Pot of Gold Cupcakes for St Patrick’s Day
With St Patrick’s Day just a week away, I wanted to share a cupcake recipe that’s perfect for the holiday. I took a chocolate cupcake, filled it with dulce de leche, and topped it with my favorite Swiss meringue buttercream. They tasted as amazing as they sound.
And with the festive cupcake liners and sprinkles, they’re the perfect addition to your St Patrick’s Day party!
My cupcake got a little smooshed when I cut into it to show you the “Pot of Gold” portion of the cupcake (aka, the dulce de leche hidden inside). These cupcakes are the same flavor that I made for Hubby’s 30th birthday party, but I didn’t get proper pictures of them. Since they were such a big hit at the party, I decided to make them again.
One Year Ago: Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes (also great for St Patrick’s Day!)
Two Years Ago: Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Three Years Ago: Scallop Burgers and S’mores Cupcakes
Pot of Gold Cupcakes
Yield: 24
Ingredients:
For the Pot of Gold Cupcakes
24 Chocolate cupcakes (recipe follows)
about a cup of Dulce de Leche (store bought or homemade)
1 batch of Swiss meringue buttercream
For the Chocolate Cupcakes
2 2/3 cups flour
1 1/4 cups + 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
5 oz water + 5 oz milk
Directions:
To assemble the Pot of Gold Cupcakes
Once cupcakes have cooled completely, use the cone method to remove a cone of the cupcake.
Fill the empty cone with dulce de leche. Replace the top part of the cupcake on top of the dulce de leche.
Frost the cupcakes and decorate with festive sprinkles
For the Chocolate Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350. Place cupcake liners in 2 muffin tins
Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream, vanilla, and almond extract. Set aside.
In the bowl of a mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat until smooth. Set mixer on low and add eggs, one at a time.
Add the flour and sour cream mixtures by alternating between them, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down bowl after each addition.
Gradually add the milk/water and scrap down bowl. Beat until thoroughly combined.
Portion into batter into cupcake liners and bake about 20-25 minutes or until they spring back after being touched.
Chocolate Cupcake Recipe from Confetti Cakes for Kids, by Elisa Strauss
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. 
If Carlos claims this is the best thing you have ever made … I might have to make them tonight!
beantownbaker — February 10th, 2014 @ 9:57 am
Let me know if you do. I was seriously SHOCKED when he said that.
OH. MY. LORD.
Yeah, I can see why these are the best ever!!!! Love Samoas!
I grew up calling them Samoas and didn’t like them when I was selling them, but have since grown to love them. Great twist on a traditional rice krispie treat!
beantownbaker — February 11th, 2014 @ 12:14 pm
I can’t tell if the naming thing is regional or not. I know people who grew up in Indiana like me who call them Samoas. They’ll always be Caramel Delites to me.
they look sooooo good!
Sharing these in my friday link roundup!
Everyone needs to see these!
beantownbaker — February 13th, 2014 @ 8:49 pm
Thanks for sharing them!!
oh jeez. caramel de lites here, too 🙂 these sound killer!
beantownbaker — February 23rd, 2014 @ 12:47 pm
You’re the first person I’ve met who calls them Caramel de Lites too!
I’ve been wondering why they aren’t always called Samoas!
Are the pecans there for the Samoa flavor or just an extra addition?
beantownbaker — March 18th, 2014 @ 8:03 am
They add some texture but you could leave them out if you wanted.
Awesome recipe! Let me provide a little insight to the naming of the cookies (Caramel deLights vs Samoas my wife is a girl scout troop leader). The girl scouts rely on a few bakeries to produce their cookies. Caramel deLights are made by one bakery, while Samoas are made by another.
Just made these – very tasty, but I had a lot of trouble with the caramel layer. It hardened so much, I couldn’t cut the squares. I had to heat them up a bit to cut through the caramel, and then they got rather sticky and did not cut cleanly. Followed directions exactly, not sure what went wrong…
On Sunday nights, my hubby leads a college-age Bible study group and I use the kids/young adults as my guinea pigs for trying new recipes. I made these yesterday and they LOVED them. Thank you for the recipe!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 6:59 pm
So glad these were a hit for you! This has become my most frequently made and requested recipe that I’ve made.
Explained well.