Do you want to fool your family this April Fool’s Day? Try April Fools’ Day Cupcakes! Believe me, up close, these look like the real-deal! A luscious layer of butter cream, gigantic yellow cupcake, and even sprinkles! But my family knew better. It was, after all, April Fools’ Day. They know that I have a lot of fun making interesting treats on that day. 🙂 Our sweet son guessed that the frosting was made with bananas, which he has a hard time stomaching. Our beautiful daughter thought they were just giant cupcakes. No one could guess what secrets these lovely bakery items kept.
April Fools’ Day Cupcake Creation…
Inside, lurking within that buttery goodness is a fun surprise…Sloppy Joe’s! Don’t wrinkle up your nose. It isn’t a boxed yellow cake mix with meat inside. That would be a good fool, but definitely a nasty one! I don’t like waste, and I don’t know about you, but my family would THROW THOSE AWAY!
Instead, I decided to craft a look-alike recipe and April Fools’ Day Cupcakes were born. We love cupcakes at our house, and topped with buttercream icing, they are a hit! So I started with my biggest muffin pans…and a homemade recipe for corn bread from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. After making the corn bread, I carefully placed a few spoonfuls of homemade Sloppy Joe meat into each cup, and covered it all with more of the corn bread batter. They baked up beautifully!
However, I needed some “frosting,” and I wanted it to look good and taste great! My mother-in-law makes killer cheesy potatoes, so I made a smaller recipe of those. The fluffy mashed potatoes had a beautiful yellow tint, just like real buttercream! Using my largest piping tip and bag, I finished off each cupcake with a mound of cheesy potato goodness, complete with sprinkles. I suggest you add the sprinkles. They are fun and add to the believability factor.
These cups cakes only took about an hour, start to finish, and they were a huge hit! The corn bread and cheesy potato recipes were enough for six, with some meat filling left over. I will definitely make these again, even if it isn’t April Fools’ Day. The buttery corn bread “cake,” savory Sloppy Joe filling, and cheesy potato “frosting” were a great combination. Here’s what the inside looked like:
Being so large, they were filling! I think these would be great for parties, even making smaller “cakes.” These April Fools’ Day Cupcakes were a lot of fun! I hope that you and your family enjoy them as much as we did!
April Fool’s Cupcakes! You’ll be fooled!!!
Ingredients
"Cake"
- 1 c. flour
- 1 c. cornmeal
- 3 T. sugar
- 1 T. baking powder
- ½ t. salt
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1 c. milk
- ÂĽ c. vegetable oil
Sloppy Joe Mix "Filling"
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ c. ketchup
- 2-Â3 T. prepared yellow mustard
- 3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
Cheesy Potato "Frosting"
- 4Â to 5 medium baking potatoes, peeled and chopped into even pieces
- ½ c. plain Greek yogurt
- ½ c. milk
- 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
- 1Â-2 t. prepared yellow mustard
- Sprinkles, if desired
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Place cupcake liners in large muffin tin. Preheat oven to 425℉.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In a 2 cup measuring cup, mix together the eggs, milk, and oil. Add this all at once to the dry mixture and stir until just incorporated.
- Spoon batter into muffin papers, filling the cavities â…“ full.
- Spoon Sloppy Joe mixture (recipe below) on top of batter, adding approx. 3 T. to each muffin.
- Divide rest of batter over meat, being careful to cover fully.
- Bake for 15 to Â20 minutes until muffins are golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool slightly, remove from pan, and pipe Cheesy Potato “Frosting” on tops.
Sloppy Joe's
- Brown beef in medium skillet, drain.
- Place meat in skillet with ketchup, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly.
- Add to April Fool’s cupcakes as directed.
Cheesy Potato "Frosting"
- Place peeled and chopped potatoes in medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are soft when poked with a fork.
- Drain potatoes. Place in large mixing bowl and beat with hand mixer until smooth.
- Beat in yogurt and milk until smooth.
- Add cheddar cheese and prepared mustard, again beating until completely smooth.
- Add to piping bag, using largest star piping tip (4B works without a coupler). Pipe “frosting” on cupcakes and serve.
- Add sprinkles, if desired
What are some of your family’s best April Fool’s jokes? I love to hear about them as I’m always on the look out for great ideas to fool my family! 🙂