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These mint chocolate cupcakes are guaranteed to be a hit at your party! Gone are the days of plain vanilla cupcakes and all of the other usual suspects: Step up your treat game by impressing your guests with these mint chocolate ice cream cupcakes!
Mint Chocolate Cupcakes with a Surprise Filling
This recipe is anything but ordinary. When you’re searching for a recipe that’s different from the rest, look no further! This dessert combines a tasty element of chilly surprise with the classic (yet underrated) flavor of mint chocolate.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- You can use a simple boxed cake mix for some semi-homemade help. If you want to guarantee you’re getting the richest, most delicious chocolate cupcake, use my classic chocolate cake recipe!
- I am filling these with mint chip ice cream for individual ice cream cupcakes – so easy to serve.
- The mint chip buttercream frosting is SO good and easy to make.
Ingredients Needed
- Chocolate cupcakes – Use a box mix or my chocolate cupcake recipe.
- Mint chip ice cream – To fill the cupcakes
- Butter – I prefer using unsalted butter when I make homemade buttercream. Omit salt if using salted butter.
- Peppermint extract – Mint extract tastes like toothpaste to me, so I always use peppermint.
- Heavy whipping cream – this is my secret to the best most fluffy buttercream frosting ever!
- Green food coloring – If you want to make the frosting green you’ll need some food coloring.
How Do You Make Mint Chocolate Cupcakes?
- Prepare the cupcakes: You should have 24 baked chocolate cupcakes ready – whether you used a box recipe or baked them from scratch, just make sure they’re completely cooled before continuing!
- Prepare two cookie sheets by lining them with wax paper, placing each of your cupcakes on the first cookie sheet, and placing your second (empty) cookie sheet in the freezer.
- Create ice cream holes: With a pairing knife, cut out a large circle in the top of each cupcake, slicing nearly to the bottom. Carefully lift out the chunk that you’ve carved out; it should resemble a cone. Repeat with all 24 cupcakes until you’ve finished! Feel free to snack on your cupcake cones as you go.
- Fill with ice cream: In 1 to 2-tablespoon scoops, fill the center of each cupcake with the mint chip ice cream. Continue until all of the cupcakes have been filled.
- Freeze the cupcakes: Once each cupcake has been filled with ice cream, cover the batch of cupcakes with plastic wrap and allow them to freeze for at least four hours.
- Make the frosting: With a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth before mixing in powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and vanilla extract. You’ll want to add the peppermint extract gradually, adding just a quarter teaspoon at a time. Then, slowly and gradually mix in heavy whipping cream until your desired consistency has been reached. Finally, stir in your food coloring and chocolate chips to finish it off.
- Frost cupcakes: Once you’re ready to serve your cupcakes, make sure you’ve got your frosting on stand-by. You don’t want the ice cream to melt before your guests have been able to take their first bite! Remove each cupcake, quickly frost, and serve immediately.
Expert Tips
- Peppermint extract can become overwhelming if too much is used, so take a few taste tests until you’ve got your desired flavor.
- Add extra heavy whipping cream gradually while mixing so you don’t add too much. You want a fluffy spreadable frosting, not runny.
- The biggest challenge with these ice cream cupcakes is to make sure that the ice cream doesn’t melt. This challenge is made much easier if you fill two or three cupcakes at a time before setting them in the freezer. Filling them in micro batches like this keeps the ice cream from melting!
- Cold cupcakes can also help to prevent the ice cream from melting and even make it easier for you to carve out nice, neat holes. Chill your cupcakes in the fridge before taking the knife to them to make things a bit easier on you.
- Frost these right before serving so your guests aren’t eating frozen buttercream. You can make the frosting ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let it come to room temperature before frosting.
FAQs
Can I skip adding the ice cream?
Yes! This cupcake recipe is still delicious without the frosty filling.
Can I fill the cupcakes with mint buttercream instead?
Sure; you can even fill them with extra buttercream or a special filling, like oreo buttercream, for a little surprise!
What’s the secret to a moist cupcake?
Using fattier ingredients will give your cupcakes that moist, fluffy texture we all want. For example, using heavy cream instead of milk or butter instead of margarine are both great ways to incorporate more fat into the recipe.
How do you store these cupcakes?
Store these cupcakes in the freezer, wrapped in plastic wrap and wait to frost them until just before serving. They can be frozen for up to one month before serving.
Mint Chip Ice Cream Cupcakes
Fill your favorite cupcakes with mint chip ice cream and top them with mint chip frosting for the perfect cupcake flavor!
Prep Time 1 hour
Freezing Time 1 hour
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 24 chocolate cupcakes baked and cooled
- ½ carton mint chip ice cream
For the Mint Chip Frosting:
- 12 tablespoons (170g) unsalted butter , softened
- 3 cups (339g) powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼-½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 4-6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 4-5 drops green food coloring optional
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Start with 24 cupcakes that have been baked and completely cooled. You can use a chocolate box mix, or your favorite from scratch recipe. (I used my chocolate cupcakes recipe.) Place the cupcakes on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Make room for a second cookie sheet lined with wax paper in your freezer.
- To prep the cupcakes: use a pairing knife to cut a large circle (about the size of a half dollar) in the top of the cupcake. Cut down almost to the bottom of the cupcake, then lift out the cut part. You should end up with a cone shaped chunk of cake. Slice the cone off of each of the cupcake pieces. (You need to make the piece of cake smaller, because the cupcake will be filled with ice cream.)
- I suggest you prepare all the cupcakes for the ice cream, then place your second cookie sheet in the freezer. Work in batches of 3-4 cupcakes, filling with ice cream, then placing on the cookie sheet that’s in the freezer. That way the ice cream won’t melt out of the cupcakes.
- Scoop about 1-2 tablespoons of ice cream into the center of each cupcake. Place the top back on and press gently. Put the cupcake on the cookie sheet in the freezer. Continue until all the cupcakes are filled and in the freezer.
- Cover the cupcakes with plastic wrap (leaving them on the cookie sheet) and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving. You can place them (frozen) in a single layer in large Ziploc bags and freeze for up to 1 month before serving.
- To make the frosting: beat butter with a hand or a stand mixer until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar slowly, then add vanilla and peppermint extract. Start with 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract then taste and add more as desired. I used 1/2 teaspoon. Mix in 1 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream at a time, mixing well, until you’ve reached your desired consistency. I used 5 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream. Stir in food coloring and then chocolate chips.
- When ready to serve, have your frosting room temperature. Remove a cupcake from the freezer, frost as desired, and serve immediately. Top with additional mini chocolate chips for garnish.
Recipe Notes
- Peppermint extract can become overwhelming if too much is used, so take a few taste tests until you’ve got your desired flavor.
- Add extra heavy whipping cream gradually while mixing so you don’t add too much. You want a fluffy spreadable frosting, not runny.
- The biggest challenge with these ice cream cupcakes is to make sure that the ice cream doesn’t melt. This challenge is made much easier if you fill two or three cupcakes at a time before setting them in the freezer. Filling them in micro batches like this keeps the ice cream from melting!
- Cold cupcakes can also help to prevent the ice cream from melting and even make it easier for you to carve out nice, neat holes. Chill your cupcakes in the fridge before taking the knife to them to make things a bit easier on you.
- Frost these right before serving so your guests aren’t eating frozen buttercream. You can make the frosting ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let it come to room temperature before frosting.
Recipe Nutrition
Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 290kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 169mg | Potassium: 46mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 243IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
All of your mint recipes look amazing! Now I’m regretting not getting that mint chocolate chip ice cream at the store earlier… Who needs a diet anyways?
Not me, lol! 🙂
Mint – yum! Those photos look great! Did you know that Whole Foods now has mint-frosted brownies in their fresh-baked cookies display? They got in on the St. Patrick’s Day action!
Yoga pants and mint are two of my favorite things life offers. I can’t get enough of either, so I am all for all the mint recipes! Especially these cupcakes–cake and ice cream might be the best combination ever!
I can never get tired of mint recipes. These ice cream cupcakes look wonderful and they combine two of my loves.
You’re a genius Dorothy! Where have I been because I have never heard of ice cream cupcakes. (I’m a little slow) I love these and can’t wait to try them out!! My kids will go nuts!
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