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!

Strawberry Fest Cupcakes with Surprise Pies inside!

I am so ecstatic right now. It was about 24 hours ago that I sold out all of my cupcakes in the span of 2 hours at the Strawberry Fest, right outside of Cronie's restaurant in Waupaca. ♥

I had no idea how popular the Strawberry Fest is, and that people were going to adore my cupcakes so much.  It feels so good to make people squeal with delight when they look at my cupcakes! One lady asked if they were actually edible.  Another asked me if I was selling my portfolio as a book. (I had to say no...even though my dream is to write a book about cupcakes somehow!)

My favorite quote of the day was from a new cupcake friend. She posted it on my Amanda Cupcake Facebook page after the Strawberry Fest. People like her make me love love love what I do.

"I'm in love with Amanda Cupcake's cupcakes!!!! Soooo ooober yummy at the strawberry fest... by far the best strawberry feature showing at the event!!! No joke!!!"

I practiced my premiere cupcake recipe before the Strawberry Fest. I actually thought it was going to be an Amanda original.  I thought of it on my own, but then I discovered that many other people have tried this and succeeded as well.  ♥

A strawberry pie inside of a cupcake! The one in the picture above is my White Velvet Cupcake.
YUM.

My main inspiration for this is that cake people aren't usually pie people.
And pie people aren't usually cake people.
But wouldn't it be a perfect world if we could combine both in one beautiful dessert?
So yesterday at the Strawberry Fest, the world was perfect.
Cake and Pie people agreed to compromise.
I think they were happy about it.

The cool thing about these surprise pie cakes-is that you can add the little pies to any flavor of cake you wish.  I suggest buying the boxed cake mix first to experiment.
But once you get that down, the texture of a cake from scratch is *way better* for the pie inside of a cupcake recipe. 

I used ready made pie crust (since I was already making everything else from scratch).  I cut the pie crust into small squares.  Then I used these adorable little pastry tins to mold the pie crusts!

 

I added the strawberry pie filling,  set the pies on a cookie sheet and baked them in the oven on a temp of 425 degrees for about 10 minutes. Then reduced the temperature to 350 degrees and baked for another 10-15 minutes until just light brown.



How cute do they look after you pop them out of the pastry tin? Hint:  use a toothpick or a fork to pop them out of the tin easily.

Pipe a small amount of cake batter onto the bottom of your cupcake liner.  Then insert your mini pie on top of the batter. The pie shouldn't sink to the bottom of the batter. The little pie boat will float nicely on your cake batter.

Then cover the pie with your cake batter! It might look like this. A pie sandwich!
I won't stop you if you decide to eat it right now.
But when it is done baking.......



..Look how beautiful it is to eat.
And I won't forget to mention that the combo of cake & pie is amazing. I used to be one of those "cake" people.  This cake & pie thing has opened me up to a whole new world!

The possibilities are endless now.
You can make swirls.

Or top your cupcake with another mini pie for the ultimate decadence.

Strawberry pie inside of a red velvet cupcake is heaven on earth.

I frosted some to look just like little pies ♥ Looks like someone was about to eat this one! There is a little finger print on the bottom right. Busted!

Here I am, almost sold out at the Strawberry Fest!

Strawberry Pie Filling Recipe:

Ingredients Needed:

1 Cup of Sugar

3 T + 2 tsp Corn Starch

3 T Corn Syrup

1 1/2 Cups of Water

4 T strawberry gelatin (or JELLO)

1 Quart of Strawberries

Slice strawberries. They don't need to be perfect little slices. It is ok if there are chunks.  Eating a pie with random different chunks & shapes of strawberries is more fun!

1.  In a pan on the stove, whisk sugar and cornstarch together

2.  Add Corn Syrup & Water

3.  Continue to whisk until boiling.

4.  Once boiling, whisk for 5 minutes continuously.

5.  Take off stove and add Jello.

6.  Let the mixture cool.

7.  Once cooled, add strawberries to the mixture.

8.  Then add to your mini pies! You can cut a large opening into the end of your pastry bag & pipe the filling into your mini pies.  Or just use a spoon. It's really up to you. ♥

Optional:  Add red sparkly disco dust. (it is edible and fun).