Cupcakes with Chocolate Pudding Buttercream Frosting

I'm not one that normally cooks with pudding, jello or coolwhip (much to the chagrin of my husband who loves all three)...but yesterday while my husband was running errands I thought the kids and I could make a treat. At first I was thinking a cake, but I was lacking any ingredient that would make anything but a boring yellow cake.

(I didn't even have vanilla extract, lemon juice, or a single fruit or nut!)

((I think that means it's time to go shopping!))

Anyway...I realized I had pudding in the cabinet. Jon buys them on sale and we NEVER use them. So they sit and sit and sit. So...I decided to make a standard yellow cake, but then I dumped a box of powdered vanilla pudding mix in. (I had to thin out the batter a little with some more milk, and it was still a really thick batter)
Once the cupcakes were baked and cooled I decided to make buttercream icing with one of the chocolate pudding mixes. So my recipe called for 4 cups of powdered sugar to 1/2 cup butter...so I dumped in the pudding mix first and then measured up to 4 cups with the sugar. I started mixing, then set in to add the 1/4 cup of milk. Since I rarely measure, I just figured I'd pour until the consistency was right. This was fine until Luke wanted to help and dumped too much milk in. But as the mixer mixed...the pudding began to do it's pudding thing and thickened up the excess milk. (Of course!)
So here's the deal...these are totally awesome just as they are, and at room temperature taste like a pudding frosting. BUT...when you put them in the fridge and let them set up...different story altogether. The cake becomes almost custard like, and the frosting on top sets up like a smooth milk-chocolate fudge. A total keeper of a recipe. (ok so it's pushing it to call this a recipe...it's more like a vague idea of something tasty)
Hopefully I'll remember it for next time.


You know what...I kind of miss old fashioned cupcakes. Like the kind your grandmother would make...not these new fangled cupcakes that look good enough to be a wedding cake. (With so much icing on them you can't find the cake)