Mini Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

{the perfect little bite-sized snack!}

Yesterday was another "board meeting" with my mom's friends (and now my friends too) and I showed up with these ridiculously cute Mini Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes. I was pretty popular! These are ridiculously cute, aren't they?!? And they only have a total of 8 ingredients...okay, 9 if you count water.

I can't wait to make them again because they would be a great addition to any party or get-together. While there are three parts to this recipe, it wasn't difficult at all. The assembly took a little time, but not too much longer than most standard cupcake recipes. I loved the super simple ganache. It ended up with the perfect consistency, looked beautifully glossy, and it wasn't too sweet, which was a perfect pairing with the sugary custard layer. I have to admit, when I read that you make the ganache by microwaving baker's chocolate with Cool Whip, I was really skeptical. When I first pulled it out of the microwave my skepticism was raised to new levels. It looked like a watery/chocolatey mess, but with a little stirring it smoothed right out. A-maz-ing!

It's important to note that the cupcakes need a little time (minimum of 15 minutes) to set up before serving. And the leftovers are still really good the next day too. Especially when served for breakfast with a steaming mug of coffee. Just throwing that out there.

The only thing I'll probably fiddle around with a little next time is the custard. It didn't have quite enough pizzazz for me. Maybe I'll substitute a French Vanilla pudding or something insanely difficult like that :-)

Mini Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

adapted only slightly from a KRAFT recipe via allrecipes.com

1 pkg (2 layer size) yellow cake mix (plus ingredients needed to make cake - mine called for

water, eggs and vegetable oil)

1 t vanilla

1 1/2 c cold milk

1 pkg (6 serving size) vanilla flavor instant pudding

1 3/4 c thawed whipped topping, divided

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake batter according to package instructions and the vanilla. Bake in mini-muffin tins for 10-14 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove to wire racks and allow to cool completely.

Beat milk and pudding mix with whisk for about 2 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, use serrated knife to cut cupcakes in half horizontally. Gently fold in 3/4 c whipped topping. Spoon about 1 T of the pudding mixture onto the bottom half of each cupcake; cover with the top half.

Microwave remaining 1 c whipped topping and baker's chocolate in a small bowl for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended. Let stand 10-15 minutes to thicken. Spread onto the top of each cupcake. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Thanks for visiting! Please leave questions or comments - I always love to hear from you!

Erin