Butterfinger Cupcakes inspired by the Starring Rolls Café

Update: I originally published this post before Valentine’s Day 2017, not realizing it would be the same week that the Starring Rolls Café closed at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Today the Butterfinger Cupcakes are available, most of the time, in the nearby Trolley Car Cafe, which is really a Starbucks. I say “most of the time” because Disney World desserts change so much these days, you never really know how long the sweetness will last. For now, the smaller, mouse-eared treats are known as Peanut Butter Crunch cupcakes.

That’s just a really long-winded way of saying you have another great reason to create these fabulous treats at home!

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Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching. Although I don’t usually pay it too much attention, it does inspire me to bake. This year I wanted to make something different. Something fun. My mind drifted to one of my favorite treats: the incredible Butterfinger Cupcakes served at the Starring Rolls Café in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I wonder if I could make those?

I went to my computer and started searching for the recipe. Unsurprising, there were quite a few sites that offered options. Although the details varied slightly, the primary ingredients included: a chocolate cake mix, a tub of chocolate frosting, chocolate chips, powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, milk and 2 giant Butterfinger candy bars. Yummo. I think I got a sugar buzz just writing the list. Some of the recipes called for Crisco too, but I just couldn’t go that far over to the dark side. I’m already breaking my “I’ll-only-eat-these-on-vacation” rule.

I assembled all of the ingredients and got to work. First up, was baking the chocolate cupcakes. I used a standard muffin tin, instead of the oversized Disney variety, to show some restraint. I also resisted tinkering with the recipe and just followed the instructions on the box. If you have a chocolate cake recipe you already like, I’m sure that would work too. I used the box mix to save time.

After the cupcakes were baked I let them cool. I actually waited until the next day, but it’s probably sufficient to let them rest for a few hours. You could even put them in the refrigerator for a bit.

Now comes the interesting parts. With a sharp knife, I carefully cut a small circle in the center of each cupcake and removed the resulting cone-shaped pieces. I set these aside to use later. Then I filled the holes I had just cut in each cupcake with some of the chocolate frosting. You can do this with a pastry bag or create your own by placing the frosting in a Ziploc bag and cutting off one of the corners.

Once the cupcakes were stuffed with chocolate frosting, I took each cone-shaped piece of cupcake, turned it upside down so the wider part was at the bottom, and placed it on top of the frosting of each cupcake. I think if I had stopped at that point it would still be a satisfying treat. Alas, I kept going.

Then I made my standard buttercream frosting. It includes a stick of butter, four cups of powdered sugar, two teaspoons of vanilla and a few tablespoons of milk. I started with a stick of butter at room temperature and blended it with the vanilla and one cup of powdered sugar. Then I rotated adding the remaining powdered sugar (3 cups) and tablespoons of milk until I reached the right consistency. You want it to be fairly thick so the cupcake will hold its shape.

Next, I added the buttercream frosting to the top of each cupcake. I confess this was my least favorite part. I tried to use a Ziploc bag again, as I did with the chocolate frosting, but it didn’t work as well (darn those pleated corners in the gallon-sized bags!) Then I switched to my cupcake decorating tool, which helped slightly, but the height of the cupcake made it awkward to use and difficult to see how well the frosting was covering. I tried not to picture the professionals at Disney World whipping through this step with what I imagine is robot-like precision. For me, it took quite a bit of time and required smoothing the frosting with a knife.

Since I wasted some of the frosting by switching tactics, I ended up with enough to cover 16 cupcakes. You may have enough for more. Once finished, I put the frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator to let them solidify a little before the next steps.

The next step was fun. I placed my giant Butterfinger candy bars in a food processor and grinded them into a fine powder, kind of like orange sand. Perfect.

Then I melted the chocolate chips in the microwave. Some recipes call for adding oil to this step to make the chocolate smoother or to use a “Magic Shell” type product, but I found it easier to just use plain milk chocolate chips. I started with one cup of chips in the microwave for one minute at 50% power. Then I stirred the result and continued microwaving in 20 second increments at 50% power until the chips were fully melted.

Once the chocolate melted, I drizzled it on top of each cupcake with a spoon. The chocolate was thicker than I had anticipated so it poured and spread fairly easily. One cup of chips lasted for about six cupcakes. Your goal is to cover all of the buttercream and provide a sticky surface to hold the Butterfinger topping. After coating each cupcake with chocolate, I carefully sprinkle the Butterfinger pieces on top. I had to tilt the cupcakes slightly sideways to get the Butterfinger topping to hit the sides of the peaks.

And that’s it! My interpretation of the Butterfinger cupcakes from Starring Roles Café. As you can see from the photos it turned out pretty similar to the one from Disney World. (Mine is pictured on top above.)  I was thrilled with the result. Just looking at the cupcakes on my counter transformed me back to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I could almost hear the March of the First Order taking place nearby.

I’m so excited to share these Butterfinger cupcakes with my family and some unsuspecting neighbors that could use a little cheer. If I can do it, you can too. Add some magic to your world!