These Pot of Gold Cupcakes are perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! Made with a doctored chocolate box mix and sweet buttercream frosting then topped with candy to make a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!
Sweeten up St. Patrick’s Day with another fun recipe such as my Irish Potato Candy or Easy Rainbow Jello Poke Cake! Both treats are made using minimal ingredients!
These Pot of Gold St Patrick’s Day Cupcakes are filled with luck and all the green you need to avoid getting pinched this March! Ok, so you may still want to wear a green shirt or something to please the leprechauns.
Other than that these Cupcakes have it all! They’re moist, chocolaty, and topped with a green 4-ingredient homemade buttercream frosting! One bite into these feels exactly like finding the actual pot of gold at the end of a rainbow!
This easy-to-make recipe is perfect for those with busy schedules that still want to make cute stuff for their kids! With a boxed cake mix base and fun edible toppings, they come together in no time!
Making this the perfect St. Patrick’s Day dessert for you AND the kids!
St Patrick’s Day Cupcake Ingredients
To begin making this St. Patrick’s Day Recipe you’ll start with the chocolate cupcakes! The base of these cupcakes is made with a box of Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix and a box of Jell-O Instant Chocolate Pudding mix.
To complete the cupcake batter large eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil, whole milk, vanilla extract, and salt are added. For an extra touch of chocolaty goodness, I also add in mini chocolate chips!
For the buttercream frosting unsalted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and heavy cream are whipped together. Then to bring the classic St. Patrick’s Day color to life, you’ll add in green gel food coloring!
Then comes the fun part, the rainbow and pot of gold! These edible decorations are made with peanut butter cups, peanut butter, gold sprinkles, and Airheads Extreme Rainbow Strips.
How To Make The Cupcakes
- Beat all of the cupcake ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Pour the batter into the lined wells of your cupcake pan.
- Bake the cupcakes at a reduced heat from the original preheated oven. Once a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean they can be transferred to a wire rack to cool completely.
How To Prepare The Frosting
- Cream the butter until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar a little at a time while mixing at low speed. Once all the sugar has been added beat the butter mixture at an increased mixing speed.
- Combine the vanilla extract, heavy cream, and gel food coloring into the butter mixture. Whip the frosting together.
- Transfer the green buttercream frosting to a piping bag.
How To Assemble Pot Of Gold Cupcakes
- Pipe frosting onto each cooled cupcake.
- Spread a little peanut butter onto each peanut butter cup.
- Dip the peanut butter tops into sprinkles.
- Press the peanut butter cups into the frosting on top of the cupcakes.
- Stick each end of the airhead into the frosting to form a rainbow.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can I Get More Sprinkles To Stick To The Peanut Butter Cup?
Simply add another layer of sprinkles! To do so just add more peanut butter onto the sprinkles that stuck from the first round. Next, dip it back into the sprinkles. This will help them stand up more like a bunch of ‘coins’.
What’s The Best Way To Store These St. Patrick’s Day Cupcakes?
If you have leftover cupcakes just store them in an airtight container at room temperature. Then enjoy them within 2 to 3 days.
Can I Use A Gold Coin Instead Of A Peanut Butter Cup Topped With Sprinkles?
Of course! Feel free to customize the edible decorations any way you’d like. These are super fun to get creative with!
How Can I Get The Airheads To Stay up In The Shape Of A Rainbow?
If needed you can support the arch with a toothpick. Just be sure to let guests know it’s in there!
Do I Prepare The Boxed Cake Mix And Pudding Mix According To The Instructions On The Boxes?
Nope! Simply add them in with the rest of the ingredients that are listed on the recipe card.
Can I Make A Different Flavored Cupcake To Go With These Decorations?
Certainly! I encourage you to make these using your favorite cupcake flavor. From time to time I even like using a white or yellow cake mix.
These Pot Of Gold Cupcakes are a great way to enjoy some edible fun while celebrating St Patrick’s Day! Here are more sweet desserts you can check out for all of your holiday needs!
- White Hot Chocolate Bombs – A fun way to drink a cup of hot chocolate that’s dressed up with Lucky Charms!
- McDonald’s Shamrock Shake Copycat – This thick, sweet vanilla mint milk shake is ready to enjoy in only 5 minutes!
- Lucky Charms Treats – An easy no bake treat to whip up using just 3 ingredients!
- Irish Cream Cake – Filled with the best flavor thanks to the Easy Homemade Irish Cream!
- Dark Chocolate Guinness No Bake Cookies – Rich, delicious oat based cookies that have Guinness as the star ingredient!
St Patrick’s Day Cupcakes
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This post was originally published in March 2015 and was updated in February 2022 with fresh photos and content.
Pot of Gold Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1 (15 oz.) box Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake mix
- 1 (3.4oz.) box Jell-O Instant Chocolate Pudding mix unprepared
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cup mini chocolate chips
Buttercream:
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
- 3-5 drops Green Gel Coloring
Pot of Gold:
- 24 mini peanut butter cups
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup gold sprinkles
- 24 Airheads Extremes Rainbow Strips
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set it aside.
- Combine all of the cupcake ingredients in a stand mixer and beat until combined.
- Fill the cupcake liners ½ – ¾ full with the batter.
- Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 18 to 22 minutes until a toothpick comes clean from the center.
- Remove from oven and transfer the cupcakes to wire racks to cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing at low speed, until incorporated. Increase mixing speed and beat for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Reduce speed to low and add in the vanilla, heavy cream, and gel coloring. Increase speed to medium-high to whip for an additional 2 minutes.
- Use a 1M piping tip to frost the cupcakes.
Pot of Gold
- Using the back of a small spoon, evenly spread a tiny bit of peanut butter on the peanut butter cup.
- Dip the peanut butter topped peanut butter cups into the coin sprinkles/confetti sprinkles. Then add more peanut butter if needed and another layer of sprinkles so it stands up more like a bunch of “coins”.
- Press the peanut butter cup into the frosting of the cupcake.
- Take the Airheads Extremes and stick each end into the frosting to make the rainbow.
Notes
- You can use a toothpick to help support the airheads – just make sure to let guests know it’s in there!
- Feel free to make white, yellow, or another flavor of cupcakes with the same decorating.
Rebecca Hubbell says
This should be enough to “simply” frost a 2 layer cake. If doing a lot of icing work, you might want to X1.5 the recipe.