Clearly I make a lot of cupcakes; adorable, portable and always a crowd favorite, another reason to love cupcakes is that they are pretty simple to bake and decorate. I’m kind of lacking in the patience department, so it’s much easier for me to pipe frosting onto a cupcake than onto a full-size cake.
I’ve also become a big fan of filling my cupcakes with a little somethin’-somethin’. Whether it’s lemon curd, ganache or chocolate chip cookie dough, people (and I) really enjoy biting into a surprise center.
I’ve filled a lot of cupcakes and have tried a bunch of methods for achieving that perfectly filled center. I find that actually removing a piece from the center of the cake rather than using a filling tip without removing any cake actually works better. After hollowing an absolute ton of cupcakes with a paring knife, I knew there had to be an easier way and trust me, there is.
If you are an apple lover, you may already have this little tool in your gadget drawer. A basic apple corer does a fabulous job hollowing out the cupcake evenly and with a perfect cylinder hole for filling. Those of us that are OCD and require perfect circles in our life will especially appreciate this. Those of you that aren’t, appreciate it anyway! Oh, and no need to point out my extremely pale fingers. I’m fully aware that I am on the verge of blending in with the white board!
Essential Product Info
OXO Apple Corer available through Amazon and many retail stores.
How To
Gently push the apple corer into the center of your cupcake, rotate the corer slightly and pull the corer out of the cupcake. Push the small cake round out of the corer and repeat this process with all the cupcakes. Be sure not to go all the way down to the bottom of the cupcake, this can cause your filling to seep through the liner. Once your cupcakes have been hollowed, pipe in your favorite filling and top with your favorite frosting.
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{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great idea! I usually use a knife to core the cupcakes for filling; never thought of using my apple corer. Thanks for the tip
This is such an awesome tip. I have a phobia of filling cupcakes with stuff or decorating them with frost. That is probably why I always end up making muffins instead. However, after your tutorial, I might just end up making one soon!
I LOVE this idea! I make cupcakes all of the time for my kids, but never thought to fill them with fun – plus, YES I do have that handy little gadget.
Thanks for sharing!! 
Sweetly,
Amanda
Thats a very essential tip… Thanks for sharing…
Awesome tip!!! Thanks!! Oh and I’m right there with you for my own personal pasty-ness right now…my feet are SO not sandal ready! =}
Great tip! I almost never make filled cupcakes, but I’m feeling inspired to give them another shot
Love the apple corer tip! Especially since I have an apple corer and never use it for apples. Another good way to add a surprise to a cupcake is to add a walnut sized piece of cookie dough right on top of the cupcake batter before baking. You end up with a baked cookie in the center of the cupcake (the cookie sinks by itself during baking)!
Any ideas what to do with the bits of cake you core out?
Scamper into your pantry and eat ‘em before your children catch you!
As I haven’t tried this yet I’m not sure how much cake you would have left… but one of my crafty friends mixes leftover cake with leftover icing and rolls them into balls, chills them, and eats them as little mini treats!
I just love your suggestion Elizabeth!
I stick them back on top of the filled hole where they came from, this helps to hold up the frosting and saves wasting them. Or you could collect a lot and make cake pops out of them.
I love tools that are multi-purpose, great tip!!
I use a small melon ball tool for the same purpose; if I’m filling, I want some real room for that filling!
Great tip, Jamie. I’ve always used a melon baller, but I think I like your method better.
Oh this is a dangerous little tip you’re sharing… my waist will not be happy with me.
Great tips~ I have never done it and would love to try!
Or you could just make me some. Just sayin.
Blessings!
Amanda
Fabulous tip! Now I have to go out and get an apple corer!
Looks like I need to go buy and apple corer now! Love this tip!
I used to work at a cupcake shop and this is exactly how we cored cupcakes! It can be difficult when the cupcakes are fresh – freezing them first makes coring much easier and once they’re thawed you’ll never know the difference.:)
Williams-Sonoma sells a cupcake corer for just five bucks. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/cuisipro-cupcake-corer/
Excellent tip. It would have never crossed my mind and I have an un used apple corer in my kitchen drawer right now !
Thanks.
This certainly is essential, and I’m so glad you’ve shown me how to do this. Thanks
This is such a great idea! I filled cupcakes once with a little cheese spreader. It felt like spackling. Still worked, but not the most convenient
What a great tip! Love this!
What a great idea! I have always used the filling tip, and it is just never enough filling! This looks like a much better method. Thanks!
I really need to start filling my cupcakes with something! an apple cutter is a good tip, too bad I don’t own one… I’ll have to just use a small knife or something. and by the way your cupcakes look super perfect!
Fantastic tip, especially since I fall in the “perfect little circles” OCD category.
I never fill my cupcakes..not sure why but I think I’ve always been a bit nervous about it. lol But after reading this post and see how easy it is to do this using an apple corer, I am going to make cupcakes this weekend and fill them with some lovely chocolate ganache! Thank you!!
I have been looking all evening for way to fill cupcakes and I knew I didn’t want to put the filling in the middle then bake. I had seen previously on a show people using a tool to p
hollow out the middle of the cupcake and needless to say I haven’t had any luck in finding it until now..who’d a thought and apple corer!! Thanks so much! Do have one quetion (I am new at all of this) I am wanting to fil chocolate cupcakes with a cream cheese filling. Can I make them a day before they are served and the filling be ok or do I need to refidgerate or make on the day of serving them?
Thanks so much again for the tip!!
What an awesome idea, I can’t believe I only just found this post, even though I follow every update on your blog! I do have an apple corer and now I’ll have to make a batch of cupcakes just to try out this method! Thanks for the tip!
I love this – I can’t wait to fill away – I am currently baking the cakes all 80 plus some extra for my sister’s baby shower…and oh so cute customized toppers! Carrot Cake CC with carmel filling then my fav. Red Velvet CC with a cherry filling…the best part – both will have the delicious mouth watering cream cheese frosting…. Thank you for your how to steps!
i’m making my first attempt at filled cupcakes this weekend and was googling techniques for hollowing out the cake. this is simply genius! my fresh strawberry fillinf and i thank you.
Love the great tips and ideas!!
Thanks!! I’m really trying to make perfect cupcakes but it’s so difficult!
I’ve tried a small paring knife and a melon baller, and I have to say, the apple corer is the tool that provides most consistent results. And the little ‘tunnel’ that it makes is perfect for a piping bag. The cupcakes are easiest to core when cold (I stick them in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes). If they are just cool, they are moist, and just stick to the corer. I use the end of a chopstick to push out any stuck cake.
Once you get started filling cupcakes, you get so creative with them!
I recently found a new — even easier way to fill cupcakes and thought I would share. Instead of scooping out the middle just fill an icing bag with your filling and push it in to the center and squeeze your filling in. Just use a large opening tip on the icing bag.
I used the technique in some cupcakes a while back and it was great. Here’s a link to the post where I showed how I did it… http://www.nateandchellieison.blogspot.com/2011/09/pink-or-blue.html
This is not my original idea — but the link I’m posting has a link to the site where I found the idea.