Cupcakewurst

What would happen if, instead of stuffing a sausage casing with meat (or meat substitute), you stuffed it with cupcake batter?  I had to try!  

I baked them and ended up with chocolate cupcake sausage - Cupcakewurst.

 I couldn't leave well enough alone, though:

That's right, I threw the Cupcakewurst on the grill!  I kept them on there for just a minute or two on each side to heat the cake up.

But, a sausage needs a bun and some ketchup...

...so I stuck the Cupcakewurst inside of a Long John doughnut (a big, long doughnut) and squirted some raspberry topping over it.

Welcome to BBQ season!

How to Make Cupcakewurst

It took a lot of experimentation to conquer Cupcakewurst.  I had hoped to be able to cook the Cupcakewurst entirely on the grill, but I found that the direct heat of the grill was more than the poor sausages could handle - they kept exploding and meeting their demise on the coals.  I had the same problem in the oven: when I cooked the Cupcakewurst at the standard cupcake baking temperature of 350 F, they kept bursting open.  I finally found the sweet spot of baking at 325 F and only filling the casings halfway.  Even so, some of the casings still got small holes in them during baking.  At 325 F, however, the cake cooked enough before the casings broke that only a small amount of batter oozed out through the holes.  The small mess could easily be wiped up and the sausages were all usable.

This was my first time working with sausage casing and I found it to be really fun!  It's a cross between a giant slippery noodle and a condom.  It's stretchy and (comments above about it popping in the oven aside) fairly hard to accidentally break.


Ingredients:

• Edible sausage casing for as many sausages as you'd like to make.  You'll need 12 inches of casing for each sausage.  If you ask your local butcher, they should be able to tell you where to buy casing.
• Cupcake (or cake) batter (about a 1/4 cup of batter per sausage).  You can use any flavor you'd like.  Wouldn't it be fun to use a red velvet cake and get more of a hot dog kind of look?
• Long John doughnuts for the buns (make sure that they aren't filled).  You should be able to find these at most doughnut shops, or you can try your hand at making homemade Long John doughnuts.
• Raspberry sauce for the ketchup (I mashed raspberries and then heated and thickened them with some corn starch and sugar.)

Directions:

1.  Begin by prepping the sausage casing.  I found the video below to be extremely helpful in explaining that process. 




2.  Measure and cut off 12 inches of casing.

3.  Tie one end of the casing into a tight knot.

4.  Fill a sandwich bag or pastry bag with cupcake batter and cut a small hole in the end (no need to use a pastry tip).

5.  Stick the pastry bag into the open side of the casing and work the casing partially up the bag.

6.  Hold the casing in place with one hand and squeeze the pastry bag with the other hand, filling the casing half full.  If you push all of the batter to one side of the casing, the batter should take up five inches of the casing (I know that five isn't half of twelve, but remember that some of the casing is taken up with knots).

7.  Squeeze out any air bubbles and tie off the other end of the casing.

8.  Place the sausage on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat.  Spread the batter out in the casing so that it is evenly distributed.

9. Fill and tie off all of the remaining sausages. 

10.  Bake for 15 minutes at 325 F.

11.  Flip the sausages and bake for another 15 minutes.

12.  Remove from the oven.  If any of the sausages burst open, wipe off (and eat) the cooked cupcake batter that spilled out.

13.  Refrigerate until it's time for your BBQ (ideally within 3 days of making the Cupcakewurst).

14.  When it's time for dessert at the BBQ, make sure that the grill is not scorching hot.  Cook each Cupcakewurst for two minutes on each side to warm (if the grill is too hot or if you keep them on for too long, the casings will burn and tear).

15.  Serve warm on Long John doughnuts with raspberry sauce.