Chocolate Ice Cream Filled Cupcakes

Happy Labor Day!  

Growing up we'd always have cake and ice cream to celebrate someones birthday.  Thinking about birthdays and cupcakes I felt combining the cake and ice cream into a fun personal serving was exactly what I needed to do.  

These Chocolate Ice Cream filled Cupcakes are delicious, easy to make, and fun to eat. There are a couple steps, but the steps aren't difficult.  You'll need the recipe below, ice cream, and a delicious frosting recipe.  

Last week I gave y'all the most amazing chocolate buttercream frosting.  This frosting is perfect for these cupcakes.  The taste is amazing, and equally important is the frosting freezes well which is important when you are making an ice cream filled cupcake.  

This picture below is for your reference.  After baking the cupcakes and letting them cool you will need to make room in the center of the cupcake for the ice cream.  They have gadgets to remove the center of cupcakes, but personally those make too big of a hole and compromise the strength of the cupcake.  Therefore, my very favorite tool is a grapefruit spoon.   These spoons have serrated edges that allow you to quickly and easily cut the cupcake to make a circular hole in the middle.  

Chocolate Ice Cream Filled Cupcakes
Recipe: Alohamora
Active Time: 45 minutes 
Inactive Time: 25 minutes + cooling time (approximately 2 hours)
Servings: 12-15 cupcakes

For the Cupcakes: 

3/4 c. sugar

6 Tbsp oil

1 egg

1 c. all purpose flour

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 c. boiling water

1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling:

ice cream of your choice, I prefer chocolate

Frosting:

get the recipe for the best chocolate buttercream frosting here. 

Toppings: (optional)

Sprinkles, chocolate covered banana slices, candy pieces, etc. 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Place muffin/paper liners in your muffin tin. 
2. In a large bowl or a stand mixer add your first three cupcake ingredients and mix it on low until well combined. 
3. Add your flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in that order on top of your sugar mixture.  On low, mix it all together until it is well combined.  It will seem somewhat dry to you. 
4. With your mixer on low slowly pour in the boiling water.  You may need to use a spatula halfway through the mixing to make sure the water is combining with all of the cake mixture.  It will appear quite soupy at this point.    
5. Finally, add the vanilla and mix until well combined.
6. I like to either pour the batter into the muffin liners, use a a large cookie scoop, or an ice cream scoop to distribute the batter between the paper liners.  I usually fill it no more than 2/3 or 3/4 full, or do I large scoop per cupcake.
7. Bake the cupcakes at 325 for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the cupcake bounces back. 
8. When the cupcakes are done take them out and place them on a trivet or a cooling rack.  Let the cupcakes cool completely. 
9. During this time make your frosting and get it ready in your piping bags or this dessert decorator which I find to be so quick and easy for icing cupcakes.  I'm a huge fan.    
10. When your cupcakes are completely cool use a grapefruit spoon to make a circular opening in the middle of each cupcake like the picture shown above.  Save and enjoy the scrapes from the inside of the cupcakes.  They are tasty. 
11. Using a small cookie scoop or melon baller scoop balls of ice cream and place them inside the cupcake holes. If you are by yourself place the cupcakes in the freezer after placing ice cream in them.  This will keep the ice cream from melting.  Leave it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes before taking it out to frost.  If you have a buddy, have one of you doing the ice cream filling and one of you frost. 
12. Frost your cupcakes, and place any toppings on top that you desire.  Seriously the dessert decorator makes it so so easy to ice and keep it mostly consistent looking. 
13. When 1 or more cupcakes are frosted and decorated place them in the freezer covered until ready to serve.  
14. Enjoy!
15. Store any leftovers in the freezer in a airtight container.  The cupcakes will stay fresh and frozen rather than dry out. They'll be delicious! 

Happy Delicious Chocolate Ice Cream filled Cupcake eating!