Dreamy Cream-Filled Cupcakes

I'd like to introduce you to a little piece of heaven.  Reader, meet cupcake.  Cupcake, reader.

Here are the basics behind these bad boys.  

1. Devil's Food cake mix
2. Cream Filling
3. Perfect Cupcake Frosting (via Our Best Bites)

Yes, I used a cake mix.  I have a hard time wanting to make my cakes from scratch when the mixes already taste so great and are so fast.  Plus, I haven't found a cake recipe that warrants me spending an extra hour in the kitchen.  If you have one, seriously, fill me in.  I am willing to try any recipe once.

The cream filling is the same one that I used for the owl birthday cake.  After the cupcakes were baked according to the box directions and cool, I used a filler tip to put the pastry filling in each cupcake.  I probably could have put a bit more in than I did, but it's nearly impossible to tell what's going on inside each cupcake.  After I made these, I heard a tip from a friend about how to know when there is enough filling:  Listen for a "burp".  I have not tried it, so don't take my word for it, but if you want to try it, there it is.

Like I said, I used the Perfect Cupcake Frosting recipe for these.  Can I just tell you that everyone raved about it?  It is a little bit of work, but so very worth it.  Take note, however, that the recipe makes enough frosting for 12 cupcakes, and a usual batch from the box makes 24 cupcakes.  I doubled the recipe and had no problems.  In fact, it was the perfect amount for all the cupcakes.  I colored the frosting teal with the Wilton gel coloring, using mostly sky blue with a little bit of leaf green, then I used the big star tip to frost these.  As a finishing touch, I sprinkled on some hot pink sugar sprinkles.  The best part about the frosting is that it didn't instantly form a crust, like the canned stuff.

I was really pleased with this cupcake experience.  Really, really pleased.  These are the best cupcakes I have made to date, and that counts the Rainbow Cupcakes I made last year.  The frosting was a huge part of that, plus the fact that I learned about using the big star tip to frost them.  Seriously, that tutorial changed my cupcake-decorating life.

I think that pretty much sums it up.