Twilight Cupcakes with Black Cocoa Frosting ft. Renesmee Cullen
Cursed CGI Renesmee cupcakes made with boxed cake mix, homemade black cocoa frosting, star sprinkles, and edible images!
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About these Twilight cupcakes
Twilight is one of my favorite movie series. If I’m being honest, I probably watch it at least twice a year, either as background noise or intense watching sessions HAHAH. And right now, I’m watching it with my partner, WHO HAS NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE. We’re on the last movie of the Twilight Saga & I’m already looking forward to watching it again next year LOL. And yes, he’s enjoying how cringey and amazing it is.
So while I’m in my bi-annual Twilight era, I thought I’d honor this moment by making CGI baby Renesmee meme cupcakes. I already had undecorated cupcakes stored in my freezer from a previous batch, knowing I had to eat them soon. And after brainstorming which design to create, nothing parred up to CGI Renesmee. So I’m glad these cupcakes were put to good, fun, Twilight use.
And I have a secret… I actually used boxed Devil’s Food cake mix! A lot of the time, you really can’t go wrong with cake mix. There’s just something about it that tastes SO good, plus it’s accessible and really easy to follow. The only “extra” thing I did was add a little black food coloring to get that rich dark color. But, if you want to get fun with it, you can always dress up the cupcake mix by adding in Oreos or filling the middles with jam, ganache, or caramel.
Since I used storebought cake mix, I thought I’d share a recipe for my homemade black cocoa cream cheese frosting. It’s really simple to make. It’s smooth, silky, chocolatey, not too sweet, and goes SO well with Devil’s Food cake. I could literally eat a few of these cupcakes in one sitting because they’re that yummy!
For decorating the cupcakes, I first piped large dollops of frosting on top of each cupcake. I then added either star sprinkles or the main character of this recipe: edible images of Renesmee Cullen. Since I don’t have an edible ink printer or paper at home, I ordered custom ones from Party Creationz (not affiliated). It was super quick and easy, so I recommend that website. However, you can also order edible images off of Amazon or Etsy if you prefer.
So, whether you try my chocolate cream cheese frosting or take your hand at Twilight-themed desserts, I hope you enjoy the rest of this post!
Making the black cocoa frosting
To make the black cream cheese frosting, you can use an electric mixer, stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or a hand whisk.
I used a hand whisk and whipped softened cream cheese until fluffy and smooth. I then added in the heavy cream and cocoa powders until combined. Afterwards, I added powdered sugar in portions until I reached the desired sweetness. And that’s it!
This black cocoa frosting recipe one of my go-tos because it is so fast and easy to make. If you want, you can even make this without cocoa powder for regular cream cheese frosting. OR if you wanna go another route, you can whip in sifted matcha for matcha cream cheese frosting.
FAQ
According to Soul Chocolate, there are 2 main types of cocoa powder. There’s natural cocoa powder and alkalized cocoa powder.
Natural cocoa powder is more acidic and is lighter brown in color. It isn’t treated like alkalized cocoa powder, which gets treated with potassium carbonate. This raises its pH level, making it taste less acidic. It also causes the cocoa powder to darken and have a deeper chocolatey flavor. Dutch-process cocoa and black cocoa powder both fall under the alkalized cocoa powder umbrella.
King Arthur Baking’s article about cocoa powder says that in comparison to Dutch-process cocoa, black cocoa gets treated at a higher dose of potassium carbonate at a later step of its production. This, in turn, makes the cocoa a black color and yields more of a dark chocolatey flavor.
Black cocoa is described to have more of a chocolatey flavor than regular cocoa. It’s the same cocoa that is used to make Oreos, which explains why they are black in color!
You can order custom edible images online from Etsy or Amazon. I bought mine from Party Creationz (not affiliated!). The delivery was SUPER quick and the quality was great!
Edible images are printed on icing sheets or wafer paper, the latter being a thinner. The custom Renesmee edible images I purchased were printed on icing sheets made of starches, sugar, water, and edible inks. The full ingredient list from that company can be found here.
The ones I purchased tasted like edible paper, but slightly sweet. It didn’t affect the flavor of the final cupcake product and was unnoticeable.
For these cupcakes, I applied the edible image directly on top of the cream cheese frosting, since I was going to eat them within 2-3 hours. However, since the frosting is moist and doesn’t crust, it will make the edible image soggy over time.
To prevent this, you can add a full, thin, and flat layer of sprinkles on top of the frosting. Then, stick the edible image on top by using melted chocolate as glue!
*Thank you, Sharon of @sparklecakerie for this tip!
I purchased my star sprinkles from Amazon.
I also got it off Amazon!!! (#teamcharlie though…)
Tips for decorating
Piping flat frosting
I used a piping bag fitted with a very large round tip.
I piped one big dollop of frosting until it reached the edges of the cupcake. In order to flatten and shape the frosting, I gave it a few swipes using an offset spatula!
Alternatively, you can lightly press the cupcake, frosting side down, onto parchment paper, and leave it. Pop the cupcakes in the freezer for 15-20 minutes, then peel the cupcakes off! The frosting should be flat and ready for decorating.
Preventing soggy edible images
For these cupcakes, I directly applied the edible image on top of the cream cheese frosting, since I was going to eat them within 2-3 hours. However, since the frosting is moist and doesn’t crust, it will cause the edible image to get soggy over time.
To avoid this, you can add a full, thin, and flat layer of sprinkles on top of the frosting. Then, stick the edible image on top by using melted chocolate as glue! Shoutout to Sharon of @sparklecakerie for sharing this tip with me!
Storing the Twilight dessert
You can store these black cocoa cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days and eat at room temp. It’s not recommended to leave the cupcakes out at room temp long-term because of cream cheese in the black frosting.
Other pop culture recipes
I have a bunch of other fun recipes, like Aang sugar cookies, Mike Wazowski macarons, and Domo shortbread all on my blog!
I really hope you enjoy this tutorial. If you make Twilight dessert, I’d LOVE to see it. You can tag me at #bitesbybianca / @bitesbybianca on Instagram. Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Black Cocoa Frosting
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Equipment
- large mixing bowl or bowl of stand mixer
- hand whisk, electric whisk, or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment
- rubber spatula
- large piping bag
- round piping tip, (or you can snip off end of piping bag with scissors)
- scissors
Ingredients
- 1 dozen baked cupcakes I used boxed Devils Food cake mix and added black food coloring
- 12 ounces cream cheese room temp
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons black cocoa powder
- black gel food coloring optional
- ½ – ¾ cup powdered sugar adjust to taste
- star sprinkles
- edible images
Instructions
- In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, whip 12 ounces cream cheese until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Mix in ¼ cup heavy cream, 4 tablespoons cocoa powder, and 2 tablespoons black cocoa powder until fully combined. If you want a darker color, add in black food coloring.
- Add ½ – ¾ cup powdered sugar. Do not add all of the powdered sugar once and keep an eye on its consistency, since adding too much sugar can make the frosting loose.Tip: If the frosting becomes too loose, you can try adding 1 tbsp meringue powder or 2 tbsp heavy cream at a time.
- Transfer black cocoa cream cheese frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Alternatively, you can use scissors to snip off the end of the piping bag.
- Pipe a large dollop of black cocoa frosting on top of each cupcake. You can use an offset spatula to shape & flatten the frosting.
- Add star sprinkles or edible images on top, and enjoy!!!!*Edible images will get soggy over time if applied directly to the frosting. See the blog post for details on how to prevent this from happening!