These birthday cupcakes are moist, fluffy and filled with a luscious layer of vanilla pudding. With each bite, you'll experience a burst of flavor and a delightful surprise.
Line a standard cupcake pan with 24 cupcake liners.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the white cake mix and instant vanilla pudding mix. Stir until the dry ingredients are evenly distributed.
Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients. Using a whisk or an electric mixer on low speed, start to combine the butter with the dry ingredients.
Gradually add the milk to the mixture, continuing to mix until it's fully incorporated.
Add the eggs, one at a time, to the mixture, ensuring each egg is thoroughly mixed in before adding the next.
Once all the ingredients are well combined, the batter should be smooth.
Use a spoon or ice cream scoop to portion the batter into the prepared cupcake liners, filling each liner about 2/3 full.
Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then remove them from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
If making a pull-apart cupcake cake, arrange the cooled cupcakes on a cake board or a large cookie sheet or a large cutting board so they are touching each other.
Frost the cupcakes with your favorite frosting. Using several different sized and shaped piping tips, fill in and cover the entire area of cupcakes so that you can't tell the cupcakes apart from each other. American buttercream is a suggested frosting for this cake.
The nutrition information for this recipe only reflects the cupcakes and not the icing used.
All ingredients should be at room temperature before starting, this helps to ensure a smoother batter.
Be careful not to overmix the batter as this can result in a dense cupcake. Stop mixing as soon as the ingredients are combined. Bake the cupcakes in the middle rack of your oven for best results.
Cupcakes are best served the day they are made, but can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days, or refrigerated for up to a week.
For the pull-apart cake, ensure the cupcakes are cooled completely before arranging and frosting, as this will prevent the frosting from melting. Be creative with the frosting! You can add food coloring to create a variety of shades and use different piping techniques to add texture and decoration to your cake.