Freedom Is Sweet.

It is almost the 4th of July.


Things I love about the 4th:

• The hot summer weather. This is the kind of weather I pray for when it is below zero and won't stop icing or snowing.
• Watching kids ride their bikes through town, eating pushups, the sherbet dribbling down.  It makes me really nostalgic of the days when summer vacation was my escape from any responsibility.
• Picnic tables with colorful displays of blueberries, strawberries, and cool whip.
• The sound of random crackling fireworks in the distance.
• Spelling words out with sparklers in the night sky.
• Laying down on the cool grass and watching colors light up the sky right when the sun goes down.  Hearing people say "oooh" and "aaaaah".
• Freedom. I can feel it in the air. And I am thankful that I have sweet freedom.

I created this cupcake kaleidoscope for the 4th of July.  I think it might just awaken that 4th of July nostalgia.  And reminds me just how sweet freedom can be.

I baked this one inside the mason jar.
You can do this at home too.
I used red velvet & white cake.

I colored half of the white cake batter blue.  Then put the red velvet, white, and blue cake batter in separate pastry bags. First I piped a layer of red velvet. Second, a layer of white. Third, a layer of blue. The lines don't have to be perfect. It's better if they aren't. Then set on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. The cake batter will overflow a bit, but you can wipe it off easily after you take it out of the oven and let it cool.

After it cooled, I swirled some frosting on top and added sprinkles. For an "Amanda Cupcake" touch I added some edible glitter to the top rim of the jar!

Then I added some sparkly ribbon and a wooden spoon.  (And Yes you can actually eat this out of the jar with the wooden spoon! I did!)  I cut a glittered cardstock heart out and labeled it with the flavor.

This cupcake kaleidoscope is made after the cupcakes were already baked.  This is about creating my own magic in a jar. I just stacked layers of frosting & cupcakes and sprinkles together. 

This was the very pretty and patriotic result.

The grand finale..........................

Oooh! Aaaah!

30th Birthday Cupcake Kaleidoscope ♥ Think Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Since I have been selling on Etsy, the demand for the shipping of my cupcake kaleidoscopes has increased!
And I am excited about that. There is something very pretty about cupcakes in a jar.

Sort of like a firely in the midnight breeze, captured in a jar by someone sweet.
That kind of pretty.

As of June 15th it is Nicole's birthday.
She loves: Blue, Chocolate, and Coconut.
Right away I thought of a Breakfast at Tiffany's theme.
And it could very well be breakfast if she chooses!

Sparklers!
It is too bad that I couldn't send them in the mail with the kaleidoscope.   It is illegal.  But I did enclose a wax candle and a blue cocktail umbrella!

Edible "30."

You can even see it from the outside of the jar! ♥

I always add a sweet ribbon and a wooden spoon.

Gorgeous surprises should never be underestimated. Especially on birthdays.  This is edible disco dust mixed with chocolate ganache.

What is better than a heart with your name on it?

Inspiration:

S'more Sparklette Cupcake Recipe Unveiled

Since my S'mores cupcakes were shared with the world last week, I have received many requests.
One was for the recipe. Another was a fun fun Amanda Cupcake Kaleidoscope order (15 S'more cupcakes in jars!) that I shipped out to my new cupcake friend Renee in Texas.

I promised last week that I would share the recipe love so you can try to create this magic in your oven. ♥
So here is my promise coming true! Please let me know how the baking goes and feel free to share your S'more sparklettes experience with me!

Blend Graham Crackers in a food processor or blender

ahead of time to make the graham cracker mixture.

This part is kind of fun!

When you add the butter and the brown sugar this is what the graham cracker crumb blend will look like.

You can use this for topping and also to bake inside of your cupcake liner!

 Probably the most delicious chocolate cake batter I have ever made.

The spoonful of graham cracker marshmallow cake batter I couldn't resist!



Line your cupcake pans with 12-15 cupcake liners.

I add edible disco dust to start out with, and later, graham cracker mixture for a yummy magical surprise at the bottom of the cupcake!

Stack the two cake batters on top of each
other and put a mini marshmallow in the center.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

 Cover the marshmallow with cake batter and graham cracker crumb blend.

You have a S'more.

Ready for the oven.

This S'more cupcake is very warm & bubbly. Aww.

Naked S'more.  You could eat it like this...

Or add all of this goodness!

 You can tell your ganache is wonderful if you can wave at it and see your reflection.  Like I am here!

 You can even stuff all of this goodness into a jar.

And eat it.

I call them cupcake kaleidoscopes because there are neverending surprises of goodness as you turn the jar!

S'more Sparklette Cupcake Kaleidoscopes tied with a ribbon, and ready to eat with a spoon!

I even turned these into fun cake pop ice cream cones with a marshmallow on top! 

The Recipe, Unveiled:


S'more Sparklette Cupcakes
adapted from Bakerella's recipe here and re-mixed into an Amanda Cupcake Original!

Dry Ingredients:
There will be 2 mixtures in one cupcake liner!
A Buttery Yellowy Graham Cracker Cake & A Chocolate Fudge Cake. Yummy.


Buttery Yellowy Graham Cracker Cake Batter:

Dry Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (sifted)
3/4 cup extra fine baking sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Liquid Ingredients:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter

Graham Cracker Crumb/Butter Blend:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted



Chocolate Fudge Cake:
Dry Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (sifted)
3/4 cup extra fine baking sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup unsweetened high fat cocoa (come on, we are cheating anyway! and high fat cocoa is less bitter than the typical cocoa you can buy in the grocery store)

Liquid Ingredients:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter

Directions for each cake recipe:

1.  Sift flour in a bowl and set aside.
2.  In a separate bowl, mix other dry ingredients together (baking powder, baking soda, either the graham cracker crumbs or cocoa depending on the cake recipe you are making-see above). Then add the ingredients to the sifted flour, and whisk together for 30 seconds.
3.  In your kitchen aid mixer, blend sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. (about 2 minutes).
4.  Add egg until just blended.
5.  Start by adding 1/3 of the dry ingredient mixture, then add 1/3 of the remaining vanilla/buttermilk mixture.  End with dry ingredient mixture.  Make sure this process only takes about 1 minute maximum so that you don't overbeat (cupcakes won't be as fluffy if you overbeat)!
6.  Scrape the entire bowl and mix with your spatula to make sure all ingredients are incorporated.

Cave into temptation and try the batter to make sure it tastes just as wonderful as you envisioned!

Magical Sinful Delicious Graham Cracker Crumb/Brown Sugar/Butter Blend:
1.  Blend the Graham Cracker Crumbs & Brown Sugar Together.
2.  Pour melted butter onto the Crumbs. Stir until combined.

Add some graham cracker crumbs to the bottom of your cupcake liner for a magical surprise. you can even add some edible sparkles to the bottom of the liner like I did in my pictures above ♥

Pour a little bit of graham cracker cake batter into the bottom of your baking cup. Then sprinkle the magical sinful delicious graham cracker/brown sugar/butter mixture very lightly over the first layer of cake batter.

Place a mini marshmallow on top and then cover the marshmallow with the chocolate cake batter until it is about 3/4 full. It was very hard restraining myself from just eating everything out of the liners before it was baked at this point!

Sprinkle with more graham cracker/butter/brown sugar sinful-ness.

Warning: These cupcakes will ooze out marshmallow goodness while baking! Don't be afraid of the bubbly hot delicousness.
Right after the cupcakes are done baking, poke a hole in the center of your cupcake & insert a marshmallow half (or a whole marshmallow if you want it to be really ooey gooey!) The warmth of the cupcake will melt the marshmallow. Soon the marshmallow will falter & become cupcake goo.

Let cool. Then have fun dipping in chocolate ganache or adding swirls of marshmallow fluff frosting, adding sparklettes & Hershey barlettes! You can also stuff into jars or turn into cake pops ♥


Amanda Cupcake Topping Recipes:

Recipe for Marshmallow Fluff Frosting (Marshmallow fluff as the base--customized just for this marshmallowy s'mores recipe)

7 oz Marsmallow Fluff
4 Sticks of Unsalted Butter-softened and cut into little 1" pieces.
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Box (16 oz) Powdered Sugar

1.  Spoon the Marshmallow Fluff into your large mixing bowl and beat on low until somewhat fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).
2.Gradually add the little butter squares.
3. Add the teaspoon of vanilla extract.
4. Add the 1/2 tsp salt (this helps take away the sweetness so that the frosting is more dreamy instead of tooth achingly sweet).
5.  Gradually add the powdered sugar. You can add more or less depending on how thick you want your frosting to be.



Shiny Chocolate Disco Ganache
9 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream

1.  Heat the heavy cream in a small pan on the stove. Heat up to the boiling point..
2.  Remove immediately and pour over chocolate.
3.  Continue stirring until completely melted, shiny and smooth.
Let this sit for about 1/2 hr before dipping and dripping!
You can also poke a hole in your cupcakes and fill with this delicious-ness to make it even more ooey and gooey!

Kaleidoscope Cupcakes ♥

Remember when you were a kid, and you looked inside of a kaleidoscope and wondered how in the world you could see something so amazing just by looking inside of a tunnel?

The thing I most hear from my cupcake friends is how something I created brings them back to their childhood.  This is good.  One of my biggest goals in my life is to stay in touch with my youth, and never lose it. I think that the authentic "me" is the curious, fearless little girl.



And the little *Amanda* comes alive in my latest creation, the cupcake kaleidoscope.



A Cupcake in a Jar.
Actually two cupcakes stacked on top of eachother.
Layered with Frosting.
And Sprinkles Galore.
You can see all the delicious fun from the *outside* and wonder... how does all that goodness get inside the jar so beautifully?

Remember the wooden spoons you used to eat ice cream with when you were a child?

This is the salted caramel cupcake kaleidoscope.

A gooey layer of delish caramel as you scoop your way to the bottom.

 It is really pretty .. and yummy.. on the way. ♥

Kaleidoscopes are all about colorful surprises.

The Pomegranate Margarita Cupcake Kaleidoscope.

Surprise♥

The best thing about the cupcake kaleidoscopes..is that I can mail them. ♥

And like anything else I create, they are tailored to the person I am sending them to.

I don't think there has ever been a kaleidoscope you could eat before.

That's how you know life is good, when the day comes that you can gaze at the beauty of a kaleidoscope..

and then eat it.

I have to say a little something something about the photographer who helped me with the cupcake kaleidoscope photos. Dan Woolf Photography (click on his name to check him out).

I traded him around 40 cupcakes for cupcake photography and we had an evening of fun cupcake photography. Bartering is the best. I am a believer. He got to eat a piece of heaven, and I ended up with amazing photos.

One of my favorite quotes from his daughter that evening: (about my salted caramel cupcake)

"You can tell I like it, because look how much I ate!" (The cupcake was pretty much crumbs on the counter at that point!)