Special Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes

I made Margarita Cupcakes around this time last year. They were lime green, rimmed with sugar, garnished with a lime, and loved by all.  A very special food taster of mine ate a ton of the frosting while I was experimenting with the flavors.  He still claims to this day that he got a "buzz" from eating too much of the frosting in one sitting.

Within a year I have taken more risks with baking, making frosting, decorating in general.  I do things that I am afraid of, and that I am not sure will turn out.  But to me, that's what baking and being in the kitchen is all about.  I take risks, and in the end the cupcakes reflect the heart that I have put into them.  Because of this, they are Amanda originals. Inside and Out. ☻

And that is what happened yesterday.
I made my new version of margarita cupcakes.
Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes.

Not your typical strawberry margarita cupcake.
But drinking a strawberry margarita is a very enlightening and fun experience.
So a cupcake shouldn't be any different.
(This photo captured by the very talented photographer Dan Woolf).

The non-pareils just add some "bubbly" to make it feel more like a strawberry margarita!

Instead of using salt or sugar for the rim, I used edible gold sparkles. ♥

My friend said that these cupcakes look like they could come out of a Dr. Seuss book.
♥Funny because one of my most favorite books in the whole world is Oh The Places You'll Go.
I always pass this book on to friends as a gift when they are going through a life change.

The flamenco dancers of course.

Imagine if the sand on the beach looked like this.

A pretty little lime must always co-star with a margarita.

Drinking a few margaritas can make everything a little bit blurry, in a happy sort of way. ♥

Jada, one of my cupcake friends ate one today and said, "Today happiness was only a cupcake away."

Tips on making the perfect Strawberry Margarita Cupcake:

1.  For inspiration, imagine anything you'd like to see or feel on a Tropical Vacation. The colors, ruffles of skirts blowing in the warm breeze, the sand between your toes, the bubbles in your drink, miniature umbrellas.  Warning: This might make you really thirsty, hungry, or realize just how much you need a real tropical vacation.

2.  The ingredients that take it from typical strawberry cupcake to Strawberry Margarita:  Strawberry Margarita Mix,  a hint of Tequila, high quality Strawberry Preserves, Lime Zest, Lime Juice, or even..Orange Zest!

3.  Don't be afraid to layer frosting swirls on top of each other.  Or mix swirls of color together. Don't let the frosting make the rules, you make the rules for the frosting. That goes for color too. Think bright! Lime Green, Electric Purple, Hot Pink, Electric Orange. ♥ That's what vacation is all about.

4.  Things to use instead of salt around the rim:  Non pareils of many colors, edible gold glitter, white sugar crystals, swirly frosting borders.

My inspiration for the actual recipe:

The Picky Apple



♥xoxo Amanda Cupcake

Marilyn Monroe Sunbeam

I celebrated the other day.
All of my beauty-full red velvet cupcakes sold out at Cronie's.

I came home and celebrated myself, by eating one. In bed.
While watching Golden Girls.

This is the first thing I saw when I woke up in the morning.

Marilyn Monroe on my wall, peeking through the window of my cupcake box.
(The cupcake box was sitting on the headboard of my bed, leaning up against the wall).
Red cupcake crumbs on the old cupcake liner that was also on the inside corner of the white box reminded me of Marilyn Monroe's lipstick.

The wannabe food stylist - food photographer in me grabbed my cell phone immediately so I could take a photo.

What does this mean? Is it deep or symbolic? Is it creepy? Glamorous? I don't really know.
But it adds a great new story to my cupcake journey.

I kind of enjoy moments like this, that aren't planned or scheduled.
Moments like Marilyn Monroe looking through a window of a cupcake box at 8am.
Better than a sunbeam? Maybe more interesting.
♥