By Christie Vanover | Published February 13, 2011 | Last Updated July 18, 2018
I’ve been making these moist cupcakes by doctoring up boxed cake mix for years, and they’ve become somewhat legendary among my friends.
I bring them to potlucks. I make them for special occasions, and I even mail them every year to my friends in Kansas for their birthdays. Believe it or not, I mailed them all the way from Belgium for two years.
Since tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, I thought I would whip up a batch. There is nothing fancy about them—other than they are bite-size, so for icing lovers, you get the perfect amount of buttercream in every bite. And the cake batter is very moist. I usually make mini cupcakes, but I’ve used this recipe to make wedding cakes, too.
Christie’s Mini Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 16.5 oz box Duncan Hines cake mix
- 1 oz box sugar-free pudding
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ¼ cup water
Icing
- 1 cup Crisco shortening
- 16 oz powdered sugar
- 3-4 tablespoon milk
Instructions
Cupcake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line mini muffin pans with mini muffin cups.
- Mix all ingredients well until smooth (I use a stand mixer). Use a small ice cream scoop to spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched.
- Allow to cool. Then ice.
Icing Instructions
- Using a hand or stand mixer, whip shortening until smooth. Gradually add sugar and mix. It will be stiff. Slowly mix in milk, one tablespoon at a time, until you get a smooth spreadable consistency.
- Spoon icing into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe onto cupcakes in a circular motion.
Nutrition
This estimate was created using an online nutrition calculator
Varieties
This recipe can be made a variety of ways. Strawberry and vanilla are my favorites, but I’ve also made the below alternatives.
French Vanilla Cupcakes~For cake, use French vanilla cake mix and French vanilla pudding. For icing, use regular milk and 2 tsp. almond extract.
Strawberry Cupcakes~For cake, use strawberry cake mix and cheesecake pudding. For icing, use strawberry milk.
Spice Cupcakes~For cake, use spice cake mix and cheesecake pudding. For icing, use regular milk and 2 tsp. vanilla.
Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes~For cake, use chocolate fudge cake and chocolate fudge pudding. For icing, use chocolate milk and 2 tablespoons cocoa powder.
Lemon Cupcakes~For cake, use lemon cake mix and lemon pudding. For icing, use regular milk and 2 tsp. lemon extract.
Alison says
How long to cook regular size cupcakes?
Christie Vanover says
18-21 minutes.
Beth says
Hi Christie, does this recipe also work for regular size cupcakes (v. mini)?
Christie Vanover says
Absolutely. You’ll just have to cook them longer.
Caroline says
Most recipes say it makes either 60 or 72 cupcakes. Your recipe says it makes 50. Why the difference?
Anonymous says
Great recipes!Wonderful for potlucks or group meetings.
Lynn says
Do you have to use liners
Christie Vanover says
No, but it helps to keep them from sticking.
James West says
I assume you make the pudding first?
Christie Vanover says
No. The pudding powder gets dumped into the cake batter.
Anonymous says
Thanks
Anonymous says
Instant pudding or the cooking kind?
Christie Vanover says
instant
Melissa Berlin says
Does the vanilla pudding have to be sugar free?
Christie Vanover says
No. You can use regular instant pudding. When I do, I usually only use about 3/4 of a box though.