Easy Gourmet Cupcakes
1 box cake mix – any flavor
1 small box pudding mix
4 eggs
1 C. sour cream
1/2 C. water
1/2 C. oil
Choose a cake mix and a pudding mix with compatible flavors. Mix this stuff all together and bake as instructed — till toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, then add frosting. Easy peasy.
Spread the frosting. Spread the word. Spread the love.
Shall we move on from Christmas?
Perhaps.
I swear, you’ll never hear from me much at the new year, regardless of my well-meaning resolutions. I not only have Christmas and New Year’s to recover from, but my wedding anniversary and both of my children’s birthdays are mixed in there as well. Elijah’s LAN party was a week ago and Charlotte’s party is this weekend. Her requested theme: Legendary. She wants to have a “Legendary” party.
Who doesn’t, right?
So, Legendary, it is. Sounds like a tall order. I guess that’s what you get from a kindergartener with a crazy vocabulary. However, I do believe her 5–year-old imagination is conjuring dragons and elves, not preeminent perfection. Thank goodness for that. Have I ever mentioned that her first word was “dignity“? No joke! She was only nine-months-old.
Gooey chocolate cupcakes were a big success at Elijah’s party — truly, the easiest way to serve birthday cake. So, I’m going for cupcakes again for Charlotte. Above is my easy solution for exquisite cupcakes. Isaac’s sister, Evie, shared this trick when she visited a while back. Always a big hit. The cupcakes, and Evie.
Legendary? That’s a tall order!
I usually sub a stick of butter for the oil. Mmmmm… Butter…..
Ooo, I like it. Butter sounds great. Will have to try that.
Yummmmm….since I started blogging I have been trying out the most amazing recipes and getting bigger and bigger jeans….
love you blog. xoxoxo
Interesting connection between blogging and jean size. You got a big laugh out of me. And here I am planning to post more recipes.
Sorry in advance!
Far simpler than the chocolate cupcakes I blogged about today, but how does one get rid of the chemical from-the-box flavor? (Which I happen to love because it reminds me of my nana!)
I’ll hop on over and look at what you posted. I don’t believe I have used mix with weird chemicals in it. Maybe the oil and sour cream will soak that up for you.
Do you think I could substitute greek yogurt for the sour cream? I’m sadly lactose intolerant and have just discovered greek yogurt! I might just have to give it a try regardless. Thanks for sharing! 😉
so what flavors have you used? just curious as i would like to try this out.
I would love to hear how the greek yogurt experiment goes, Lorena. It’s full of protein too, isn’t it?
I love this recipe!! You should try adding chocolate chips to it–yummy! In the past I’ve shared this recipe on my blog along with a SCRUMPTIOUS buttercream frosting recipe and my favorite frosting tip. The combination basically makes no-fail professional looking cupcakes! 🙂
http://pamelasusan.typepad.com/pamela_susanup_close_pers/2009/08/how-to-make-the-perfect-cupcake.html
I don’t have a sweet tooth, but I feel like eating a lot of these cupcakes! Looks very yummy!
Just in time for a season of baby shower brunches and teas! I’ll be giving this a road test this weekend. Thanks!
I’ll be trying those very soon… thanks for the tip!
Ha! What a Charlotte thing to say, “legendary.” Tell her aunt Laura wishes she could be there.
I always add an extra egg to the mix along with a small box of pudding. I will have to try the sour cream. Duncan Hines mixes are great for this recipe avoid the pudding in the cake mix already.
This will be perfect for my daughter’s upcoming 5th “Barbie A Fashion Fairytale” birthday party! I wanted to order cupcakes from my favorite bakery to avoid the hassle of baking, but can’t really afford it. I was going to just use a box mix, but this sounds so much better!! Can’t wait!
I make this exact same recipe only in a bunt cake pan and I always add a cup of chocolate chips to the batter! YUM! After it’s cool, I use a confectioner’s sugar glaze on top. Okay! Now I’m hungry. 🙂
I like adding a teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter (works great for both vanilla or chocolate cupcakes) or a tiny amount of cinnamon oil to the buttercream frosting. It makes the dessert feel richer.
Oh my goodness… wonderful evility 🙂
Evility? Is this civilized sin? Great word.
Wow! These look amazing!
**runs to see if she has all of the ingredients**
Darn I have everything but the sour cream!
Ok, I made these last night and used Viskos brand Greek yogurt (plain original) in place of the sour cream and they turned out SO good!!! I am so glad it worked. ;). And yes, Heather, I found out that Greek yogurt is higher in protein. Thanks again for sharing the recipe, now I’m off to visit my parents, who are watching my niece and nephew, to go share the cupcakes. 🙂
I just want to check… you don’t make the pudding and then add that in, right? You just add the dry pudding mix straight to the batter? Thanks!
Emily –
Yes! You just add the dry pudding mix in with the cake mix. You don’t make up the pudding separately.
I wonder how many WW points these are? look so good!
Try adding just a tiny bit of almond flavoring to the batter also to kick it up another notch lol (as if it needed anything else).
somehow I JUST now discovered your blog
and
IM LOVING IT
woo hoo boy am I glad to have found you dear
xoxo
bB
hum!!! ça a l’air bien bon!!!!!!!
OK… I am trying out tonight …test run for a baby shower..
Well they turned out amazing… thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
So, I made these tonight for my daughter’s KG class. They are so rich. I think the terrific-ness may be lost on the little booger eaters. Very rich. I have a muffin pan that is MIA, so I resorted to the stand alone muffin liners on a sheet pan. Not a good idea as the cupcake batter is heavy, and rich and chocolatey… So there is a crater in the center.. perfect for me or you, extra icing holder, but I couldn’t do that to my daughter’s teacher. She’s a really sweet lady. All that sugar, all those sticky hands. Ugh. LOL.
Making a second batch for the actual Party and can’t wait.. This will be my “go to” and “impress the bake sale crowd” recipe. Thanks so much.. I’ve been wanting to try this recipe out for over a yr. LOL..
Do these need to be refrigerated at all due to the sour cream?
Just wondering, do you use regular pudding or instant?