insert your treasure, and then ice them. You can use green frosting, or opt for a mixture of green, orange, and gold, with sprinkles, sanding sugar or even Lucky Charms as a topping.
At Family Food and Travel, a cupcake corer (like the one pictured below) is used to make the insertion of St. Paddy’s Day surprises a cinch. Then, the buttermilk cupcake is filled with green-and-white sprinkles and shamrock-shaped jimmies. Yum!
Find the full recipe here on Family Food and Travel.
Hint: You can find a cupcake corer on Amazon for under $3, or you can use an apple corer or a paring knife. It’s okay if the hole isn’t perfectly shaped, as you will be icing it.
Or try this trick from Betty Crocker. First, make your cupcakes using their cake mix. Then, use a serrated knife to cut the center out of each cupcake. Make sure to save that piece of cupcake, as you will then place it back on top of the hole once you have put the St. Paddy’s Day treasure inside (in this case, sprinkles and Lucky Charms cereal).
How adorable is this cupcake idea?