Cat In The Hat Cupcakes for Brady♥

I love a good excuse to go crazy with my cupcake-ing.

To wildly stack deliciousness on top of deliciousness with no regard to any rules of decorating.

I was really excited for this cupcake order because it was my chance to do just that.

Cat In The Hat Cupcakes for Brady's 5th birthday.

I made the hat out of a marshmallow.

Striped it with candy melts.

Set it on top of a round of licorice.

Then stacked the hat on top of 3 thick layers of red and white frosting.

When I delivered the cupcakes to Brady, I heard his dad tell him he was such a lucky boy ♥

I even topped it all off with a polka dot birthday candle. I used white candy melts as the glue to hold the candle high.  Can you imagine how excited the birthday boy will be when the candle is lit?

I used upside down heart shaped runts to add cat ears to some of the hats.

I realize this isn't your traditional take on a themed cupcake order..  this was my interpretation.  Dr. Seuss has always been an inspiration to me. I kind of always wondered how I could use his genius to express myself. I thought it would be through writing. But instead .. through a cupcake.

I would like to believe that Dr. Seuss would be proud.

And then there was my favorite part. The Things. Thing 1 & Thing 2... I made them out of marshmallow pops. I added wild blue sparkly hair with buttercream frosting, stuck them on a stick, and then stuck the stick inside of the cupcake!

"Here to Play."

I just love the hair. I had so much fun with this part.  Again..it gave me a chance to embrace my wild side.

I am Lol-ing. I just can't help myself.

This is what the "Things" look like as marshmallow pops. The best thing is that you can eat them either way.  On the cupcake.. or right off the stick.

 “Look at me! Look at me! Look at me NOW!

It is fun to have fun But you have to know how.

 I can hold up the cup And the milk and the cake!

I can hold up these books! And the fish on a rake!

I can hold the toy ship And a little toy man!

And look! With my tail I can hold a red fan!

I can fan with the fan As I hop on the ball!

But that is not all. Oh, no. That is not all...”

Just like the game "Fun In The Box" in the book...

I added some fun to the inside of the cupcakes. The cupcakes are Peanut Butter. I filled the inside with peanut butter frosting and strawberry jelly! Tastes just like a PB&J Sandwich

..and who (young or old) hasn't eaten a PB&J sandwich while reading Dr. Seuss?

Happy 5th Birthday, Brady!



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