Cupcake Bites

I've been making these cute little cupcake bites for a few years now. Usually at Christmastime, but I've done them for birthdays, a baby shower, and even my wedding!

I can't take the credit for coming up with the idea on my own. I originally found them on the blog of an EXTREMELY talented woman, Bakerella. I altered her process a bit, and now make a few hundred each year.

Cupcake Bites

1 - cake mix (bake as directed on the box in a 9x13 pan)
1 - 16 oz. can of frosting (make sure it isn't the whipped variety)
2 - 14 oz. bags chocolate candy melts for the bottoms
1 - 14 oz. bag colored candy melts for the top
M&Ms or Sixlets
Sprinkles

I almost always use red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting when I make these, but you can do whichever cake/frosting combination you choose.



Bake the cake as directed on the box, and let it cool completely. If there are any edges that are a little more "done" than the rest of the cake, trim them off



Cut the cake into large chunks and fill your bowl, still leaving room for the frosting (you can add the rest of the cake cubes as frosting and cake start to mix together, making more room in the bowl).



After years of digging in with my hands and mixing that way, I decided one day to try using my stand mixer with the flat attachment and I loved it! It was faster and as an added bonus, I didn't have the mess on my hands!



This is what the frosting and cake mixture should look like.



Next, line a couple of cookie sheets with waxed paper and use a stainless scoop to make your cake balls. (I get approx. 75 per batch). Of course you can use a teaspoon from your silverware drawer to do the same thing, but I've found this is the best way to get a consistent size.



The next step was another deviation I made from Bakerella's instructions, and wish I had discovered this when I first started making these. To make the base of each cupcake bite, I put four candy discs in each section of the mold, leaving the middle spot open because it doesn't warm as quickly as the sections on the outside.



I then put the tray in the microwave for 40-60 seconds until the candy discs are able to be stirred with a toothpick and they are heated throughout. Mix each individual section with a toothpick and then tap the tray on the counter numerous times until all the air bubbles have risen to the top.

(You can also melt a large portion of the discs at once and then use a pastry bag or bottle to squeeze the melted chocolate into each section; however, I found the process I just described to be the easiest and most consistent method. Before discovering this process, I spent a lot of time and wasted a lot of chocolate trying to make sure I had the same amount in each section of the mold which gave me all sorts of different sized cupcake bites).



At this point, take a cake ball and roll it in your hands to get rid of the rough edges.



Gently press the cake ball into the melted chocolate, taking care not to push the cake ball all of the way to the bottom of the tray. (If you do, the cake ball will be exposed when you look at the bottom of the cupcake bite instead of being covered in chocolate).



To speed up the process, place the tray in the freezer for a few minutes to allow the chocolate to set and then turn the tray upside down and pop each section out. Continue the process until all the cake balls have chocolate bottoms. I found early on that it goes much more quickly if you have more than one tray so you always have one in the freezer and one that you can be preparing for the freezer at the same time.



In a small bowl, melt the candy discs until they are an even consistency following the instructions on the bag. Stir well and let the mixture sit for a couple of minutes so it isn't steaming hot when you go to dip your bites.



The next step can take some practice to get the hang of, but you will be a pro before you know it! You can use your fingers to hold the chocolate base when dipping, but I use stainless tongs similar to these. (I bought mine at a local food service supply store). I found that when I used my fingers, the chocolate melted quickly and I would have fingerprints on the sides or even worse, they would become slippery and fall right in to the topping!

Dip the tops and then gently shake them to get rid of any excess topping.



The warm topping tends to set fairly quickly, so don't waste any time putting your M&M/Sixlet and sprinkles on top. This is when it can come in handy to have a second person helping so one can dip and one can sprinkle - my daugher always likes to join me for this step.



Easy, right? Now you only have 70+ more to go!



This and That:

Duncan Hines is the only national company I have found to make the red velvet cake mix

The stainless scoop I use is one I purchased from Pampered Chef quite a few years ago. From what I can tell on their website, it doesn't look like they sell that size anymore, but it was the "small" scoop.

If you live near a Party City, they sell single-color bags of both Sixlets and M&Ms.

I bought candy molds from both Michaels (the Wilton brand) and Hobby Lobby (can't remember their brand), and neither worked as well as the ones I use now that I purchased from Amazon. The others weren't the right depth or circumference to get the look I was trying to achieve.

I do not know if the candy molds are intended to be used in the microwave, but I have used the same ones for at least three years now and they are still going strong.

DO NOT put your candy molds in the dishwasher (my husband can tell you why;)

I have not tried to freeze these. I would be very interested to hear if anyone has, and how it worked.