Miniature Cupcakes with Marzipan Cherries

What to do with leftover cake batter?!

Earlier this week, I found myself with leftover cake batter from the Bacon cake. There really wasn't much left, and despite being boring ol' yellow cake mix, I was reluctant to throw out the cup of batter that remained. Something neat could be made with it, I just had to think small...

I decided on a batch of bite sized mini cupcakes. In the classic cupcake style, with swirls of pink frosting and a marzipan cherry on top.


My daughter, who turns two at the end of the month, has a book that features a drawing of a cupcake just like this, one that she likes to grab at with her hands and pretend eat. Which is a little strange, since she has only had one cupcake in her lifetime and that was over a year ago. She seems to naturally know that cupcakes are yummy.

Well maybe...

She also tries to eat this sail boat on the same page.

Anyway, I figured I'd make the littlest Humble a treat from the remaining batter.

If you have any leftover cake or brownie batter, feel free to give this a go. I wouldn't attempt this with a full batch of cake batter as it will make well over a hundred cupcakes. I don't know about you, but dealing with that many tiny cupcakes seems a little tedious to me.

Not so Humble Mini Cupcakes with Marzipan Cherries:

makes approximately 2 dozen

Leftover cake batter, roughly one cup

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon heavy cream

1 oz marzipan

1/2 oz fondant

red food coloring

brown food coloring

Using 1 1/3" x 3/4" foil liners set into a mini muffin tin, divide your leftover batter among the cups. Bake at at 350 degrees for roughly 10 minutes and then allow to cool completely.

In your mixer beat the sugar, butter, vanilla, cream and a drop of red food coloring until light and fluffy. Add the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a medium sized round tip (Ateco 12).

Tint your marzipan with a drop of red food coloring and kneed to distribute. If it gets sticky add a little powdered sugar to your hands. Roll the marzipan into a half inch thick log and then slice into small even pieces. Roll each into a ball and then roll one side of the cherry along the length of a bamboo skewer to create a little crease in the side of the cherry.

Tint the fondant brown in the same manner as the marzipan and then roll out into a very thin length. I used the tip of my skewer to cut each length, stabbed one end of my 'stem' to pick it up and then stabbed it (the stem and my skewer) into the top of my cherry to securely place it.

Top each cupcake with a swirl of frosting and top with your marzipan cherries and you're done.

My daughter was thrilled by them. These would be great for a child's tea party.