Randall’s Be My Pal Cupcake Recipe (Monster’s University)

INTRODUCTION

Welcome back friends! This week we’ll be baking the cupcakes Randall bakes in the hope of making new friends at Monster’s University in Disney and Pixar’s Monster’s University.

These “Be My Pal” cupcakes are featured right before Randall leaves for a campus party. He’s baked them to impress members of the fraternity he’s trying to join and asks Mike to join him, but Mike declines to study instead.

In all honesty, I feel a little guilty for not making the cupcake portion of this recipe from scratch. I am rationalizing it by an idea that a college student probably wouldn’t want to take the time to bake everything from scratch, but on the flip-side this is Randall we’re talking about; it could go either way! I look forward to revisiting this recipe in the future and re-creating it completely from scratch, but in the meantime, enjoy and substitute butter for a more homemade flavor!

CUPCAKES

• 1 box of Devil’s Food Cake Mix (I used Duncan Hines)
• 1/3 cup butter (or vegetable oil)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup water
• Cooking spray

INSTRUCTIONS (CUPCAKES)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and set it aside to cool.
3. Line a muffin/cupcake pan with cupcake liners and spray them lightly with cooking spray.
4. Place the dry cake mix in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter, eggs and water.
5. Slowly add the combined wet ingredients to the dry cake mix a little at a time, mixing until smooth.
6. Distribute the batter into the prepared cupcake liners, filling each liner about about 2/3 full (you can use an ice cream scoop or I used a small measuring cup).
7. Bake the cupcakes for 18 to 21 minutes, until a toothpick poked into the center of each cupcake comes out clean.
8. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely before frosting.

FROSTING

• 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (cold)
• 1 1/2 cups powdered confectioners sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS (FROSTING)

1. Refrigerate or freeze your mixing bowl and whisk attachment(s) for 10-15 minutes before using, then whip the heavy whipping cream on high speed for 1 to 2 minutes until it’s thick, fluffy and spreadable.
2. In a second mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar slowly until well incorporated, then add the vanilla extract.
3. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
4. Separate out about a third of the frosting out into a small bowl and add red food coloring until it reaches the desired hue for the “Be My Pal” letters.
5. Spread the white frosting on each cupcake using a butter knife.
6. Place the red frosting into a piping bag and spell out “Be My Pal” onto 7 (or more) of the cupcakes.
7. Enjoy!