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!

Red Velvet Cross Cupcakes ♥

I know it may sound super silly to some, but I believe that my mission in life is to share love to you through my cupcakes.

I break off pieces of my glittery heart and bake them inside everything I create.

(This hand drawn art is by Andrea Bills of Wisconsin, we are creating illustrations like this one for a children's book I am writing, more info here)

Before I made cupcakes, I was looking into doing philanthropist/missions work and traveling the world to help others, but my little God whisper told me to wait. That there was something else planned for me. So I did. I stopped and was still.  A year later.. I changed my name to Amanda Cupcake. 

So even if it seems quiet, you may want to listen to that inner whisper of yours. You never know where it will lead. My cupcakes are little philanthropists, healing hearts and making people smile.

So I thought this Easter I'd share a piece of Heaven with you:

Red Velvet Cross Cupcakes for Easter ♥

I chose red velvet cupcakes for this blog because red is very symbolic to the true meaning of Easter.  To make your own red velvet cupcakes, see the recipe at the end of this blog. ♥

To make the chocolate crosses you will need:

♥1 cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper

♥1 bag of dark chocolate candy melts (I like Make N Mold)

♥1 disposable piping bag

♥1 pair of scissors

♥A microwave proof bowl

♥...and a microwave!

1.  Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. If you are not a freehand drawer with melted chocolate-sketch as many little crosses as you want to make on a sheet of parchment paper in advance.  These will be your cross templates!
3..  Open the bag of candy melts and dump into microwave proof bowl.
4.  Melt the candy melt wafers in your microwave, in 30 second increments. Stir in between increments. Do not over microwave or the candy melts will burn and get lumpy/impossible to work with.
5.  Once candy melts are smooth and warm, pour into your disposable piping bag. Cut a tiny hole at the end of your disposable piping bags. Using even pressure, pipe the melted chocolate onto your parchment paper in the shape of crosses.
6.  Once you have sketched all your crosses, place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to make sure they harden. ♥ Place on top of your cupcakes like pictured above.

You can do the same thing, but draw hearts to symbolize "LOVE" out of red candy melts instead like my red velvet heart cupcakes! They look extra pretty with fudge frosting.  (see recipe below)

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe,  for perfect cream cheese frosting swirls like these:

1 Cup softened butter

1 Cup softened cream cheese

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 Cup whole milk or heavy whipping cream

Appx 10 Cups of powdered sugar

Cream Butter, Cream Cheese, Milk, Vanilla and Heavy Whipping Cream using flat beater attachment in a stand mixer.  Gradually add powdered sugar until frosting peaks when touched.  To achieve heavenly frosting swirls like these, I used a 1A decorating tip (it has a large round hole at the end of it for the dreamiest of cupcake swirls).

Red Velvet Fudge Frosting, for perfect frosting swirls on top of red velvet cupcakes like these:

1 Cup softened butter

3/4 Cup of Hershey's Cocoa
1/4 Cup Buttermilk (just like what's in your red velvet cupcake)!
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4-6 cups powdered sugar

Cream Butter, Buttermilk, Cocoa, Vanilla Extract together using flat beater attachment in stand mixer.  Gradually add powdered sugar until you reach desired texture for piping fluffy swirls on top of red velvet cupcakes.  To achieve these flufy frosting swirls, I used a 1M decorating tip!

Bake-At-Home Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe, makes about 18 cupcakes.

My favorite red velvet cupcake recipe is from scratch, and I use one from scratch to sell my cupcakes at grocery stores.  However.. I came up with this easy bake at home version that you can try too that is pretty close to the authentic red velvet flavor you'll get in a from-scratch cupcake! You can even use the cream cheese frosting recipe above to make "Double Red Velvet" Cupcakes. Just replace the milk in the recipe with buttermilk and add Americolor Red Gel Paste to achieve the bright red color in the frosting! I used silver sugar crystalz as the glitter on the cupcake ♥  You can top any of the frosting swirls with the chocolate crosses or red hearts that you made.

Start with:  

1 box white cake mix

3 tablespoons cocoa

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup canola oil

1 box of dry white chocolate instant pudding (3.9/4 oz)

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
4-6 tablespoons of Americolor Super Red Gel Color Paste

..and Bake!:
1.  Preheat oven to 325 and line cupcake pan with cupcake wrappers.

2.  Sift  white cake mix, cocoa, pudding in big bowl, set aside. (I like Betty Crocker the best)!

3.  Measure 1 1/2 cups buttermilk in liquid measuring cup, set aside.
4.  In stand mixer using flat beater attachment, whip eggs, extracts, and oil together until combined.
5.  Gradually alternate the addition of dry ingredients and buttermilk to creamed ingredients in stand mixer, scraping bowl down to the bottom to make sure all ingredients are included.
6.  Add Americolor Super Red Gel Color Paste to batter until you reach your desired level of redness.  If you don't want to use food coloring and you want to use an alternative, you can puree 3 medium sized beets and the buttermilk together in advance for a natural red color!

7.  Using an ice cream scoop, fill cupcake wrappers a little over 1/2 full.  Bake for appx 22-24 minutes or until cupcakes spring back up when you touch them.  Let them cool before frosting. ♥

Beautiful Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Everything is better with ... Velvet.

Cupcakes usually are my specialty.

Especially my red velvet cupcakes.

I call these the Amanda Cupcake "Supergirl" Red Velvet Cupcakes.

Because a very Super kind of Girl made them ♥

And they are my signature flavor.

I'm so convinced that everything is better with Velvet that I jumped out of my comfortable cupcake zone to prove to you..that even...brownies...are better..paired with the inspiration of a red velvet cupcake.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

Inspired by Red Velvet Cupcakes ♥

When you try them you might ask yourself..

"This is beautiful..What is That..Red Velvet?"

(I added starry sprinkles because I add sprinkles to everything.  Life is a celebration).

At first, I wanted to add frosting.. but they are so good and so beautiful the way they are.

I used a toothpick to swirl the "cheesecake" batter in with the brownie batter. And you should know.. I doubled this recipe because I think a very thick fat brownie is way prettier than a thin one.   After I doubled the recipe I packed all of the batter  into one 8x8 Pyrex baking pan for a very thick (but soft) brownie..layered with swirls of cheesecake inside.

The Recipe

for your very own Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies ♥

(I already doubled the recipe for your extra thick brownie pleasure).

Makes 16 Extra Fat Thick Red Velvet Brownies.

Ingredients Needed:

For The Brownie:

1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour

4 Large Eggs
1 Cup Unsalted Butter
2 Cups Fine Baking Sugar
4 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
2 Teaspoons Almond Extract
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 Teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar

1-2 Tablespoons Americolor Super Red Color Gel Paste (You can find this at local cake decorating supply stores) -- The more red you add, the brighter the brownie will be!

For The Cheesecake Swirl:
16 oz Softened Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Fine Baking Sugar
2 Egg Yolks
1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Method for the Brownies:
1.  Preheat your oven to 325 or 350.  Use nonstick spray or "Magic Release" to prepare your 8x8 baking pan.

2.  Beat your eggs in a small bowl.
3.  Melt 1 Cup of Unsalted Butter in the microwave.  Melt in short increments of 15-30 seconds to make sure you don't overheat or burn the butter.
4.  Pour the Melted Butter into a stand mixer bowl.
5.  Add the following and use whisk attachment to mix into to the melted butter:  2 Cups of Baking Sugar, 2 Teaspoons Almond Extract, 4 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract, 1/2 Cup Cocoa, 1/4 Teaspoon Salt, Americolor Gel Paste, and Apple Cider Vinegar.

6.  Fold in the eggs and whisk lightly, until just combined with batter.
7.  Using the paddle attachment, fold in the flour.

8.  Scrape bowl down in between to make sure all ingredients are evenly blended.
9.  Pour batter into your baking pan.  Brownies will look very thick.  Remember, this is what you want. No wimpy brownies ♥

Method for the Cheesecake Swirl:
1.  You can use any stand mixer or hand mixer to beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until smooth and dreamy.  Tip: Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature/softened or your cheesecake swirl will be lumpy instead of smooth and dreamy.

2.  Pour the cheesecake batter on top of your Brownie Batter in the pan. Use a toothpick, skewer, or a knife to glide the cheesecake through your thick red velvet brownie layers.

Your Cheesecake and Brownies are now BFFs. ♥They are ready to bake together at 325-350 for approximately 35-40 minutes depending on your oven.

• If your brownies weren't this thick...you'd bake them for 25-30 minutes.
• Every oven is unique, this recipe may take less or more time..
• Keep a toothpick nearby, and when a toothpick inserted into the brownie comes out clean, the brownie is fully baked!

If you can't wait.. Eat your brownies right out of the pan. While warm. With Ice Cream.

Or..
If you are serving them.
Wait for the brownies to cool and cut into squares. ♥
The best time to sprinkle the brownies (like I did with sprinkles) is while they are still warm so that the sprinkles stick to the warm ooey gooey-ness.

♥

Thank you Food Network..
I adapted this brownie recipe to be a little more cupcakey..than brownie-esque..because after all.. I am Amanda Cupcake ♥