Grey Stuff for the Master’s Cupcake: A Recipe

We all remember the famous lyrics “try the grey stuff, it’s delicious; don’t believe me? ask the dishes!” from Beauty and the Beast, and you may even have had some grey stuff at Be Our Guest Restaurant. But did you ever try to make some at home?

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Liliane Opsomer, the coauthor of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids, has tried the grey stuff that Disney now calls The Master’s Cupcake. She loved it so much that she set out to make her own. And so can you, with this recipe!   

INGREDIENTS FOR 12 CUPCAKES

1 (16.5-oz.) box devil’s food cake mix (I used Baker’s Corner Extra Moist)
1 (3-oz.) package vanilla pudding mix—regular, not instant
1 (15-count) package regular Oreo cookies
8 oz. fresh heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Edible sugar pearls (silver and pearl colored)

Prepare and bake cupcakes according to package directions; let cool. While cupcakes bake, prepare pudding according to package directions. When ready, place pudding pan in a bowl filled with ice water (see photo). Keep whisking pudding until it’s completely cold to prevent a skin from forming.

Next, crush Oreo cookies in a food processor, blending until you have fine crumbs. Note: You can also put cookies in a gallon-size zip-top plastic bag, close the bag, and smash cookies with a rolling pin. I tried both ways and preferred the results I got from crushing the cookies in the plastic bag. In any case, it’s really important that the cookies are reduced to a fine dust.

Whip cream using a whisk or an electric mixer. Add 1 tablespoon powdered sugar to stabilize the cream. If you’ve never made your own whipped cream, there are plenty of online step-by-step tutorials. It’s really easy and well worth the effort. Don’t use imitation whipped topping in a tub—homemade whipped cream tastes much better!

You’re now ready to mix it all together. Blend the finely crushed Oreo cookies with the cold vanilla pudding; then add the whipped cream to the pudding mix. Voilà, grey stuff! If you want yours a little bit darker, add half a teaspoon of cocoa powder to the mixture. (I tried this, but in my opinion the mixture came out a little too dark, as you can see in the photo below.) Cover the mixture and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Now it’s time to decorate your Master’s Cupcake. Put the grey stuff into a pastry bag, and, using a flower nozzle (I used Wilton 2D), top the cupcake, forming a flower design. Sprinkle cupcakes with edible silver sugar pearls. I couldn’t find any pearl colors besides silver, and, as you can see, my grey stuff is a little bit too dark. In the picture above, you can see the grey stuff before I added the cocoa powder to the mixture.

Master’s Cupcakes are a yummy dessert addition to a Disney-themed party. I’ve also made and used the grey stuff as a filling and topping for a regular chocolate cake, and it was wonderful. This time I left out the instant chocolate powder, and the filling came out much lighter and more grey.

Bon Appétit!

This article was first published by The Mouse for Less.

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