It was my toddler’s birthday last week. Actually, it was like a week of birthday, starting with a trip to an indoor play place and then celebrations throughout the week.

It’s weird to be the mom of a 3-year-old. In some ways, it seems perfectly natural and in other ways I can’t believe my baby is so grown up!

Anyways he wanted a construction theme (again). And an orange cake. I’m not sure if he meant the colour orange or the flavour. I’m not fond of orange flavour so I opted for colour.

With Christmas barely behind us I didn’t want more cake lying around, or to make 3 cakes for 3 celebrations.

So I made cupcakes. From a box mix. That way I could freeze some and use them later. I did a white cake mix and made them somewhat orange, as per my son’s wishes.

It was actually really easy and fun!

Once the cupcakes were baked and cooled, E and I injected them with jello. Yes injected, with a syringe. He thought it was hilarious. And it made for a nice surprise when we cut them open.

As for the icing, I cheated once again. I didn’t want high-fat buttercream icing so I made my own. I combined cool whip and pudding mix (recipe below) to make a lovely frosting. I added food colouring to make it orange too!

It was really good. Not too heavy for the waistline and it more than appeased the birthday boy.

I was happy because it was so easy to make! And at this stage, I like easy with little mess.

We have finished the last of his cupcakes and I can safely say even frozen and leftover they were still very good!

And the birthday boy enjoyed his week, which is all that matters.

If you need a fun cupcake recipe that is sure to surprise (and delight) people, I highly recommend this one!

Cupcake Surprise (with frosting)

Cupcakes:

Ingredients

• White cake mix (and ingredients to make it)
• Package of jello (any flavour will work)
• 1 cup boiling water

Directions

1. Make cupcakes according to directions.
2. Once they are done, let them cool completely.
3. Dissolve the jello in 1 cup of boiling water. Once the powder is dissolved, use a syringe to inject the cupcakes. Use about 1 TBSP of jello liquid per cupcake. Alternatively you can poke a few holes with a toothpick or fork and pour the jello over the cupcakes.
4. Put the cupcakes in the fridge to set. I let mine set overnight.
5. Frost them once they are set.

Frosting

Ingredients

• 2 cups whipped topping (like Cool Whip)
• 1 (102g) package of vanilla pudding mix
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Food colouring (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix. Mix until pudding starts to thicken.
2. Add vanilla and food colouring (if using) and mix to combine.
3. Fold in whipped topping. Gently mix until it is combined. You may need to add more food colouring depending on your preferred colour.
4. Let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two to continue thickening up.
5. Frost your cupcakes and enjoy!

Notes:

This recipe should frost about 24 cupcakes.

Once frosted your cupcakes will need to be kept in the fridge.

I have done this with both a regular box of pudding mix and the low calorie, both turned out great!

---