Chocolate Cake Batter Fudge

Recently my brother went to Mackinac, MI where we spent a couple of our family vacations as kids. Despite the 8 hour drive, this was always one of my favorite trips. Visiting the simplistic island, where no motor vehicles are allowed, always made me feel at ease and incredibly excited. I always loved visiting the island and taking a horse drawn carriage ride to a museum, or to a farm stand, or anywhere on the island to be completely honest! The best part about Mackinac Island, though? Fudge! Every other store is a fudge store, and at least 1 in every 3 shops had an open kitchen where they made, tabled, and shaped the fudge right in front of you! No matter how many different stores we went to, if they were tabling fudge, I was sitting there, mouth agape, watching them work their magic. Never in a million years did I think I'd be able to do that myself! But here we are, 10 years and pastry school later, I can table chocolate and I still love fudge!

Pastry School Adventures 

So when my brother told me he was going to Mackinac, I was instantly filled with nostalgia. Memories of hiking, biking, fudge, and the one act of teenage "coolness" I had which came in the form of a hair wrap, came rushing back to me and I knew I couldn't last very long without some fudge! Of course I wanted some of the best fudge in the world, (Oreo, Turtle, Peanut Butter, etc.), but after the day I've had, there was no way I could put more than an hour's worth of energy into a delicious treat.

Everyone knows how much I love re-purposing cake mix! So of course, tonight's post is no exception . Cake batter fudge, seemed like the best idea at this point in time considering: I have almost no energy left for the day, I REALLY want some fudge, and I can probably do this in the microwave. 1 bowl and a microwave for a whole batch of fudge? Count me in!

The first thing you need is a very large bowl. Pour in your box of cake mix and your powdered sugar.

Then drop in your butter and milk. Don't mix this! Leave it as it is, and pop it in the microwave for 3 minutes on high. Once it's out of the microwave, mix it immediately to a smooth paste. If it's runny, add more powdered sugar. It needs to be thick, but not necessarily as thick as the cake mix cookie dough. Keep in mind, too, that this mixture is super hot and when it cools down it will thicken even more!

Once you feel like you have a good texture for your fudge, add in your sprinkles and mix them all in! Now, if there's one more thing anyone should ever know about me, it's that I LOVE to make things in cupcake form! Out of pure laziness, I chose to do these in cupcakes. My 9x13 pan was just cleared out of bread pudding and was sitting in the dishwasher waiting to be washed out, and I was in no mood to scrub at the Nutella remnants. So what better way to make this fudge fun than cupcake tins? Fill each greased hole to the top with fudge and immediately after you fill a hole, top it with sprinkles. The longer you let it sit, a film will appear on the top and the sprinkles won't stick. You want the top to be wet, so put  the sprinkles on asap!

Once you've put all of them in their tins, pop the whole tray in the fridge to let them set overnight. Initially I thought it would take about an hour or two, but after checking every hour, I decided I wasn't doing my fudge any favors by continuously opening and closing the fridge door. Once it's solid, it'll be easy to run your knife along the outside edge of each tin and pull the fudge out. If you try to run your knife along the edges and it starts pulling, pop it back in the fridge - it's not ready yet.

Look how yummy! These little fudge cupcakes are the perfect little dessert when you want something sweet but nothing too big. After feeding a room full of boys, you're sure to hear a resounding "mmmm" as you finally get some peace and quiet for a few minutes! I hope you guys like this post, and I'm sorry for being gone so long! I promise I won't leave for that long again :)

Today's calorie count is not the best! One little fudgy cupcake weights in at 414 calories, so enjoy lightly!

1 Box Cake Mix
5 Cups Confectioners Sugar
3/4 Cup Butter or Margarine
3/4 Cup Milk
Sprinkles to Taste

1.) Put the cake mix and confectioners sugar in a microwave safe bowl.
2.) Add in the butter and milk, microwave on high for 3 minutes.
3.) Stir it all together as soon as it comes out of the microwave. Add in sprinkles and mix together.
4.) Pour into pre-greased cupcake tins (should make about 16), then top with more sprinkles.
5.) Put them in the fridge to set for 2 hours. Run a knife around the edges and pop each fudge-cake out.
6.) Pour yourself a glass of milk, and enjoy!