Birthday Balloon Poke Cupcakes

Can you believe that January is almost over already? This year is already flying by.  My best friend's birthday is the week, but we celebrated last weekend.  We had a huge group of people celebrating her birthday with us.  I wanted to make something really special which would show her how much I appreciate her friendship. I decided to make poke cupcakes. Vanilla cupcakes with raspberry Jello flowing through them.  My friend is not an adventuresome eater so this was perfect for her because she liked both of these flavors. 

These are delicious and moist, but do take a bit of time.  Make sure you have set aside 4 hours for these babies. 

WARNING: Everyone will love them so much you won't have any to take home for yourself!

What you need:

White cake mix

1 1/4 cup water

1/3 cup oil

4 Egg whites

1 cup boiling water

Raspberry flavor gelatin (.3 oz)

Stick of butter ( 1/2 cup)

Cream cheese (8 oz)

3 Cups powdered sugar

1 Container Cool Whip (thawed)

Dum Dum suckers

Ribbon

Sprinkles of your choice

How to make:

Preheat oven: 350     Bake: 19-22 minutes

1. Combine Cake mix, water, oil, and egg whites. Fill cupcake tins with batter 3/4th full. Place in oven and cook 19 minutes. 

2. Let cupcakes cool for 5 or 10 minutes. Meanwhile add boiling water to the Jello and stir for two minutes until completely smooth.  Poke holes in the cupcakes with a small fork.  Spoon Jello mixture over cupcakes slowly so they can absorb the Jello down into the poked holes.  

Tip: Take cupcakes out of tin after you are finished putting the Jello in them.  The bottoms will sometimes have Jello on it from spilling or overflowing. This way you can clean it off with a paper towel so it won't be messy for guests as they eat the cupcake

3. Let cool in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. (You can leave them in there overnight if you have extra time in your schedule)

4. Combine softened cream cheese and butter with mixer.  Slowly add in three cups of powdered sugar until completely smooth.  Fold in the Cool Whip until completely combined. Put in a piping bag or frost with a knife onto cupcake. 

5. Put enough frosting on the cupcake to even it flat across the top. Take the piping bag and pipe a round medium dollop of frosting. 

(Just place the tip at the center of the cupcake on top of flat icing and push the icing out of the bag, nothing fancy required) 

6. Cover dollop of frosting with sprinkles to completely cover that part of the frosting.  Add three Dum Dums of different colors and add a ribbon tied into a bow to the front sucker for extra wow factor. 

These are a labor of love but they sure are cute!  Everyone will gasp over these lovely cupcakes not only for their looks but also for their taste. 

Enjoy!