Want a fun surprise in your cupcake? Try these cupcakes with a fun addition in the middle! They’re super fun to make because you can fill them with any surprise candy, chocolate, or sprinkles you want.
Make sure your cupcakes are cooled before you hollow them out to add your surprise in. The frosting can be a bit difficult, but definitely adds a cool touch to the top of the cupcake. Enjoy!

Chocolate Piñata Cupcakes with Rainbow Frosting
A fun rainbow, chocolate cupcake filled with a sweet candy surprise!
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp dark cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
- 3/4 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup boiling water
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk
- Gel food coloring
Fillings and toppings
- Small candies or sprinkles rainbow sprinkles, mini M&Ms, or mini rainbow chocolates
Instructions
For the cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Add cupcake liners to a cupcake pan.
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together. Add egg, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Mix well.
- Pour in the boiling water to the mixture. Mix together. The batter should be runny.
- Pour batter into prepared cupcake pan, filling a little more than halfway. Bake for about 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cupcakes.
- Set the cupcakes on a wire rack to cool.
For the frosting
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add in the confectioner’s sugar, one cup at a time, and beat to incorporate.
- Add in the vanilla and milk. Whip to incorporate.
- Divide the frosting into 6 bowls. Add food coloring to each one to match the colors of the rainbow(red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple). Mix each frosting until the desired color is achieved.
- On a sheet of plastic wrap, create stripes of each colored frosting. Each color should be underneath the previous color. It should look like a large rainbow flag. Roll the plastic wrap to create a log of frosting and tie off one of the ends.
- Place the open end within a piping bag with a star tip attached. You can use a large ziploc bag to pipe the frosting as well.
For the decorations
- Using a paring knife, take a cooled cupcake and hollow out the center of the cupcake. Place a teaspoon of your filling into your cupcake. Replace the top of the hollowed out section on top of the filling.
- Frost the cupcake using the rainbow frosting. Decorate the top with sprinkles if you’d like. Enjoy!
Notes
Adapted from S’Mores Cupcakes recipe
Nutrition
Calories: 340kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 208mg | Potassium: 77mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 513IU | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg