S'MOREO CUPCAKES!!!!

 It's National Smore's Day. YAY!!!!!!
(But shouldn't it be a S'mores day pretty much any day?)
Just the word S'more implies that.
S'more..please?!!?

♥♥♥♥

I called these my S'more sparklette cupcakes last year ♥

The year before I made this extra tall layered s'mores cake. Layered with oreo crust, graham cracker batter, fudge batter, and a cheesecake layer.

The s'mores cake looked like this before we cut into it!

  

This year.. I did something different to celebrate!
I made S'moreo Cookie Dough Cupcakes!!!!!!

On top: A marshmallow sandwiched between my homemade cookie dough frosting, chocolate ganache,and a Smore Oreo Cookie. Broken up little pieces of Hershey Bars stuck inside the sweet and sticky pools of chocolate ganache. 

As if the graham cracker batter, chocolate fudge batter and a gooey marshmallow surprise inside weren't enough, I baked a whole Smore's Oreo (I call it a SMOREO) inside the cupcake as the graham cracker crust ♥

My S'moreo Cupcake Science:

1. I marbled a graham cracker and fudge batter together. (see recipe below)

2. I scooped a small amount of swirled batter onto the bottom of a cupcake wrapper.

3. I placed an entire S'moreo on top of the swirled batter as my "crust".

4. Covered the S'moreo with more swirled batter.

5.  Baked at 325 for appx 18-22 minutes...

When the cupcakes came out of the oven, I immediately piped marshmallow cream out of a disposable piping bag into the centers of the cupcake using a piping bag.  It is important to pipe the marshmallow cream inside the cupcake while the cupcakes are still hot and fresh out of the oven.  I've baked marshmallows inside of cupcakes before while in the oven...and they've exploded. While all of that can be fun/entertaining, you end up with more marshmallow in the oven than in your cupcake. So I came up with this idea!  Piping the marshmallow cream inside of the cupcake while it is still warm is a much more efficient way to "bake" a marshmallow inside of your cupcake. If you can't find marshmallow cream, you can place a whole marshmallow inside of your cupcake while it is still warm too. It all just melts and gets gooey and puffy inside your cupcake.

 I made cookie dough frosting because this is a cookie inspired cupcake, and folded graham cracker crumbs into the cookie dough frosting since this is a S'more inspired cupcake!

There are a few ways to decorate a S'moreo cupcake!

I channeled my inner nostalgia here, and sandwiched my ingredients together just like you would a regular  S'more! I made the Cookie Dough Frosting stiff enough so I could scoop the frosting on top with an ice cream scoop. I spooned the chocolate ganache on top of the scoop of cookie dough frosting and sandwiched a marshmallow on top of that with a half or whole S'moreo cookie! ♥ 

Little Hershey Bars make the best little mini "gems" on top of the S'moreo cupcakes!

Some people might say that HUGE scoop of cookie dough frosting on top is too sweet. After experimenting with both options, I feel like the flavors all come together a lot better when my cookie dough frosting is a little more creamy and I can pipe a layer on top of the S'mores cupcake like this. ♥

But do whatever you want, no matter what, this is the sweetest cupcake I've ever made! It is pretty much 5 desserts in one:

1. Cupcake

2. S'moreo inside and outside of the cupcake.

3. Gooey Marshmallows

3. Cookie dough frosting that tastes just like cookie dough!

4. Chocolate ganache

5. Hershey Bars

Watch my mini cable TV appearance how I make them here:

(local New London, WI cable access)

Hand Written Recipe for your own S'moreo Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

2-3 Packages of S'more Oreo Cookies

(1) 13 oz container of Marshmallow Cream or Fluff

1 package of Marshmallows

2-3 Hershey Bars
Ground Graham Cracker Crumbs

Fudge Cake Batter:

1 box triple fudge cake mix (Betty Crocker)
1 box dry instant chocolate fudge pudding (not prepared, dry powder form)

1/2 cup oil
1 1/4 cup hot water

4 eggs

Yellow Graham Cracker Cake Batter:

1 box yellow cake mix (Betty Crocker)
1 box instant white chocolate pudding (not prepared, dry powder form)

1/2  cup oil
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
4 eggs
1/2 cup crushed up graham crackers

Cookie Dough Frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla malt powder (optional)
3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons milk or almond milk

1 cup crushed graham crackers

Chocolate Ganache:

8 oz semi sweet chocolate chips

8 oz heavy cream or whole milk

Method:
1.  Prepare cake batters: Fudge batter in one mixing bowl, yellow graham cracker in another.  For both batters: First, cream the eggs and oil together. Gradually add remaining ingredients until all ingredients are mixed.  Scrape bowl down and mix all ingredients together to make sure no ingredients are hiding or stuck to the bottom of the bowl. To marble the two batters together, spoon the chocolate batter into the yellow and swirl with a knife.

2.  Scoop a small amount of marbled batter onto the bottom of the cupcake liner. Place a whole S'moreo cookie on top of the layer of batter. Cover the S'moreo cookie with another small amount of marbled fudgey/graham cracker batter, Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake at 325 for appx 18-24 minutes.

3.  As soon as cupcakes come out of the oven, pipe marshmallow cream inside of the cupcakes with a disposable piping bag.

4. While cupcakes are cooling, prepare cookie dough frosting. Cream the butter and sugars together using a flat beater attachment. Gradually add remaining ingredients until fluffy and creamy.  If you want a scoopable cookie dough frosting, add more powdered sugar so that it is easy to scoop on top of your cupcake with an ice cream scoop.

5. Prepare chocolate ganache: Combine chocolate and heavy cream (or milk) in microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave for 1:30 and stir.  Heat again for another 45 seconds and stir. Continue until chocolate ganache is shiny, smooth and fudgey. The longer the ganache sits and cools, the thicker it will get.

Decorate: 

1. Swirl or scoop cookie dough frosting on top of your cupcake.

2. Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate ganache on top of cookie dough frosting.

3. Place marshmallow on top of wet chocolate ganache. 

4. "Sandwich" a S'moreo cookie halve (or whole) on top of the marshmallow. You can dip the S'moreo cookie bottom into the ganache to make it sticky enough to stick to the marshmallows.

5. Place a broken piece of Hershey bar on top of the chocolate ganache as an extra little "gem".

Chocolate Chip Cookies are my BFF

 

The secret is out. Even though my last name is "Cupcake", I LURVE (that's my word for extra credit love) chocolate chip cookies. Making chocolate chip cookies is a fun hobby for me. I don't sell them anywhere.I've baked them for many reasons.One..is that I eat the dough and never eat the cookie ♥♥♥♥ 

Perfect gift idea: Scoop the dough into a jar and give it to a friend to eat with a wooden spoon. Or throw yourself a **me** party and gift it to yourself! Just to be safe, if I am eating the dough only, I substitute 1/4 cup milk in place of the eggs. It works and still tastes just like cookie dough!

I have used the eggless cookie dough recipe to make chocolate chip cookie dough balls dipped in candy melts. Heaven on earth. ♥ What's better than cookie dough on a stick?!

I throw sprinkles in my chocolate chip cookie dough because I'm a big kid.
I love giving these to kids of all ages. (Hmm maybe a back to school treat or great for a college care package?!)

But did you know..there is something that a chocolate chip cookie does to fill a void in your spirit?! A warm ball of soft gooey slightly crispy chocolate chip cookie in your tummy replaces a hole and makes you feel better if even just for the moment you are eating the cookie.That's why I  hand deliver generous sized packages of them to people who I know are grieving. ♥

What tummies will your chocolate chip cookies travel to?

The possibilities are endless. Don't be afraid to add bits and pieces of the things that you crave. (Sprinkles, m&ms, sparkles, white chocolate chips, cherry chocolate chips, marshmallows?! Use your imagination)!

Recipe below ♥
This recipe takes patience, so make sure you plan at least 24 hours in advance.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients needed:
2 Cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
A little dab of salt
3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, Softened
3/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Fine Baking Sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 small box of white chocolate instant pudding mix (dry powder form)
1 egg
2 cups chocolate chips
optional: 1 cup rainbow sprinkles

**Note, to make this recipe eggless for cookie dough treats: replace the egg with 1/4 cup whole milk. Omit the pudding.

Method:

1.  In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the egg, softened butter, sugars, and extracts together.

2.  In separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (flour, salt, pudding mix, and baking soda) together.
3.  Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients and beat until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl to make sure there are no forgotten bits of valuable ingredients ♥
4. Fold in chocolate chips and sprinkles.

5. Line baking pan with parchment paper. Scoop cookies onto baking pan. I like using a cookie scoop to make sure they are all uniform in size.
6. This is the secret to amazing puffy cookies that won't flatten when you bake them: Cover cookies with plastic wrap and refrigerate them on the pan overnight.

7. Get up the next morning, and bake at 325 for appx 12-15 minutes. I like to under-bake my cookies and take them out at about 10-12 minutes so that they are super soft and gooey.

A few chocolate chip cookie tips:

♥Cookies last forever in the freezer when covered in an airtight container (my "forever": is about half a year)...but I don't think these will last long enough. They are toooooo yummy!!!! ♥ Cookie dough can also be frozen for up to about 90 days.

♥If you want to add more color and sparkle to your cookies, top them with extra chocolate chips, m&m gems, mini peanut butter cups, or sprinkles immediately after you remove them from the oven.   The extra pieces will add more color and will "melt" just enough to stick to the top of your cookies!

♥And as always..don't be afraid to sprinkle some edible glitter on top!

Fresh chocolate chip cookies always taste good with cupcakes....and coffee! ♥♥♥

Shoes with real sprinkles on top! DIY!

I altered some pink and white faux "chucks" I bought at a local discount store by throwing magical glittery sprinkles on them. Yep, this time the shoes got the sprinkles on top instead of the cupcakes!  Unless you are a baker yourself, you may not realize that there are many times when my shoes look similar to this at the end of a really busy baking & decorating day.

You know what I think is really special?  There will always be something that you leave behind that makes people love you more. Little reminders, pieces of you. I'd have to say my special thing is sprinkles and glitter.  Since I am leaving a trail of glitter, it makes total sense that I'd put sequins on my shoes!

\

What's your special thing? What makes people love and miss you when they see it?

I "iced" the sides of the shoes with white puffy paint to make it look like I spilled frosting on my shoes! (not far from the truth).  You really don't need this part to be perfect.  Spilling icing is far from perfect. It's messy.



You're probably asking, "What happens if your shoes get wet? Will the sprinkles fall off or dissolve?"

.

My answer is no! My not-so-secret ingredient in this recipe:  Clear Glitter Nail Polish.

First, I painted the white part of the shoe with clear glitter nail polish. 

 I threw the sprinkles on the wet nail polish and waited for the sprinkles to dry & "set" to the shoes. Last, I brushed the nail polish on top of the sprinkles as a sealant. Note: You can use regular clear nail polish as a sealant, I used glitter nail polish as my glue of choice because glitter is my favorite color.

♥

Nail polish dries pretty quickly, so this is a perfect project if you are feeling creative but impatient to see the end result. I finished both the "icing" and "sprinkling"part in about an hour and let everything set for less than a day (about 4-6 hours just to be safe).

I was wearing these by EOD and already received compliments and people asking me where they could get some shoes like this?! Can you tell I am smiling in this picture?! :)   

Amanda Cupcake Red Velvet Cupcake Milkshake!

I am super excited.

As you may or may not know, I live the life of a sweet dreamer..like everything I do is glitter or sugar or sprinkle coated. I even carry sprinkles in my purse so that I can sprinkle people with them when they are having a bad day. I am like a living female Willy Wonka. So I started thinking, why limit myself to cupcakes only? Why not make all kinds of fun food and even beverages inspired by this sweet lifestyle that I live (and I have a feeling you live a very similar one too if you are reading this!)? Just imagine the territory we could cover adding our glittery spell of cupcake love to everything.

Drumroll please... ♥

So here goes my first venture outside of the "cupcake box":  I partnered with Familiar Grounds Coffee Shop to come up with this: The Amanda Cupcake Red Velvet Cupcake Freeze! We sat down and brainstormed the flavors together, then Lucas (awesomely better than barista at FG) made us samples in the back kitchen and we tried them like..10 minutes after coming up with the flavor idea.  We were a successful team, it tastes just like a red velvet cupcake!  Topped with whipped cream and sprinkles.  So here is a reason to visit New London, Wisconsin! Visit Familiar Grounds Coffee Shop and try my newest venture in creating a sweet, dreamy lifestyle!

Or..if you can't make it to a nearby Familiar Grounds..you can always try one at home. this is my recipe from my very own kitchen.

First things first. I partnered with some other fave people/brands for my red velvet cupcake milkshake.  Ben & Jerry's, Betty Crocker Red Velvet Cake Mix, Americolor Super Red, Pyrex, and Kitchen Aid (yes! I used a mixer to whip this milkshake together instead of a blender. Appropriate since we are bakers, right?)

I was thinking ahead. I bought the clearest of clear plastic cups so that I could see the red color from outside when I was all done making the milkshake! Super economical, and also allows you to show your work off. ♥ I dipped each cup in SPRINKLES! (That's a given.. we are trying to recreate a cupcake in the form of a milkshake, why not coat the cup in sprinkles too?!).  I also sprinkled the inside of the cup with edible glitter!

I embraced my inner cupcake queen and PIPED the milkshake into the cup using a professional decorating bag, just like I was frosting a beautiful cupcake. The piping bag worked pretty perfectly actually, it kept everything very neat!

Boom.

A red velvet cupcake milkshake.

My first ever Amanda Cupcake inspired beverage.

I swirled whipped cream on top, and used a decorative straw to hold my red velvet cupcake "shishkabob" on top of the drink.  The cherry on top?! There are always more and more and more and more cherries on top where I come from.  

The Amanda Cupcake Red Velvet Cupcake Milkshake Recipe:
(Makes 2 milkshakes so you can share!)

Ingredients needed:
4 Tablespoons of dry red velvet cake mix (you can keep the leftover mix for a future batch)!
4-5 big scoops of Ben & Jerry's Red Velvet Ice Cream (if you can't find this, use chocolate ice cream)
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
15 mini sized drops of Super Red Americolor Gel Paste
1 tablespoon cocoa
1/2-3/4 cup cold milk
Whipped cream

Accessories needed:
♥Decorative paper straws
♥Maraschino stemmed cherries
♥Sprinkles galore
♥Mini cupcakes using your favorite red velvet cupcake recipe or you can use the box-just buy an extra one or use the leftover mix . 

♥Bowl of melted white candy melts as the "glue" to get the sprinkles to stick to the cup.
♥Optional: Piping bag to pipe the milkshake neatly into the cup.

Instructions:

First, prepare the sprinkled cups:(Hold on:  If you are going to bake mini cupcakes, make sure you bake them before this step so the cupcakes  have time to cool)
1.  Melt white candy melts in a microwave proof bowl for about 45 seconds at a time until smooth.
2.  Pour sprinkles in bowls big enough to dip your cups into.
3.  Once you have all of this prepped, dip the top rim of each cup into the melted candy melts.
4.  Do not wait for the candy melts to dry-immediately dip the top rim of the cup into your favorite sprinkles.
5.  Repeat for each cup.  While the cups are drying, start preparing your milkshake.

Second, prepare the Milkshakes:

1.  Using a liquid measuring cup, measure out 1/2 Cup cold milk.
2.  Whisk Cocoa, Almond Extract, and Americolor Gel Paste into milk.
3.  In stand mixer (using flat beater attachment), whip ice cream and red velvet cake mix together. Then gradually add milk until you reach a  smooth red velvet milkshake texture.

To pour the milkshake into the cup: Fill a ziploc or a piping bag with the milkshake and cut a hole at the end. Neatly squeeze the milkshake into the cup!

Third, have fun decorating your milkshake!1. Swirl with whipped cream topping.
2. Sprinkle.
3. Put a cherry on top
4. Slide mini cupcake onto the straw like you'd do for a shishkabob. I used  a mini star marshmallow to hold the cupcake onto the straw so it wouldn't slide.  Decorate your drink with the cupcake straw.

Enjoy!

For the ones that Love Cadbury Eggs. Cadbury Egg Inspired Cupcakes ♥

There are many different kinds of people (or should I say..Peeps?!) in the world.  Those who like Peeps. Those who don't like Peeps. Those who think Peeps are adorable and colorful (meeee!!!). Those who like to watch Peeps blow up in the microwave (sometimes I've been guilty. Uh oh). Those who toast their Peeps. Those who like stale Peeps. And those who play with Peeps (again..meeeee!!!!):

Peep Surfing in my bowl of buttercream frosting. Rad. ♥ This happened in my kitchen one night.

Then there are the controversial Cadbury Eggs.   There are the "peeps" who love them. And they gasp in delight when they see them on the shelf.  Or those who think they are awful. Those who don't see what the big deal is and just don't care. And those who use Cadbury Eggs as a medium to create amazing things that can be described in many delicious terms:

Aww. The Peeps are even wearing edible Sixlet Pearls.

A couple of years ago, I baked a cadbury egg inside of these cupcakes.  I was surprised to see that they were featured here on HLN, as one of the Six Amazing/Awful Things To Make With Cadbury Eggs. I was honored. I felt that the word Amazing cancelled out the word Awful. ♥ I am an optimist. Can you tell?!  I guess the "awful" or "amazing" depends on what kind of person you are (see my descriptions above at the top of this blog to find your Peep/Cadbury Egg disposition).

♥

For this Easter, I thought..
Instead of baking a giant Cadbury Egg inside of a cupcake..what if I partnered my chocolate cupcake with the deliciously controversial Cadbury Egg filling? So I stopped asking, and made my fantasy (maybe yours too) a reality!

 A chocolate cupcake.
Filled with a Cadbury Egg filling.
Swirled with layers of Marshmallow Cream buttercream frosting .

A mini Cadbury Egg on top of the yellow frosting "yolk.".
Some have little Peeps carrying the eggs on their backs!

How to make the filling:

You will need:
1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 Cup Butter (very soft but not melted)
1/2 Cup Corn Syrup
1 tsp Vanilla
4-5 Cups Powdered Sugar
Dash Salt
Electric Yellow Gel Paste Food Coloring
Finished Chocolate Cupcakes (see my easy bake-at-home doctored up mix recipe below)

...2 bowls, and 2 piping bags!

Mix up all the ingredients except for powdered sugar in your mixer until creamy.  Typical Cadbury Egg filling doesn't use Heavy Whipping Cream-but the cupcake version does! (It is a much better texture in your mouth in combo with a cupcake).  Now add the powdered sugar gradually until your filling starts to create little "peaks".  You can add or decrease amount of powdered sugar depending on how thick you want the filling to be. If you add more powdered sugar you can actually turn this into a moldable edible clay like fondant!  If you add too much powdered sugar you can always go backwards by adding little bits of Heavy Whipping Cream here and there to thin it out.

♥

Once you reach your desired consistency, divide filling into 2 bowls.  Color one bowl of filling Electric Yellow (I use Americolor Gel Paste), and leave one bowl white! Fill 1 disposable piping bag with yellow. Fill another disposable piping bag with white and set aside until you are ready to fill the cupcakes.  After you have baked your cupcakes, carve a hole out of the middle of your cupcakes with a cupcake corer.  Now you can cut a hole at the end of your piping bags, and alternate the addition of the yellow and white fillings to the inside of your cupcake.

This is what it will look like, yay! Looks just like the inside of a Cadbury Egg.

Now you can decorate the top of each cupcake however you'd like

.

I do the same thing with the frosting that I did with the filling-half of my buttercream frosting is colored yellow with Americolor Electric Yellow Gel Paste, and half is left white. I fill one piping bag with yellow frosting, and one with white. I cut a large hole at the end of each one..and pipe onto my cupcakes,  stacking a yellow frosting "egg yolk" on top of each cupcake!

Then I adorn each cupcake with delight! Peeps swimming through frosting (see the video for how to do that here), Mini Cadbury Eggs, Edible Glitter, Sixlet Pearls!

I wrap up how it is done (even blowing sprinkles at the end)!

Recipe for Marshmallow Cream Frosting:

13 oz Marshmallow Cream

1 lb butter (softened)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6-8 Cups Powdered Sugar

♥Combine all ingredients except for powdered sugar in stand mixer and whip until creamy.  Gradually add powdered sugar until frosting is a thick enough texture to hold shape when piping. If you want a creamier frosting, use less powdered sugar.


Easy Bake At Home Chocolate Cupcakes (tastes a lot like my signature cupcakes I make from scratch for the Cupcake Mansion):
1 box of Devils Food Cake Mix
1/2 Cup Instant Chocolate Pudding
1 1/4 Cup Hot Water or Hot Coffee
4 Eggs
1/3 Cup Oil
♥Preheat oven to 325 and line cupcake pans with cupcake wrappers.  Combine all ingredients in stand mixer and whisk together until evenly blended (about 2 minutes).  Make sure to scrape the bowl down in between mixing to incorporate all the ingredients.  Fill cupcake wrappers 3/4 full and bake at 325 for appx 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Next week's recipe:

How to make Rainbow Cotton Candy Cupcakes!

One Girl and A Cupcake Shoppe ♥

I just celebrated a year at the Cupcake Mansion in New London.
I even invited a unicorn.

Plus 300 people standing underneath a sparkly ceiling buying cupcakes.

...in a small farmhouse that I named The Cupcake Mansion a year ago.

In the same week as my Cupcake Mansion celebration..I started selling cupcakes at Woodmans (one of the biggest most awesome grocery stores in Wisconsin).  My first big box retailer.  What an honor.  We sold out in 2 days the first week! ♥ (this is me and one of my sidekicks, Katarina at Woodmans demo-ing our product).

Everything seems like a big blur, and when I look back at myself a year ago..
I see myself as an artist. A baby.
Now I see myself as an artist and a business woman. ♥
I wonder who I'll be this time next year?

At my grand opening party, my dream was to run a cupcake fashion show.
Every model dressed up like a different version of  (me) Amanda Cupcake.
There was..Lucille Ball Cupcake, Unicorn Amanda Cupcake, Rainbow Brite Amanda Cupcake, Zombie Amanda Cupcake, Cupcake Superhero Amanda Cupcake, Business Amanda Cupcake, Betsey Johnson (fashion designer) Amanda Cupcake...the list goes on ♥

But I have to be honest here.
This model... defined the true Amanda Cupcake at this moment in my career.
We named her "At Night Baking Amanda Cupcake."
Amanda Cupcake's true identity revealed.
Frosting, candy melts, flour caked onto jeans.
Glitter or frosting on my face and in my hair.
Half asleep from working so hard..

but still happy & satisfied, because creating is everything ♥
Even if it means you have to sacrifice to turn a dream into a living!

When the model blew powdered sugar at the audience, tears welled up in my eyes.  To me it was more than just a funny and fun fashion show.  The fashion show was my story, unfolding in action before my eyes.  

Me♥
In the past year..
I've made so many wishes.
(and I'm making one in this picture as I blow the sprinkles!)

I've made many mistakes but they've made me an amazing problem solver.
I've shed tears in my own cupcake batter trying to resolve them!
I've gained about 15 lbs, sigh :)
I've accepted peacefully that while the rest of the world is out partying on a Saturday night, I'm at home enjoying a bubble bath, a glass of wine, or a snooze.
I've experienced more love than I ever have!

...and sadly I've managed to figure out how to handle the criticism of haters too.
And while I am on this divine cupcake rollercoaster..
I'm gonna keep the faith♥.

That's my recipe for you in this blog entry.
It may not fill your tummy, but I hope it fills your heart.
Thank you all for your support in the past year.
Let's show everyone that cupcakes can change the world.
Perhaps a cupcake is a path to World Peace?!

quote by Kurt Vonnegut ♥
Photos by Maison Meredith Photography & Tommy Trout Photo