Jelly Doughnut Cupcakes
Why I Love This Recipe
Source:Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn
Pages #115, #116 & #117
I can't recall what I loved best about jelly doughnuts when I was younger-the warm, fresh dough, the sweet surprise of jelly inside, or the confectioners' sugar on top that always wound up on the tip of my nose. All those pleasant memories are here in this amazingly easy cupcake that smacks of childhood. Yet instead of a doughnut you have a sweet sturdy cupcake baked to house whatever flavor jelly or preserves you decide to squirt inside after they cool. I fill a pastry bag full of jelly, but you could just as easily cut a small plug in the top of each cupcake, spoon in the jelly, and cover up the incision with fresh berries and sugar. Yum
Ingredients You'll Need
24 paper liners for cupcake pans
(2 1/2 inch size)
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 jar (12 ounces) blueberry or strawberry preserves, or your favorite jelly)
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
24 whole blueberries or 12 strawberries cut in half lengthwise, for garnish
Directions
1. Place in a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 1 1/2 to 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. Spoon or scoop a heaping 1/4 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place the pans side by side in the oven.
3. Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before filling.
4. Fit a pastry bag with a metal tip that has a large round hole and spoon about 1/2 cup preserves into the bag. Insert the whole tip into the top center of the cupcake. Generously squirt 1 to 2 Tablespoons preserves into each cupcake (you may need to wipe the tip clean as you go). Continue filling the cupcakes, refilling the pastry bag as needed. When done, sift the cupcake tops with confectioners' sugar. Garnish each cupcake with a whole blueberry or strawberry half to cover the pastry tip hole. The cupcakes are ready to serve.
*Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
