Italian Spumoni Cupcakes

The layered flavors of Italian spumoni ice cream is captured in cupcake form thanks to layers of white cake, pistachio pudding and pie filling, cherry juice and chocolate frosting.  Yum!

• Prep Time 20 min
• Total Time 1 hr 20 min
• Servings 18

1 box Betty Crocker™ SuperMoist™ white cake mix

Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

3/4 of box (4-serving size) pistachio instant pudding and pie filling mix

1/4 cup cherry juice (from jar of maraschino cherries)

1 container (12 oz) Betty Crocker™ Whipped chocolate frosting

18 whole maraschino cherries with stems

Directions

• 1 Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 18 regular-size muffin cups. 
• 2 Make cake mix as directed on box; divide batter evenly into 2 bowls. Add 3/4 box pudding mix to 1 of the bowls; mix well. To other bowl, add cherry juice; mix well.
• 3 Divide pistachio batter evenly among muffins cups. Divide cherry batter evenly over pistachio batter in muffin cups.
• 4 Bake cupcakes and cool completely as directed on box.
• 5 Frost cupcakes with frosting. Top each with cherry.

Expert Tips

The mixture will have two different textures. The pistachio batter will be thick and the cherry will be thinner. I like to add the pistachio layer first to the muffin cups because it is thicker, and then top with the cherry batter.

A few drops of red and green food color can be used when making the cupcakes to enhance the color.

If you have only one muffin pan and a recipe calls for more cupcakes than your pan will make, cover and refrigerate the rest of the batter while baking the first batch. Cool the pan about 15 minutes and then bake the rest of the batter, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time.