Mini chocolate-chocolate cupcakes with raspberry and caramel filling
Holly over at PheMomenon is hosting a Blogging For Babies event called Little Wonders. Holly is raising money for the March of Dimes March for Babies in honor of her son Cole. Read all about her story on her blog.
The requirements of the event are simply to make something small. Since you all know I love making cupcakes, I thought mini-cupcakes would be perfect. The truth is, I have supported March of Dimes for quite some time myself. My 13 year old sister was also born premature. I was 14 at the time and remember being very scared. I was so scared in fact, that when the entire family went to see her for the first time in the NICU, I refused to go.
My sister has grown into a wonderful teenager girl (is that even possible?) She’s very intellegent and likes to bake just like me. We enjoy baking together when I see her, which unfortunately, isn’t often enough. Here is the most recent picture of us taken last Christmas. Yes, she’s a tall one.
Back to the cupcakes. I used my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe with my favorite chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe (without the chili powder). I made both recipes dairy free (the caramel was not dairy free).
I usually use the cone method to fill cupcakes. I knew this wouldn’t work very well with mini-cupcakes. Instead I used a special cupcake filling tip that came with my piping bag set. It took a while to get the hang of it, but in the end it worked out fine. I filled some with leftover caramel I had and the rest with some leftover raspberry preserves. Both tasted amazing.
Definitely be sure to check out Holly’s story and support her team for the March of Babies.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
How cool! These look delicious!
This totally takes me back to childhood. We ALWAYS used fresh rhubarb from our backyard to make yummy breakfast treats!
I think I will have to make these for my parents next time they visit. They will LOVE them!
Those look amazing! I’m always on the lookout for new rhubarb recipes, the season for it is so short in Western Ma, that I tend to buy WAY too much and stick in the freezer..
I have never had rhubarb before, but these look great!
They’re so pretty – I love family recipes!
I never know what to do with Rhubard, but these looks awesome!
divine. i want one. right now. pretty please?? 🙂
I love your recipes, lactose free and awesome, I will def. have to try this. Ps. we should team up and do something lactose free together in solidarity!
Thanks everyone – seriously if you have rhubarb hanging around. Make these. You won’t regret it.
I’m a little lost. The ingredients list mentions 5 c. rhubarb (and you break it into 3 c. for the filling and 2 c. for the sauce) but I don’t see in the step-by-step instructions when/where/how the 2 c. of rhubarb are used. Please help!
Thanks!
alexandjess – thanks for catching my mistake. I added the instructions about the sauce into the post, but you make the sauce by boiling 2 cups cut rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, 1 1/3 cups water. The rhubarb for the sauce can be cut in large chunks because it all falls apart anyways.
Your sisters made the rhubarb rolls and stuffed dates yesterday for our Memorial Day cookout. They were delicious!!!! Can’t wait to have another piece tonight for desert. I have a new recipe for potato salad that is delish….let me know if you want me to pass on.
i made these tonight and they went awry for a series of reasons that were my fault and won’t go all into…. one thing i did though was use half rhubarb and half strawberries, which sounded delish but i didn’t cut the sugar enough and i think that also made things more watery. my question though, is whether by ‘shortening’ you specifically mean something like crisco or whether you just mean butter or margarine or anything like that. i used butter and didn’t see how i could get away with a little ‘stirring’ before rolling. i tried to cut it in with a pastry blender, but in the end maybe that was too much action for the dough as it seemed a little gummy after cooking….
i’d appreciate any advice!
natasha – I use Crisco for the dough. I think that’s what my dad always uses as well. Hopefully that is what caused the gumminess. Sorry they didn’t turn out for you.
My family has been making these for years. I have used butter or margarine to cut into the flour mixture for the dough and have never had a problem. I always roll my dough out into a rectangle and when I cut the rolls they NEVER look as neat as the ones you have pictured! I have added strawberries but only in the sauce. My mom liked to add red food coloring to make it look more rosy. We bake for 20 minutes before pouring on the sauce and then another 20 minutes. I have to make it every spring in honor of my mom.
my grandma recipe calls thesr soringtime rollypoly, and can ad what ever frozen berries you have , frozen is the least messy
sorry thats springtime rollypolly