Yukon Cornelius Pull-Apart Cupcake Cake

Yukon Cornelius is my favorite, and an all-time classic, character from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Did you know that when he would throw his pick axe into the ice and taste the end of it, that he was actually looking for peppermint to mine? As such, I created this cupcake cake in his image with dark chocolate cupcakes filled with a peppermint-white chocolate ganache, and topped with peppermint buttercream. This is a fun and showstopping dessert--perfect for a "Rudolph" watch party! If not serving immediately, store in the fridge no longer than 1 to 2 days before serving.

• Preparation Time: 1 hr 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 25 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 55 mins
• Calories: 653 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces heavy cream
• 1 (10.5 ounce) package large marshmallows
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder, or as needed
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon peppermint extract, or to taste
• ⅓ cup crushed peppermint candies
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract, or to taste
• 1 (12 ounce) bag dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup dark cocoa powder (such as Hershey's® Special Dark), sifted
• 1 cup strongly brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature
• 20 ounces white chocolate chips (such as Ghirardelli®)
• 5 cups powdered sugar, or as needed
• ⅓ cup heavy cream, or as needed
• 6 drops yellow food coloring, or as needed, divided
• 6 drops red food coloring, or as needed, divided
• piping bags
• couplers
• large round piping tips
• large open star piping tip

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line two 12-cup standard cupcake pans with paper liners.

Step 2

Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

Step 3

Combine sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, thoroughly mixing after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.

Step 4

Mix 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined. Mix in 1/2 of the coffee and 1/2 of the sour cream until just combined. Add remaining flour mixture alternately with remaining sour cream and coffee. Do not overmix. Fill the prepared cupcake cups evenly with batter.

Step 5

Bake in the preheated oven until they spring back lightly when touched, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool completely, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Step 6

Core cooled cupcakes using a knife or cupcake corer, cutting about halfway down. Save cupcake centers for another use (such as for making a batch of cake balls).

Step 7

Prepare ganache. Add white chocolate chips and heavy cream to a large, microwave-safe bowl. Heat at 50% power until chocolate is melted and smooth, in 30-second intervals, stirring after each. Mix in crushed candies and peppermint extract until thoroughly combined. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Step 8

Place ganache in a piping bag or resealable plastic bag with a corner cut off. Fill each cupcake to the top with ganache. Allow them to sit until ganache firms up and doesn't "smudge" when pressed lightly with fingertips, 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 9

Prepare frosting. Cream butter until smooth in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Beat in 1 cup powdered sugar at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and salt. Add heavy cream and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. If frosting is too thick, add more heavy cream--or if it is too thin, add more powdered sugar until frosting is a spreadable consistency that still holds its shape.

Step 10

Place a small amount of frosting in a separate bowl and add yellow food coloring for the ear muffs. Divide remaining frosting in half. To 1/2 of the divided frosting, add cocoa powder and red food coloring to achieve an auburn color. Divide remaining white frosting in half again. Color 1/2 peach using a very light amount of red and yellow food coloring. Color remaining frosting red. Put each into a piping bag fitted with a coupler.

Step 11

Arrange cupcakes on a large cake board or serving platter, starting from the top. Begin with 1 cupcake at the top. Follow with a row of 2 cupcakes, making sure they stay as close as possible. (If cupcakes slide around, affix a small amount of frosting to the bottom of them so they stick to the serving platter or cake board.) Follow with a row of 3 cupcakes, then a row of 5 cupcakes, a row of 4 cupcakes, another row of 5 cupcakes, and finally a last row of 4 cupcakes. Make sure the cupcakes are as close to one another as possible. If there are any large gaps, you can use large marshmallows, trimmed to fit, in order to fill them in and make a flatter, more cohesive surface to frost.

Step 12

Beginning with the top 6 cupcakes (the rows with 1 cupcake, 2 cupcakes, and 3 cupcakes in them), frost the hat portion of the cake using the red frosting and large round tip. Smooth center portion using an offset spatula, if desired. Use the peach frosting to frost the center 3 cupcakes in the row of 5 below the hat, leaving a cupcake on each side unfrosted for the ear muffs. Smooth with an offset spatula. Affix 2 dark chocolate chips upside-down for the eyes in the center of the peach frosting.

Step 13

Pipe the nose below the eyes, and then the lower lip below the nose using the peach frosting. Frost the cupcakes on each side of the face with the yellow frosting for the ear muffs. To frost the beard, use the auburn colored frosting and cover the remaining unfrosted cupcakes (that contain a row of 4, a row of 5, and final row of 4 cupcakes) with a thin layer of the auburn frosting. Smooth frosting all over the "beard-portion" of the cupcakes until mostly smooth and flat. Place a star tip on the auburn frosting piping bag, and pipe dots of frosting along the side of the face, then pipe the mustache between the nose and lip, and add some swirls on top of the beard, if desired.

Step 14

Allow cupcake cake to sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature (or place in the fridge) to allow frosting to crust. Serve.