I don't have a recipe, but it is so easy to fill a cupcake. Just use an apple corer on the top of the cupcake to remove a "core". Fill it with a pastry bag, (or Ziploc with the end cut off.) You will cover the hole with the frosting on top. (again, the Ziploc bag will make this simple. Just frost in one big spiral.)
You'll be a hero. :)

Jo

I've never done these before, but googling pulls up lots of info on how to make. Sounds like you just do the core, cut off the bottom of the core and put back after filling, then frost or you can just insert pastry bag tip into baked cupcake top and inject-less filling with latter method.
The Betty Crocker site has a "Dreamy Cream-Filled Cupcake" recipe that is made with a devils food mix that looks good and easy! One reviewer filled it with marshmallow fluff, frosted with white frosting and sprinkled with tiny chocolate chips--you could do pastels, sprinkles, etc. Pretty cupcake papers and you're all set!

What about something like this where you bake the filling inside? These use Rolo's and leave a gooey caramel chocolate center, with little hassle. You could use any frosting. The linked one has a browned butter buttercream with pecans, but I might skip the nuts for a group of kids...too many allergies.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rolo cupcakes

Here is another simple idea for a surprise in the center...when the cuppies are done and cooled, just press a cherry into the center.

I topped the indentation with some lemon curd I had and voila! You don't even have to do any lemon curd, just put frosting into the indentation.

Yum!

The baked in ideas and the scoop and fill ideas both seem doable.

I would love a simple cake recipe I can double to make the actual cupcake batter

Also a question on icing. I have never made icing before but would like to try. What kind of icing will travel well and last. I don't want to send this and have all melt an become a drippy mess.

Do you want to make chocolate or white cupcakes?

If white I used this recipe from allrecipes for the white ones for my daughters birthday party and got lots of compliments and questions for the recipe from the parents. I made 12 of each (white and chocolate)

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/simple-white-cake/detail.aspx

Same thing for the chocolate ones I made which I used a Hershey's recipe. I had to make sure I could make either without dairy products and these both came out awesome.

Forgot the Hershey's recipe (I used the cocoa I had on hand):
https://www.hersheys.com/celebrate/holidays/recipedetail.aspx?id=184

And here is a pic of the chocolate ones. My daughter picked the icing color and wanted Hello Kitty so I made them out of homemade fondant and royal icing.

This post was edited by lyfia on Wed, Oct 2, 13 at 15:35

Like lyfia, I use the Hershey's chocolate cake recipe regularly, I love it. I also like Colleen's chocolate cake.

Colleen's Chocolate Cake

1 Cup caster sugar
1 Cup brown sugar
2 eggs
250 g margarine (8 ounces)
2/3 Cup cocoa
1 Cup sour milk*
2 Tsp
1 Cup boiling strong coffee
3 Cup plain flour
2 Tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 170C (325F), grease and line two 20cm (8") round cake tins.
Put ingredients into mixing bowl in order listed and turn on mixer. Beat until just combined. Pour into prepared tins and bake 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and leave to stand in tins for 20 minutes. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

Ice with chocolate icing.

*If you have not got sour milk, add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to milk and leave in a warm place.~
NOTES : This is a very rich, almost black chocolate cake which stays moist for days and freezes well.

I'm using Colleen's recipe for the wedding this week, making cupcakes stuffed with mini-Snickers for 2 dozen, white cupcakes with a red velvet "heart" for 2 dozen and I'm leaning toward a pumpkin spice cupcake with cinnamon frosting for the last two dozen. We'll see how it goes, LOL.

I've also just filled a pastry bag with filling, stuck the tip into the top of a cupcake and squeezed in filling until the sides bulged out a bit. The only problem is that not much filling fits that way, cutting the little cone out of the top leaves room for more filling and frosting covers it up anyway. Chocolate cupcakes with marshmallow cream would be kind of like Whoopie Pies, yummy.

I did make the very long and involved Cook's Illustrated filled chocolate cupcake. Good but so not worth the effort, but the filling was easy enough and you could use it:

Cupcake Filling

3 tablespoons water
3/4 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
4 tablespoon (1/2 stick) unsalted butter , softened
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups marshmallow créme (see note)

Combine water and gelatin in large bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves, about 30 seconds. Stir in butter, vanilla, and salt until combined. Let mixture cool until just warm to touch, about 5 minutes, then whisk in marshmallow creme until smooth; refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. Cut cone from top of each cupcake and fill cupcakes with 1 tablespoon filling each. Replace tops, frost and let sit 10 minutes.

You can do it. Really you can, and they'll be delicious!

Annie

Following up on this. I did bake 24 cupcakes. DD wanted banana cup cakes and I used the Rose levy berenbaum's recipe from the banana bread thread. Each recipe yielded 12 cup cakes. I must say the recipe was a tad confusing to follow as it was unclear when the sourcream and vanilla etc. were to be added. In the first batch, I missed the sour cream all together and the cupcake were muffin like in appearance. The second batch was much softer. I also used the Rolos for the melted centers that Olychick suggested. I haven't tasted any of that, so I am hoping that the kids liked it! The Wilton muffin pan worked beautifully and fitted in my smaller 24in convection oven and was done in 25 mins.

I balked at icing and in the end, I got premade buttercream frosting from a local gourmet store and used some Wilton premade hard icing decoration with cupcakes flowers and butterflies. DD8 was beyond thrilled and I was happy at the end result :) I think I will be baking more cakes and will tackle icing next.