Hey happy bakers,

If there is one food item the Disney Parks love its cupcakes. Disney has created a cupcake for every single event, attraction or day of the week. I bet they probably have a special cupcake if you sneezed. They make them in every color, shape and have a million different decorations. I’ve heard people say Disney has gone overboard, but I just think they are just fun. I wish they were cheaper but I wish everything in Disney was a little bit cheaper. Ok, I wish it was a lot cheaper.

Our next recipe in our April Cookbook Challenge called “Aladdin’s Lamp Cupcakes”. These may not be park cupcakes but a cupcake none the less.

I had to make these cupcakes numerous times to get them to turn out. Even then they didn’t look like the cookbook picture. The picture showed a smooth cupcake but mine had so many crevices that it reminded me of teenagers face.

Also, there was an issue with Hersey Kiss inside the cupcake. It didn’t matter how much I greased that pan the kiss still just stuck to the pan. So when I removed the cupcake it left a hole where the Hersey Kiss should have been. The recipe said to not use cupcake liners but it’s the only way I can see it all working out.

Let’s get to it.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3 ounces semisweet chocolate (morsels are fine)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 6 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 Hersey’s Hug Chocolates
• Confectioners’ sugar for decoration

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Place cupcake liners in the muffin tray.

3. Place an inch of simmering water in a saucepan. Place a heat-proof bowl over thesaucepan. Place the chocolate and butter. Melt the mixture while stirring. Remove from the heat.

4. Whisk the sugar and vanilla into the chocolate mixture.

5. Whisk in one egg at a time.

6. Add the flour and salt to the bowl. Whisk well. Do not over mix.

7. Place into each muffin cup at 2 tablespoons of batter. Place a Hersey Kiss in the middle. Cover in the remaining batter.

8. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Like most cakes,  the cake is finished when a toothpick can be inserted into the cupcake and comes out clean. Obviously, in this case, avoid the chocolate.

9. Allow cupcakes to cool completely.

10. Create a lamp stencil out of paper. Use cardboard for the best results.

11. Place the stencil over the cupcake and sprinkle confectioners’ sugar over the stencil.

12. Remove the stencil and it will the lamp shape over the cupcake.

These cupcakes were a pain in the butt. I think they turned out nice in the end but I don’t know if it’s worth the work. I made them numerous times and they always turned out ok. Not great but ok. Also, the chocolate never melted. If you have an Aladdin fan in your family they may worth the time though.

Happy baking everyone!