What Miracles Taste Like ♥

Did you know that a herd of unicorns is called a *Miracle*?
This blog entry is dedicated to what I think *miracles* should taste like.

If you didn't already know this...
I've been this crazy unicorn loving tutu wearing woman for years now. 

(photo by Maison Meredith Photography)

♥

So, of course when I saw that Starbucks came out with a Unicorn Frappe this last week, I may have been the only person who was sad seeing articles about it! ...Because more than drinking the drink..I would have loved to be a part of that product development team! After all, I have years of expertise in the tasting of glitter & unicorn rainbows. 

Starbucks...why didn't you call me?

I am pretty sure that I would have suggested the unicorn frappe taste a little something like this though:

Cotton Candy ♥ (my cupcake recipe/tutorial for these here)

Fantasy vanilla rainbow with a hint of glitter almond ♥ (my cupcake recipe/tutorial for these here)

My Blue Moon Ice Cream Cupcakes ♥ 

My White Chocolate Unicorn Bark

....Swirled with Rainbows, bedazzled with Sprinkles & Sixlets!

See the video on how I made it on Fox 11 Living with Amy here!

Make your own little edible *miracles*:

White chocolate candy melts (12 oz bag)
Hot pink candy melts (12 oz bag)
Yellow candy melts (12 oz bag)
Purple candy melts (12 oz bag)
Sky blue candy melts (12 oz bag)
Cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
5 medium sized microwaveable bowls

Have prepared in small bowls on the side:
-Confetti sprinkles
-Bugles (for unicorn horns)
-Silver dragees
-Edible glitter
-Edible sixlet pearls

Directions:
Bowl 1: Fill with white chocolate candy melts
Bowl 2: Fill with hot pink candy melts
Bowl 3: Fill with yellow candy melts
Bowl 4: Fill with purple candy melts
Bowl 5: Fill with sky blue candy melts

1. Microwave each bowl separately in 30 second increments until candy melts are smooth and melted.

2. Pour white chocolate candy melts onto the parchment paper lined pan, smoothing it out with a spatula until it is about 1/4-1/2” thick. 

3. Immediately start to pour each color of melted candy melts onto top of the white chocolate in little colored blobs.

4. Using a toothpick or a lollipop stick, create a swirling pattern of all the colors. Do not over mix or the colors will turn brown. I know it is fun to swirl, but the less you swirl the colors together, the better “swirly rainbow unicorn” look you will get.

5. Immediately sprinkle the confetti sprinkles, bugles, silver dragees, sixlets and edible glitter on top of your artistic creation. (Don’t wait too long or the unicorn bark will harden quickly and the sprinkles will not stick). 

6. Put your unicorn bark in the fridge & let it cool/harden for 15 minutes. After it hardens, break up into little pieces and enjoy filling your tummy with rainbows & joy!

What the unicorn bark looks like before you break it up!

Sweet with a little bit of crunch.
It's a miracle!


♥♥♥

I wonder what's next after Starbucks' Unicorn Frappe...

Chocolate Emoji Poo Frappes?! ♥

.....Recipe for this guy coming up on my next blog entry!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Pops!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Pops.

How they came to be in Amanda Cupcake-land.

I work with some really sweet ladies as a cook in the assisted living home.  When I received a call from Cupcake Wars Casting, all the lady cooks that work with me in the kitchen insisted that if I were to fly out to Los Angeles, then they'd have to come with me too, as my kitchen assistants!  If that didn't melt my heart, I don't know what will.  ♥  And come on, that would be amazing TV, don't you think?

Sometimes I bring my cupcakes and cake pops into the nursing home just for people to try.  And I swear, it creates this wonderful bond with people. It's like my sweetness comes alive in a cake pop!

This is how I met Linda, the smiling face in the office of the Iola Assisted Living Home.  We were on break in the lunch room.  I was wearing a hair net, camouflaging the true Amanda Cupcake I am-pushing orange cake pops on people (it truly isn't that hard to do).  Linda wasn't sure about these mystery cake pops. I insisted her life would be enlightened greatly if she took a bite of the magical-ness.

♥

So you know what happened next.

It's a true story of sweet indulgence.

Linda fell in love with an orange dreamsicle cake pop.

We then created a beautiful magic cake pop story together for her favorite sister Marcia. 

13 Pineapple Upside Down Cake Pops that Spell out "Happy Birthday."

And the Cake Pops Truly are Upside Down.

Dipped In Yellow Candy Melts.

Sparkled with Green Disco Dust for the "Pineapple "Leaves".

This is all the deliciousness inside of the cake pop.

Maraschino Cherry Bits, Pineapple Chunks, Pineapple Juice, Cake, and Buttercream Frosting.  Yes. You can do this at home.

I took a risk and shipped my cake pop babies out to Linda's sister Marcia across the United States, praying for their safe arrival.

This is the lovely email I received from the Birthday Girl, Marcia the other day:

The pineapple upside down cake pops came in the mail today – what a pleasant SURPRISE!  I’ve never seen – or eaten – anything like it.  They are rich, flavorful and yummy.  I’ve been looking at your website – and although it’s 10:40 at  night – my mouth is watering at all the beautiful and creative pictures. 

♥

Proof that once you cake pop, you really can't stop.

Recipe here for a pineapple upside down cake you can make yourself.

(then crumble it up, add maraschino cherry bits, frosting and turn into cake pop balls)!

Do-This-At-Home Ingredient List:

1 Box Of Yellow Cake Mix

1 20 oz Can of Pineapple Chunks

4 Eggs

1 10 oz jar of Maraschino Cherries

Vegetable Oil

Stand Mixer

Cookie Sheet

Parchment Paper

Cake Pop Sticks

1.  Pour your Yellow Cake Mix into your Kitchen Aid Mixer.

2.  Substitute the water in the Yellow Cake Mix with Pineapple Juice from your can of pineapples.

3.  Add the amount of Vegetable Oil called for on the Cake Mix Box and add 4 eggs to the mixture.

4.  Blend well in your stand mixer.

5.  Then add about 1 cup of Pineapple Chunks to your Cake mix (this is optional but I like the chunks of pineapple in my cake pops)!

**Make sure the Pineapple is drained, no extra juice in the cake mix.

6.  Using the whisk attachment on your standing mixer, blend all ingredients for about 30 seconds.

7.  Pour batter into a greased & floured 9x13" pan..and bake for appx 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees (shorter or longer depending on your oven)!

8.  Crumble up your cake into a large bowl, cake will need to cool for about an hour and a half before you can start cake popping.

9.  Once cooled, add a tablespoon at a time of buttercream frosting, until the consistency is sticky like play - doh.

10.  It's time to get your hands sticky.  Add your chopped up maraschino cherries to the cake pop blend.

11.  Take out a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and roll your sticky cake pop mixture into little cake balls.

♥You'll see little streaks of delicious cherry and strings of pineapple texture in the cake pops. This is how you know you've created a pineapple upside down cake..inside of a cake pop.

♥Set the cake pops inside of the refrigerator for about an hour.

♥Meanwhile, take out your yellow candy melts and melt them in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time until they look like melted chocolate!

♥Once the cake pops are cool enough, dip one side of your cake pop sticks in the candy melts..and insert it into the cake pop ball.

☻You now have a cake pop ball on a stick.

All that's left to do is *dip* in the yellow candy melts.

And of course..add sparkles, immediately! ♥