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How To Fill Cupcakes

I don’t know exactly who invented cupcakes, but I’d like to take the time now to thank them for doing so.

They are quite easily one of the best and most popular baked goods going. I mean, who doesn’t love a great tasting slice of cake?

But a miniature bite-sized version? Now you’re really talking. 

How To Fill Cupcakes

And there are so many different flavors you can play around with, the possibilities are endless.

From carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting to vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting to a scrumptious red velvet, there are so many options to choose from, each one as delicious as the next. 

But there’s nothing quite like chomping down on a delicious cupcake to find a scrumptious surprise center.

This elevates cupcakes to a whole other dimension (see also ‘10 Of The Best Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes You Have To Make Right Now‘). And it only further increases your options. Do you want a jelly-filled cupcake?

What about cookie dough? Cream cheese frosting? Fruit? Buttercream? Marshmallow?

There’s a whole host of tasty goodness that you can store in the center of that fluffy cupcake. 

But how do you get it there?

Well, don’t worry it doesn’t take an awful lot of effort or complicated tools to do so, in fact, there are plenty of ways to fill your baked goods with items that are already lying around your home, so there’s no need to worry about traipsing off to the store and spending loads of money that you don’t have.

And I’m going to teach you all you need to know throughout this article. 

Step-By-Step Guide To Filling Cupcakes

1. Make Way For The Filling

So the very first thing that you’ll need to do is make some space for whatever delicious filling you have in mind.

So essentially, you just need to remove the middle of your cupcake. Don’t worry this is so simple to do, and there are a fair few ways that you can do so. 

  • Cookie Cutters – If you have a small round cookie cutter in your home this can be the perfect option. It needs to be around ¾ inches in size. And all you’re going to do is press it lightly into the center of your cupcake and then twist it gently to remove the middle. Once you pull the cutter up you should have a nice hole just waiting for that scrumptious filling. 
  • Large Pastry Tip – Pastry bags are a pretty common item in a baker’s kitchen. You can use the bottom end of a pastry tip to cut out the whole in your cupcake. Make sure you use the end that isn’t pointy. And then press down, pull up, and voila, the perfect hole. 
  • An Apple Corer – Apple corers aren’t only for coring an apple, oh no, they are almost made for removing the center of the cupcake. They are the perfect size. And if you don’t own one already, they’re very inexpensive to purchase. 
  • A Knife –  You can always use a knife and cut the size of the hole that you require, just be careful that you don’t split the cupcake in two. 

2. Keep The Cake

The middle of the cake that you remove should not be discarded. We don’t waste cake, that’s basically sacrilegious.

At the very least you can reward yourself for baking with a tasty snack while you carry on, and at best it can be used as a ‘lid’ or ‘seal’ for your cupcake filling. 

3. Add Your Filling

And as easy as that you’re ready to start adding your favorite filling to your cupcakes.

How To Fill Cupcakes

There are a couple of different methods you can use to go about doing so. 

  • Pastry Bag – This method is best if your filling is easy to pipe. Cut the tip off the bag and then fill it full of your filling. All you have to do then is pipe the filling into the hole that you’ve created. 
  • Ice Cream Scoop – For non-pipeable fillings, you can always opt for an ice cream scoop. Just place your filling into a small scoop and then carefully place the filling into the hole in your cake. 
  • Spoon – If you’re lacking in items to use for your filling, you’ll always have a spoon in the house. And while it may not be the most precise way to do things, you’ll still get the same end result. Grab a teaspoon and scoop up your filling and then deposit it into the hole of your cupcake. 
  • Hands – When duty calls, sometimes you just have to get down and dirty. Some fillings such as brownies, cookie dough, or fruit may not always be scoopable (see also ‘How to Cut Brownies‘). You can always just grab your filling and place it in the cupcake yourself. Just be sure that you wash your hands before doing so. 
  • Measuring Cups – This tends to only work for very soft fillings such as a melted ganache, or a curd. But if your filling is pourable, then you can always pop it in a measuring cup and then simply pour it into the center of your cupcake. 
  • Fill Before You Bake –  There is also the option to skip the aforementioned steps and just place your filling in the batter before they even go into bake. This can work well with a small amount of jam, chocolate chips, or crushed nuts. This way the batter will just solidify around the batter and all the work is done for you. 

4. Seal & Serve

Once you’ve filled your cake, you can put the middle of the cake you saved earlier back in place, frost the entire thing and you’re ready to serve your scrumptious cupcakes.

But if you already ate your center, or forgot to keep it, you can always just frost over the top to hide that secret center. 

Then, of course, you can decorate as much as your heart desires, and then it’s finally time to get down to the best bit of baking – eating what you’ve made! Yum! 

Final Thoughts

As you can see, while adding a secret surprise center to your cupcakes may seem like a fancy option, it’s actually so easy to do.

So what are you waiting for, get in your kitchen now and start playing around with a whole host of fantastic flavors! 

Just remember to save me some! Happy baking! 

Anna Ingham
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