Best Springtime Poke Cupcakes Recipes

OREO™ DIRT POKE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs until smooth. Spoon into muffin cups, filling cups half full.
• Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when gently touched. Cool in pans 3 minutes. Remove from pans; use end of wooden spoon to poke 3 holes into each hot cupcake.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate fudge topping uncovered on High 20 to 30 seconds or until thin and pourable. Spoon over warm cupcakes, reserving about 1/4 cup. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
• In medium bowl, beat pudding mix and milk with whisk about 4 minutes or until soft set. Fold in whipped topping with spatula.
• Stir all but 1 1/2 cups crushed cookies into pudding mixture.
• Spoon pudding mixture on tops of cupcakes. Top with remaining crushed cookies and reserved chocolate fudge topping. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

SPRING BERRY POKE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with shortening; lightly flour.
• In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on high speed 3 minutes or until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time, and milk, about 1/3 cup at a time, beating until blended and scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter into pan.
• Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir gelatin in boiling water 2 minutes to completely dissolve gelatin. Poke warm cake every inch with tines of meat fork or table knife. Pour strawberry mixture slowly over cake, allowing mixture to fill holes in cake. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 1 hour.
• In small bowl, mix frosting and lemon peel. Frost cake. Garnish with berries and mint.

HOLIDAY POKE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• PREPARE batter according to package directtions with the eggs, water and oil; bake as directed for cupcakes. (You can also use a white cake mix for this recipe.).
• Cool in pans 10 minutes. Pierce tops with fork.
• STIR boiling water into dry gelatin mix until dissolved; spoon over cupcakes.
• Refrigerate 30 minutes. Remove from pans.
• TINT whipped topping with food coloring; spread over cupcakes. Decorate as desired.
• Store in refrigerator.

LEMON MERINGUE POKE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350° F. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
• In medium bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs with whisk until smooth. Divide batter among cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake and cool as directed on box for 24 cupcakes.
• Use serrated knife to level top of each cooled cupcake to make flat-topped cupcakes. Use wooden skewer (or deep fork) to poke deep holes in cupcakes.
• Use offset spatula (or butter knife) to spread lemon curd over each cupcake. Wait a minute or so to allow lemon curd to seep into each cupcake; repeat.
• Mix sugar, cream of tartar and water in heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan fitted with candy thermometer. Stir sugar to dissolve; cook mixture until it becomes syrupy and reaches 240° F.
• Meanwhile, beat egg whites in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed. When syrup in saucepan reaches 240°F, immediately pour syrup into bowl of egg whites while beating on medium speed.
• After syrup is all added, increase mixer speed to medium-high; continue beating until icing becomes very thick, at least 10 minutes. The end result will be a thick, shiny meringue that holds its peak.
• Transfer meringue to decorating bag fitted with tip; pipe generous dollop of icing on each cupcake. Use chef's torch to gently toast icing. Enjoy immediately!

SPRING POLKA DOT CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
• Make cake batter as directed on cake mix box, adding gelatin with the water. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (about two-thirds full).
• Bake 22 to 27 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat powdered sugar and butter with spoon or with electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Beat in vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the milk. Gradually beat in just enough of the remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. Divide frosting among 4 small bowls. Stir 6 drops yellow food color into frosting in one bowl. Stir 4 drops red food color into frosting in second bowl. Stir 6 to 8 drops blue food color into frosting in third bowl. Stir 4 drops yellow and 2 drops red food color into frosting in fourth bowl.
• Frost 6 cupcakes with each color of frosting. Poke 4 or 5 white vanilla baking chips, flat side up, into frosting on each cupcake to look like polka dots. Store loosely covered.