Any excuse to bake a cake is a good one, but birthdays are especially deserving of a special treat. Still, crafting a bakery-worthy homemade cake takes a lot of time and effort, not to mention the dozen mistakes you can make when baking a cake. That’s where Costco steps in with a perfect middle ground between homemade and store-bought: its 8-pack muffins. While the jumbo 12-count mix-and-match muffin packs — blueberry, poppyseed, and chocolate chunk, to name a few – may be a thing of the past, Costco hasn’t abandoned its muffin fans entirely. The new 8-packs come in flavors like lemon raspberry, blueberry cream, triple chocolate, butter pecan, cinnamon chip, and corn, with varying availability across stores (some of which Food Republic tried to see if they live up to the hype).
Turning these muffins into a showstopping cake is easier than you’d think. Start by slicing off the domed tops to create an even surface, then pipe your favorite frosting across the top of each muffin base. You can leave a little well in the center to add a filling, such as jam, lemon curd, or chocolate ganache. Finally, stack a second muffin base on top, frost the exterior of the mini cake, and finish with sprinkle, cherries, chocolate curls, fresh fruit … whatever suits the celebration. The result is a dessert that tastes homemade, looks high-end, and skips all the stress.
Creative twists for each muffin flavor
There’s certainly nothing wrong with plain vanilla icing and some rainbow sprinkles, but why stop there? Turn lemon raspberry muffins into the dessert of the summer with whipped cream, lemon zest, and raspberry jam, or go all-in on indulgence by stuffing triple chocolate muffins with Nutella and topping them with chocolate ganache. The cinnamon chip muffins pair great with apple butter or cinnamon cream cheese, while the corn muffins offer an excuse to lean savory with herb whipped cream cheese, a drizzle of hot honey, and bacon crumbles.
For best results when frosting, chill your assembled cakes for a few minutes to help them stay stable, and gently skewer them down the center to keep layers aligned (just don’t forget to remove the skewers before serving). Since these are smaller than your average bakery cake, they make great single-serve mini cakes for guests, no slicing required. And don’t toss those discarded muffin tops, either. Instead, crumble them over the top of the cake for added texture, or save them to make muffin-top bread pudding. Store any leftovers in the fridge, and if the muffins go a little stale before you get to them, a quick paper bag trick will bring them back to life.
