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".

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!

Pancake Bacon Breakfast Cupcakes for Dinner!

I am a fan of breakfast.

Breakfast for dinner especially.

And bacon is getting classier all the time.

I would like to have a breakfast for dinner party sometime, and I'd bring my own creation to share.

Maple-Maple-Pancake-Pancake-Pancake-Maple Syrup-Candied Bacon Cupcakes ♥

(If you got lost, I started from the bottom and went up in that list).

An entire meal in a cupcake needs a fork.

The cupcake is made with a yellow cake mix as a base, but you'd never know because I don't follow any of the rules on the box. So for the cake mix nixers: Don't hate, just bake. You'll love it. I guarantee. I basically use the box for my base dry ingredients. The added ingredients are Pure Maple Syrup, Maple Extract, Butterscotch Pudding, Eggs, Buttermilk, Vanilla Extract, and Oil.

Reason for the Butterscotch Pudding:  I wanted to use something to substitute the brown sugar flavor.  Before butterscotch is made, one of its crucial ingredients is brown sugar.  It worked! You don't even taste the butterscotch, all the flavors blend together and create a rich maple/pancake flavor.

While the cupcakes were baking, I made candied bacon (recipe below) and I whipped up my favorite pancake recipe on a skillet by scooping the batter onto the skillet with a mini cookie scoop. (This takes time and patience and a love for mini pancakes but the result is adorable)! You can use Bisquick if you don't make pancakes from scratch, or see below:

If you don't have time to make your own mini pancakes, Eggo brand sells mini pancakes in the freezer section at select grocery stores and they look like this on top of cupcakes. I made these at a different time, for a wedding.  To turn pancake bacon cupcakes into a bridal event, I switched the maple frosting out with a light white whipped cream frosting.  Who doesn't love a little whipped cream on their pancakes?

♥♥♥♥♥

A mini video on how I stacked the pancakes on top of the pancake bacon cupcakes:

♥♥♥♥♥
An entire local cable TV segment, step by step on how I made the pancake bacon cupcakes:

Maple Pancake Cupcakes with Candied Bacon.

Printable Recipe
Makes about 15-18 cupcakes

1 box of yellow cake mix
1 packet of butterscotch pudding, in dry powder form, not prepared
1 Cup Buttermilk (room temperature)
¼ Cup Maple Syrup
1 teaspoon maple extract
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup oil
4 eggs

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325.  Line cupcake pan with cupcake wrappers.  Pour dry yellow cake mix and dry butterscotch pudding in bowl and set aside.  Measure ¼ cup pure maple syrup and set aside.  Measure 1 cup buttermilk and set aside.  In stand mixer, cream eggs, oil, and extracts together.  Gradually alternate the addition of dry ingredients, syrup and buttermilk to the creamed mixture until all is mixed together. Scrape bowl down to make sure there are no leftover ingredients stuck on the bottom of bowl and re-mix. Using an ice cream scoop, fill cupcake wrappers a little over half full and bake for about 24 minutes or until cupcake springs up and doesn’t sink in when touched. While cupcakes are baking, you can bake mini pancakes and candied bacon in preparation to decorate the cupcakes.

Maple Buttercream
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4-6 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons dry butterscotch instant pudding
2 teaspoons maple extract
1/4 cup buttermilk or milk

Using a flat beater attachment, cream the butter and the dry butterscotch instant pudding on high speed until fluffy.  Add syrup, maple extract, and liquid.  Scrape bowl down to make sure all ingredients are evenly mixed.  Gradually add powdered sugar until frosting is stiff enough to pipe on top of cupcake.

Candied Bacon
Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and line with aluminum foil.  Lay bacon strips out on aluminum foil and lightly sprinkle each piece of bacon with light brown sugar. Bake the bacon at 450 for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Once bacon is done baking, remove immediately from pan and let cool on a plate.  Tear the bacon up in little pieces to decorate the top of your pancake bacon cupcake.

I am a Cupcake Fairy Godmother!

This is dedicated to my friend Alicia in California. Remember her? I flew out to her a few years ago when she was getting married (see the blog story here).

She recently found out she is expecting a baby girl, and this is her adorable little baby bump ♥

And when I made these stenciled baby shower cupcakes, I thought they might match her belly perfectly.

A sweet baby girl, already leaving a trail of sparkly footprints (in the belly..and soon on her own path in the world).  

♥

Yesterday...  I received this wonderful surprise in the mail, and it made me think about something interesting:

A thank you letter from Daisy Troop 2289 with a custom made cupcake patch!
The girls from the troop designed this Amanda Cupcake patch after taking one of my classes, and now they proudly wear the patch on their sashes!  This by far was one of the best presents I have ever received in the mail.   That's when I realized I too, am on a maternal journey in my very own way. I am a cupcake fairy godmother to all these girls and all the babies/kids I meet along this cupcake journey!  But you know what else is awesome about this "cupcake fairy godmother" responsibility? All the moms and mommies and daddies to be that I meet along the way.  I share the excitement with them every time they visit me or I create a custom cupcake order for them. Maybe Alicia will ask me to be the cupcake fairy godmother for her baby girl?! I hope so.

See these two?  They are husband and wife. Lizzi and Alex Brockmann.

They drove out to my cupcake mansion in the snow (as you can see above) and ordered an item off of my secret menu.  A wish (and wishes are free at The Cupcake Mansion). All you have to do is ask for a handful of sprinkles to take outside and throw in the wind and make a wish. Lizzi didn't tell me what her wish was when she was throwing the sprinkles until her wish came true ♥  Lizzi is wishing in this photo..to have a baby..and she recently revealed to me that her wish came true. She is pregnant! 

Since I am over 2000 miles away from Alicia during a precious time in her life, my hope through this blog is to share some fun cupcake ideas/recipes with her, and maybe someone who loves her can try to recreate their own cupcake love and it can be expressed to her across the miles!  (and what's really awesome..now you can try these too).

Some Cupcake Fairy Godmother Inspiration: 

BEEHIVE CUPCAKES ♥

Cupcakes are Lemon Sundrop flavored. (easy bake at home recipe below!)    Can you tell..it's a girl?! I filled a disposable piping bag with my buttercream frosting (see recipe below). The tip I used was a giant 1A round tip to swirl dreamy fat beehive swirls on top of the cupcake.  The colors used: Americolor Electric Yellow and Americolor Electric Pink. ♥ The bees on the top are made out of yellow fondant, white heart shaped sprinkles for the wings, and a chocolate jimmie for the stinger.  The stripes are drawn on with a black edible ink marker.  You can also buy pre-made bees as pictured above too if you want a quicker option!  The pre-made bees are by Wilton and are sold at cake decorating supply stores ♥

Mini Baby Bump Cupcakes ♥

These were for a boy. You can tell because the heart on the belly is blue! (but you could easily change it to pink).  How I made these:  2 mini cupcakes, and one large cupcake for body shape! I stuck them all close enough together to make "mini baby bump" cupcake cakes! People are always making big Baby Bump cakes lately..I figured I'd give baby belly cupcakes a shot:

Baby Reveal Cupcakes (It's a boy):

I filled the inside of each vanilla cupcake with sky blue frosting for the boy (using Americolor Gel Paste.  If it was for a girl, you could use Electric Pink Gel Paste by Americolor).  The top of the cupcake is a heart..divided between pink and blue ♥ Is it a girl..or a boy?  I've heard it truly doesn't matter because you'll love him/her no matter what (that's why I made the heart)!

Ladybug cupcakes:

Everything edible and made by hand! The face made out of an oreo, cut not in half, but about 3/4.  The mouth made out of a red heart sprinkle. Sugar eyes.  M&Ms as the spots.  The antenna are drawn on parchment paper using chocolate candy melts (I cut a hole in the end of a disposable piping bag filled with melted candy melts and drew little lines on a parchment paper lined pan to make the antenna!  I added little heart sprinkles to the top of the antenna while the chocolate was still wet).  Frosting color used:  Super Red ♥

For the NICU Nurses:

Handmade and delivered in person to the NICU nurses at St Elizabeth Hospital here in Appleton, Wisconsin.  NICU nurses are wonderwomen! They should wear capes with their uniforms (and I believe that they are also fairy godmothers) ♥

Lemon Sundrop Cupcakes: (great to use with the beehive cupcakes)

♥Bake At Home Version of Amanda Cupcake's recipe♥

Ingredients:

1 box lemon cake mix

1 cup Sundrop

1 tbl lemon zest (optional)

1 small box instant lemon pudding

1 tsp lemon extract

1/2 cup oil

4 eggs

Directions:

Pour your box mix into stand mixer. Make sure you pour your Sundrop out of the can ahead of time into a bowl or clear measuring cup so it will lose some of its “fizz”. Once this is done, you can add to your box mix. Add box of lemonpudding, in powder form to the mixture. Add lemon extract & oil. Mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes until well blended. Last, add your lemon zest using a spatula. Bake at 350 in cupcake tins (filled about 2/3 full) for approximately 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.

Optional: Dip your cupcakes in a lemon sundrop syrup so they have a deeper Sundrop flavor.  Mix 1/2 Cup of lemonsundrop with 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar.  After your cupcakes have cooled, dip the top of each one in your Sundrop syrup. The syrup will saturate the cupcake so the Sundrop flavor is more intense.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting:

1 lb of unsalted butter

5 tbl of heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1-2 tsp lemon extract

2 tsp lemon zest
5 Tablespoons Mountain Dew or Sundrop Soda

Around 8-10 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Cut butter into small squares into a large bowl and blend with mixer until fluffy. Add soda beverage, whipping cream, vanilla, and lemon extract to butter. Once ingredients are incorporated, turn mixer down to low and gradually add powdered sugar until frosting reaches desired consistency (the more powered sugar you add, the thicker the texture of frosting-if frosting is too thick, you can always thin it out with heavy whipping cream so don't be afraid to add powdered sugar!  Frosting pipes out more beautiful when it is on the "stiff" side). Last, add your lemon zest by hand.  

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!

Orange Dreamsicle Cupcakes In the Winter!

Waking up on a winter morning wrapped up in my snuggie, looking out the window at a fresh snowfall is kind of like comfort food. And when the sun goes down, the sparkles in the snow become twinkly stars.

If I lived in an edible winter wonderland, the snow would be fluffy and creamy and sugary. Like a dream.

Orange and White Winter Dreamsicle Cupcakes.

♥

I used an extra large #9 Open Star Tip to swirl frosting dreams come true.

The tip looks like this and you can buy it at Ateco:

I used a basic buttercream frosting recipe, and added a splash of orange extract. See recipe below.

My favorite brand of icing color (especially their "electric" line of colors!):  Americolor.

Picking up the cupcake with a stick and eating it like an orange dreamsicle in the winter is an indulgent fantasy, truly.  I used mini "Woodsies" popsicle sticks as cupcake toppers. You can buy them at Hobby Lobby.

little dreams ready for delivery.

Simple Recipe for your very own Orange Dreamsicle Cupcakes:

(Makes approximately 24 cupcakes!)

Ingredients needed:

1 box of white cake mix

3 oz package of Orange Jello Mix

3 or 4 oz package of Cheesecake pudding mix

1 1/4 Cup Orange Juice

4 Eggs

1/3 C Vegetable Oil

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp Orange Extract

Optional (and I like adding this..):  1 tsp of Orange Zest

Instructions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  Line your cupcake pan with 24 cupcake liners.

3.  In a bowl or a stand mixer, whip all of your ingredients together for approximately 2 minutes.

4.  Once ingredients are blended, use an ice cream scoop to fill your cupcake liners with batter-approximately 2/3 full.

5.  Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

The delicious frosting:

8 oz Cream Cheese
1 Cup Unsalted Buter

1 Tablespoon of Milk or Heavy Whipped Cream

1 Teaspoon of Orange Extract

2 tsp of Orange Jello Powder

appx 6-8 Cups of Confectioners Sugar

Optional:

• Combine 4 oz of cream cheese with your butter & milk
• Add 1 Tablespoon of Orange Zest to the frosting blend.
• Sample your frosting with a popsicle stick ♥ I really recommend this!

Instructions:

1. In your Mixer, Blend Butter and Milk until creamy and dreamy.

2. Add Orange Extract and Jello Powder to the whipped goodness.

3. Gradually add Confectioners Sugar.  This is where you decide how much you want to add. The more sugar you add, the thicker the texture of the frosting.

I add about 3 cups of this to achieve a dreamy swirl of frosting. You can always add more milk to make the frosting creamier.

♥