Made these “dirty” cupcakes to celebrate Earth Day. Had loads of fun making them, despite the fact that I baked them on an extremely hot day in Los Angeles, upwards of 90 degrees even at 8:00 at night, with me standing in front of a fan in between batches so I wouldn’t pass out.
I really just wanted an excuse to bake! (Hee.) I feel like I’ve been cooking a lot lately, mostly meals, but not really getting the chance to do my “thing,” that is, to bake something from scratch, make frosting and hunker down to decorate it/them. And since today is Earth Day, I thought these “Earthworms In Dirt” cupcakes would be an apt cure for the baking itch. And really now, how can you go wrong with a chocolate cupcake, covered with chocolate frosting, dipped in crushed Oreos and topped off with a gummy worm?
So, here’s the dirt (pun alert!) on making these awesomely cute chocolatey treats.
Take a chocolate cupcake made with your favorite recipe and frost it with chocolate icing (no need to be perfect since it’s going to be covered up with crushed cookies anyway)…
…dip the cupcake in crushed Oreo cookies (I rolled mine into smithereens with a rolling pin)…
…use the round end of a wooden spoon to poke two holes in the cupcake…
…cut up a gummy worm in half and stick each in the holes you just made, as if you caught the thing mid-burrow!
Fun! Here’s one of my wormy friends chilling among my mom’s violets. 
And here are all of them on the kitchen table at work, before they ended up in my co-workers’ bellies! 
These would be great for Halloween, too, as truly disgusting desserts.
And, Disneynature’s Earth premieres in theaters today. Buy a ticket during release week and a tree will be planted in your honor in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. I hope to see it this Friday. Watch the awesome trailer—made even more awesome by Sigur Ros’ Hopipolla playing in the background!
Happy Earth Day, you curly worms!
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:20 pm
So cute J! And yummy looking too!
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:17 pm
J.! So creative of you! The chocolate looks tempting…but the “worm” is not! he! he! i love gummy worms though, so maybe I’d eat them separately.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:41 pm
I agree with KG. I’ll probably take out the worm before taking a bite of the cupcake
Wishing-I-was-yr-coworker,
Mimi
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Waah! Sad I don’t work there anymore…can’t partake of your yummy goodies.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Naglaway tuloy ako (translation, “I salivated uncontrollably”..hahaha!)
Sus, cholocolate cupcake, chocolate frosting, and chocolate oreos???!!! Soooo good!!
(sana lang matikman ko ito 5 months from now)
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:53 pm
i love them earth day cupcakes…so awesomely creative and i betcha taste damn yums too! cooking for a cause! way to go ati!! =)
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:58 pm
J, you rock! Thumbs up for this post. You’re very creative. =)
April 24th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Jen
- Thank you! You’ve had this cupcake, sans Oreos and worm!
Kg
- I had one friend who didn’t like the gummy worm and gave me all of hers before eating the cupcakes.
Sleepless
We’d sit around exchanging recipes all the time.
- If we worked together, nothing would get done.
Connie!
- Hi! You rarely drop by so this is a treat!
Othom
- Haha, bakit mo trinanslate? Hehe.
Andrea
- Thank you!
Wits
- As you are.
April 25th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
These are so cute! What a great idea.
April 26th, 2009 at 11:09 am
wahahaha! those are simply amazing j.! i’m on a cupcake binge myself right now. heehee
May 12th, 2009 at 1:11 am
J.!!!!!!!! This is so awesome. I swear, you are one of the most creative peeps EVER!