Carrot patch cupcakes are a super fun and delicious treat to make for Easter or a Spring dessert that everyone will love.
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Chocolate cupcakes are made with a cupcake mix, with some added ingredients to make them super moist. A simple chocolate frosting, crushed Oreo cookies, and a chocolate-dipped strawberry that looks like a carrot. These cupcakes come together rather quickly only use one bowl and phenomenal results!
Can I make these cupcakes ahead of time?
Yes, they can be made 1-2 days in advance. I recommend adding the topping right before serving. Chocolate dipped strawberries don’t hold up well, after a day they will start to ooze a little strawberry juice. Although totally edible, they just don’t look as pretty.
Can these cupcakes be frozen?
Sure, once cooled I leave them in the muffin tin and throw them in the freezer to flash freeze. Once frozen I place them in a ziplock freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Take a few out of the freezer to thaw and frost as desired.
Can I make the cupcakes from scratch?
Absolutely, you can use your go-to scratch cupcake recipe. Although this enhanced box recipe is so moist and delicious people are shocked when they find out it's from a box.
Tips on chocolate-dipped strawberries
- You should get about 24 medium-sized strawberries out of one bag of melting wafers.
- Rinse the strawberries and lay them out on a towel to air dry for a few hours. The chocolate will have trouble sticking if they are wet.
- Orange candy wafer melts are the best option for dipping these strawberries. If you use white chocolate chips you have to add in some orange food dye.
- Don't leave out the coconut oil/cooking oil it really helps the chocolate become silky smooth.
- Place the dipped strawberries on parchment paper, wax paper, or even a baking mat.
- To give the chocolate carrots some texture I drizzled a few lines of chocolate over the top of the strawberries. You can use a piping bag or sandwich baggie and just cut a hole in the corner.
Tips for making the chocolate cupcakes
- You can use a large ziplock bag and pound the cookies with a rolling pin or put them in a food processor to crush the cookies.
- Oreo cookies or chocolate graham crackers will also work for the "dirt"
- I used a cupcake corer to remove the center but a small measuring spoon works just fine.
- You can also bake this cake in a 9x13 pan then place the carrots into the cake to look like a carrot patch.
More easter Recipes
- Classic Carrot Cake
- Honey Garlic Roasted Carrots
- Easter Egg Sugar Cookies
- Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries
- Easy Breakfast Casserole
- Blueberry French Toast Casserole
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Carrot Patch Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 pkg Chocolate cake mix I use Pillsbury
- 1 pkg 3.9 oz chocolate instant pudding
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup water
- 20 chocolate cream-filled cookies Like Oreos
- 1 jar creamy chocolate frosting I use Pillsbury
For The Carrots
- 24 medium strawberries
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil or vegetable oil
- 1 bag orange candy melts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a bowl using a hand, mixer beat the cake mix, pudding, eggs, sour cream, oil, and water and mix until combined and all lumps are out.
- Fill the tins 2/3 of the way full and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
For the strawberries - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, wax paper, or use a baking mat and set it aside.
- In a small bowl add the orange chocolate melts and coconut oil and heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Remove from the microwave and stir, heat in 30 seconds increments, and stir until melted.
- Hold a dry strawberry by the leaves and dip into the chocolate, turning it on all sides until coated. Run the bottom of the strawberry over the side of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate. Place it on the parchment paper to dry.
- Once all strawberries are covered you can heat the leftover chocolate up for 15 seconds and place it into a ziplock baggie and cut a tiny hole in the corner. Drizzle the chocolate over the strawberries if desired. Let set until dry.
Assembling the cupcakes - Put the cookies into a large ziplock bag and using a rolling pin or small cup smash the cookies until they are chocolate crumbs. (You can also use a food processor to do this)
- Cut a hole in the center of the cupcake using a measuring spoon or a cupcake corer.
- Frost each cupcake with the chocolate frosting, and sprinkle the cookie crumbs over the frosting. Place a strawberry into the hole.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container.
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