Monday, May 2, 2011

Almond Joy Cake Cups



Did you know it's Teacher Appreciation week!!? Yep - it sure is! We have such wonderful teachers at the kids' school and they do a really great job so I always make sure to treat them extra special this week. Can you imagine having to wrangle 20-ish young kids all day long!? AND teach them while you're at it!? LOL They definitely earn their appreciation WEEK - not just a day! To kick off the week I baked up a batch of these Almond Joy Cups. I sure love them - and I hope the teachers do, too! They take a little bit of time but you'll be glad you made them.

The fixings:


A box of chocolate cake mix, flour, margarine, eggs, sugar, evaporated milk, big marshmallows, flaked coconut, semi-sweet chocolate chips, sliced almonds.

Let's go! First mix up your cake mix, 2 eggs, flour & melted margarine. It'll be a stiff dough so you should probably do this by hand or you might burn the motor in your hand mixer!!


Whew! My arm is tired! LOL


Now divide the dough in half. Each half will give you 24 little cups (2 batches on your mini-cupcake pan!)

Spray your pan with some PAM - I use the stuff with flour when I'm baking so if the pan looks a little sloppier than usual that's why!


Gently press the dough down into the cups & bake at 350 for about 7 minutes. Remove to a rack & let it cool for about 5 minutes.

Now you need to make a well to fill up with the sweet, gooey filling! If you have a little tool like mine it's EXTRA helpful!! If not, you can try using your thumb. Just don't burn yourself!!


Do that all again to make the 2nd batch.

Next up is the coconut filling.

Mix the sugar & 1/2 cup of evaporated milk in a bowl. Heat it to a boil then stir in the marshmallows until they're melted in. I tried to cheat & do this in the microwave this time & it was a pain to get the mallows all melted. So if you don't mind an extra dirty dish you might get a quicker, smoother melt from a pan on the stove-top. If you want to keep dishes to a minimum just rinse the batter bowl & do it in the microwave. As long as you get them *mostly* incorporated you'll be good. Once you add the coconut it'll rough up the mallows & get the job done.


Add the coconut...



Now just carefully spoon a little bit of this stuff into the well you smashed into each little cake.


Pop them into the fridge to help speed set the coconut. Maybe 30 minutes...?

For the chocolate topping:

In that same batter bowl, once again rinsed, put the chocolate chips, margarine & evaporated milk. microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir to combine. It'll seem kinda soupy at first - just keep stirring. Then add the almonds & stir again!


Last step - FINALLY! Spoon a little of the chocolate onto the top of each cup.


Stick 'em in the fridge one more time to set the chocolate.... AND YOU'RE DONE! Woo hoo!


Aren't they pretty!? Wanna see the pile up we just created inside!!?


These are really, really good! Sweet & rich, coconut & almond - just like an Almond Joy. And they're the perfect little bite so you don't feel like you overdid it by indulging!

Grab a glass of milk!

Almond Joy Cups:

Cake cups:
1 box chocolate cake mix (I use Triple Chocolate Fudge)
2 eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine, melted
3/4 cup flour
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Coconut filling:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
14 marshmallows (not the mini ones!)
1 (7oz) bag of flaked coconut
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Chocolate/almond topping:
1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine
1 cup sliced almonds

Heat oven to 350. grease mini muffin pan(s).

In a bowl, mix all 'Cake Cup' ingredients until well combined. Divide batter evenly into 48 cups (2 pans or 2 bathces in 1 pan). Press gently into the cup wells. Bake about 7 minutes.

Remove from oven & cool for about 5 minutes. Using a little tart shaper (or your thumb) make a well in the top of each cup.

To make the coconut filling: Mix sugar & milk. Microwave about 2 minutes, until boiling. Stir in marshmallows until melted. Add coconut, stir again.

Carefully spoon a small amount of coconut mixture into each cake cup. Move to the fridge to set for about 30 minutes.

To make the chocolate topping: Combine chocolate chips, evaporated milk & margarine in a bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, stir melted chips to combine all ingredients. add almonds.

Carefully spoon a little bit of chocolate on top of each coconut-filled cup. Return to fridge to set for another 30 minutes.

Enjoy! Store in the fridge.

2 comments:

  1. Just wanted to let you know your recipe was featured on this week's What's Cooking Wednesday!

    I hope you'll stop by and link up more great recipes :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love Almond Joy bars--these cups look really yummy!

    ReplyDelete

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