Hot Off the Grill Cupcakes.

What do you make when you’re invited to a birthday BBQ in the summer?

“Hot Off the Grill Cupcakes,” of course!

I came across this idea in my latest issue (August/September) of Taste of Home magazine, and I thought it was just the cutest idea! The original decoration is shown on a brownie, rather than a cupcake, and topped with candies. However, I had some buttermilk I wanted to use up, so I opted to go with my Chocolate Cherry Coke Float Cupcakes (minus the icing & cherry buttercream) as the building block instead. I love the springy texture of this chocolate cake, and it’s quickly become my go-to recipe for using up leftover buttermilk. I never have complaints when I give away cupcakes to all our neighbors & friends, either! 😉

To make these oh-so-hot treats, you’ll need the following:

• 2 dozen cupcakes (or brownies, as the original idea suggests)
• 1 can store-bought chocolate frosting (omit if using brownies)
• orange icing sugar
• 72 pieces Hot Tamales candy
• black royal icing (piping consistency)

As the cupcakes baked, I began to wonder if they wouldn’t look a little funny. After all, brownies bake up with a crusty, flaky top that looks rugged. Cupcakes – especially these! – bake up with perfect little domes. I wasn’t so sure the decoration would like “right” on the plain cupcake surface. Not only that, but what’s a cupcake without frosting?!

Instead, I chose to use a quick can of store-bought (*gasp*) chocolate frosting to jazz up the cakes. (Hey, I still get points for making the cupcakes from scratch, right?) The frosting helped to provide a better sticking surface for the orange icing sugar, too. Speaking of that, the orange sugar might just be my favorite little part of these cupcakes – it *really* does look like coals on a grill!

Once I had frosted & sugared all of the cupcakes, I used a bit of black royal icing to pipe grill lines across the surface. As I finished each one, I topped the “grill” with three pieces of Hot Tamales candy. I added tiny grill lines to each candy “hot dog”, and then the cupcakes were finished! From beginning to end, I decorated all two dozen cupcakes in under 20 minutes!

And it’s always nice to have a super-cute, super-EASY decorating idea tucked in your back pocket for a quick treat to take to a lazy summer’s BBQ, right? Right! 🙂

You could jazz these up even more, too. Try some Hershey’s Chocolate Drops™ to make tiny burgers, or small bits of red & yellow royal icing for ketchup/mustard accents. I can’t wait to do more the next time I make these! 😀

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(As an aside, I’m ridiculously proud of the photos in this posting, as every single shot is “SOOC,” or “straight-out-of-camera” with no post-processing at all. *squeee*) I also LOVE these so much that I’m linking up over at Cheryl’s, too!

22 comments on “Hot Off the Grill Cupcakes.”

1. Kathleen on July 24, 2011 at 9:36 pm said:

   These are sooooo too cute!

   Reply ↓
   • Nicole on July 29, 2011 at 1:04 pm said:

     Thank you!

     Reply ↓
2. Cheryl @ That's What Che Said on July 29, 2011 at 11:37 am said:

   Adorable! Super cute and super creative! I love these!

   Reply ↓
   • Nicole on July 29, 2011 at 1:05 pm said:

     Thanks so much!

     Reply ↓
3. Madigan on July 29, 2011 at 8:35 pm said:

   Haha! I love these! Soo cute! (and chocolate cherry coke? Um, yeah, I’m in love!)

   Reply ↓
   • Nicole on August 28, 2011 at 3:53 am said:

     Thank you, Madigan! I really really really LOVE this particular chocolate cupcake recipe. The coke adds such a nice zing!

     Reply ↓
4. Sue on July 30, 2011 at 12:21 am said:

   Adorable cupcakes!

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   • Nicole on August 28, 2011 at 3:53 am said:

     Thank you, Sue! 🙂

     Reply ↓
5. MJ on July 30, 2011 at 1:57 am said:

   This was posted on facebook and just had to come see. These cupcakes look so realistic! Well done!

   Reply ↓
   • Nicole on August 28, 2011 at 3:54 am said:

     Thank you for coming to check me & the cupcakes out! 🙂

     Reply ↓
6. Paula on August 7, 2011 at 12:39 pm said:

   You are a baking super star! Love that you used your own idea to top off these cupcakes. Piping grill lines, using the sugar and then taking it to the next level with the *hot* candy dogs complete with grill marks. These cupcakes should be in Taste of Home!

   Reply ↓
   • Nicole on August 28, 2011 at 3:55 am said:

     Thank you, Paula! I was very pleased with not only how they turned out, but also by how they tasted, too. Win! 🙂

     Reply ↓
7. Charlotte on August 28, 2011 at 12:45 am said:

   Love the new circus cookies and the “easy breezy” dinner recommendation…..would love to try it myself. Getting rain from the hurricane and lots of strong wind, but nothing really bad here.

   Love,
   MOM

   Reply ↓
   • Nicole on August 28, 2011 at 3:54 am said:

     Thanks, Mom! I’ll be sure to send some coupons your way, too. 🙂

     Reply ↓
8. donna smith on May 23, 2012 at 9:37 am said:

   I’m making these for this weekend and will use slighty melted tootsie rolls shaped into hamburgers, also thought about crappy pattie candies for the buns!!! I use wilton food markers to make the grill lines.

   Reply ↓
   • Nicole on May 27, 2012 at 2:21 am said:

     Donna, I’ve seen those Crabby Patty candies too – how cute!

     Reply ↓

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11. Debra Kapellakis on June 28, 2012 at 2:28 pm said:

    I love these! They are sssssoooo cute!

    Reply ↓
    • Nicole on July 8, 2012 at 4:29 am said:

      Thank you so much! 🙂

      Reply ↓

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13. Nicole on June 13, 2014 at 2:28 pm said:

    Hi there! I found your site while looking for Father’s Day ideas for my day home kids. We made them today and they turned out great! Thanks!

    Reply ↓

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