Chocolate cupcakes, whipped mint chocolate chip cream cheese frosting, and a graduation cap and tassel! These Graduation Cupcakes or should we say “cap”-cakes are perfect for impending Graduation parties!
This post is part of my partnership with Kroger but all the opinions are, as always, mine!
GRADUATION CUPCAKES
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Spring is here, which means sunshine, warmer weather, and graduation parties! If you’re starting to look ahead to the season of celebration (which may be exciting, but also overwhelming!), you’re going to want to keep this recipe for Graduation Cupcakes on hand.
These festive cupcakes are adorable, delicious, and of course, easy to make! In addition to minimal prep time, shopping is a cinch. My favorite local grocery store is Kroger, and lucky for me, their branded products are high quality, affordable, and can be picked up when I do the rest of my grocery shopping. So you will see me use them regularly. And these cupcakes are no exception. I used the Kroger cake mix, graham crackers, and cream cheese to make these!
When my event calendar books up and I need a treat to take to parties, it’s absolutely essential to find a dependable recipe that I know will turn out well. Not only is this one nearly fool-proof, cupcakes always make successful party snacks because they’re easy to eat and serve in almost any setting. Plus, if you’re taking them to a different location, they travel well as long as they’re in a good container. You could even prep each component separately and assemble there.
Graduation Cupcakes are effortless to make when using Kroger chocolate cake mix, or fudgy brownie mix (my fave, cooked in cupcake liners) and they always come out rich and moist. They’re frosted with a mint chocolate chip icing, made with cream cheese that’s lightly whipped for an extra-smooth consistency. The finishing touch is a chocolate dipped graham cracker decked out with a string of yellow licorice. Guests will be impressed when they see you’ve made edible graduation caps and tassels! And no one has to know how easy they are.
These themed treats are sure to be a hit with guests of all ages. Whether your loved one successfully completed kindergarten or just earned a college diploma, you can bring a batch to every graduation party you attend this spring.
In life, everything seems to happen all at once: birthdays, holidays, even GRADUATIONS! While I always attend as many as I can, I also try to make it easier on myself by choosing one simple, creative, crowd-pleasing recipe that I can make again and again. After all, what says, “Congratulations!” better than a delectably decorated cupcake? Here’s to the class of 2017!
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce box Kroger chocolate cake mix or brownie mix prepared in cupcake form, according to package directions.
Mint Chip Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temp
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½- 1 teaspoon pure mint extract
- Green food coloring 2-3 drops
- 4 cups powdered sugar sifted
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips
- pinch of salt
Graduation Caps:
- 24 squares package Kroger Graham Crackers broken into squares (24 squares needed, so 12 crackers)
- 12 ounce bag milk chocolate chips (reserve a few for decorating)
- Yellow licorice I bought the stuffed kind
Instructions
- Cook cupcakes according to package directions. If using brownie mix (fudgier), then fill liners a little fuller, you will get fewer cakes, and they will be denser.
- Let cupcakes cook completely.
- Mix frosting by beating the butter with a hand mixer in a medium sized bowl until fluffy (1-2 minutes)
- Add in cream cheese, and whip until smooth.
- Add in extracts (vanilla and mint), to preferred taste
- Add food coloring
- Beat together.
- Slowly add powdered sugar. Whip until fluffy.
- Add a pinch of salt, and whip again until free of lumps.
- Fold in mini chocolate chips.
- Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.
- Melt chocolate by putting it in a microwave safe bowl, and heating in 20-second increments, stirring between each. When silky and smooth, dip crackers in, and coat. Use a fork to hold graham cracker above the bowl, and lightly tap to get excess chocolate off.
- While chocolate is still wet, place a chocolate chip in the center. Then place a piece of yellow licorice off the side, like a tassel. I cut the licorice into 4 strips, and then cut bigger chunks off the end and inserted the thin strips into the center so it resembled a tassel (see photo).
- Place graduation cap graham cracker on top of frosting. Enjoy!
Nutrition
laudya clara says
You make me really hungry with your cupcakes 🙁 I give you 4 stars:D
Aubrey Cota says
Thank you!