Description
These Pudding Filled Dirt Cupcakes are a fun and delicious treat featuring moist dark chocolate cupcakes filled with creamy chocolate fudge pudding, topped with rich chocolate frosting, Oreo cookie ‘dirt’ crumbs, and playful gummy worms for a whimsical dirt cup effect. Perfect for parties or themed dessert tables, they combine multiple textures and flavors into one delightful cupcake.
Ingredients
Scale
Cupcake
- 1 dark chocolate cake mix
- 24 cupcake liners
Filling
- 1 – 3.4 ounce box instant chocolate fudge pudding mix
- 1 1/2 cups milk (whole or 2%)
- 1 cup Cool Whip, thawed
Topping
- 1 – 16 ounce can chocolate frosting
- 1 cup Oreo cookie crumbs (about 10 cookies crushed)
- 24 gummy worms, each cut into 2 pieces (48 halves total)
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare pans: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Place 24 cupcake liners into muffin tins to ensure easy removal and uniform baking.
- Make cupcakes: Prepare the dark chocolate cake mix according to the box instructions. Evenly spoon the batter into the lined muffin tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool cupcakes: Remove cupcakes from the oven and place them on a wire rack. Allow them to cool completely to room temperature before proceeding.
- Prepare pudding filling: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the instant chocolate fudge pudding mix with 1 1/2 cups milk for 2 minutes until thickened. Refrigerate until the pudding is fully set.
- Fold in whipped topping: Gently fold 1 cup of thawed Cool Whip into the set pudding to create a creamy filling.
- Hollow cupcakes: Cut a small section out from the top center of each cooled cupcake using a small knife or spoon, creating a cavity for the pudding filling.
- Fill cupcakes: Spoon a scoop of the pudding mixture into each cupcake cavity, then replace the cut-out cupcake piece on top to seal the filling inside.
- Frost cupcakes: Use a flat spatula to spread a layer of chocolate frosting over the top of each cupcake, securing the displaced piece and adding flavor.
- Add Oreo crumbs: Roll or sprinkle the frosted cupcake tops into the Oreo cookie crumbs to resemble dirt.
- Chill and serve: Store the cupcakes in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. Just before serving, make two small slits on the top of each cupcake and insert two gummy worm halves to complete the dirt cup presentation.
Notes
- Use a serrated knife for hollowing out the cupcakes to avoid crumbling.
- Allow cupcakes to cool completely to prevent pudding from melting.
- Store the cupcakes in the refrigerator to keep the pudding filling firm.
- Feel free to substitute dark chocolate cake mix with homemade chocolate cake batter.
- For extra decoration, add crushed chocolate sandwich cookies around the gummy worms for a more realistic ‘dirt’ effect.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 28g
- Sodium: 180mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 42g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
