Prep Time:
Yield:Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 package plain German chocolate cake mix
- 1 package vanilla instant pudding mix
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 vegetable oil
- 1/2 bottle (more or less) red food coloring
- 1/2 bottle (more or less) green food coloring
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
For the frosting:
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
- 4 ounces (half an 8 ounce package) reduced-fat cream cheese at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 to 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar. sifted
Instructions
Make the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two cupcake tins with cupcake liners
- Make the cake: combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then increase the speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down sides again as needed. The batter should be thick and well combined.
- Divide batter equally into two bowls and put red food coloring in one and green in the other. Stir them together, adding more food coloring to reach your desired color. There is a certain point were it does not get any more vibrant. Make sure to keep spoons and everything separate for each in order to not mix the colors.
- Simultaneously spoon the two colors into the cupcake liners on different halves. Don’t stir, and they will stay separate. (If needed, get someone to help spoon in one color while you do the other at the same time to ease the process.)
- Place pans in the oven and bake until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove pan and place them on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and puck them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.
Make the frosting:
- Place white chocolate in a small glass bowl in the microwave oven on high power for 1 minute. Remove the bowl from the oven and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until it is smooth. Set the chocolate aside to cool.
- Place butter and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until just combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine. Add the melted white chocolate and blend on low speed until just combined, 30 seconds. Add the peppermint extract and 2 cups confectioners’ sugar and blend on low speed until sugar is incorporated, 30 seconds more. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until frosting is fluffy, 1 minute more, adding up to 1/2 cup more sugar if needed to reach desired consistency.
- Frost cupcakes and decorate!