Spiked Rumchata Egg Nog Cupcakes. They heal hearts!

Spiked Rumchata Egg Nog Cupcakes.
♥

I ditched my little tutu and unicorn horn for a day, and I spiked my cupcakes with some 21+ flavor!
The Innocent Egg Nog batter was just sitting there, so lonely.
So I poured Rumchata into the batter (and the frosting, oh my!)
Now that's just what the Egg Nog needed.....a Caribbean Friend!

 

 

A holiday party inside of (and excitingly swirled on top of) a cupcake.
I sprinkled edible gold glitter on top of each cupcake to resemble nutmeg.  (The nutmeg is already in the frosting, so I figured that glitter is more shiny and fun than the act of sprinkling the cupcake with nutmeg).

I delivered a Rumchata Egg Nog Cupcake gift to my friend who came home from the hospital after a pretty scary open heart surgery procedure.  This was her review, it made me laugh so hard and filled me with just as much joy as that cupcake did for her!

 

...So in sharing this, I encourage you to share your cupcake creations with everyone. Cupcakes truly do help to heal hearts ♥

 

How to Spike Your Very Own Egg Nog Cupcakes:
(Recipe test tasted by my executive cupcake baker Andy, who says they are Egg Nogtastic)!
Note:  I find that using a box mix as your base and doctoring it up like crazy with Egg Nog and Rumchata is quite possibly the best option.  The flavors don't bake out like they do with a recipe from scratch. Oh, and please do pour it into your frosting too for a little holiday "zing!"

The Cupcake:

(Makes appx 18 cupcakes)

Ingredients Needed:
White Box Mix

4 Eggs
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Cup Egg Nog

1/4 Cup Rumchata

1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg
Instant Vanilla Pudding (3-4 oz box, dry-not prepared)

 

1. Preheat Oven to 325.

2. Line Cupcake Pans with Wrappers.
3. In stand mixer, combine all ingredients above, making sure all ingredients are blended well. Whip for about 2 minutes.

4.  Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into cupcake liners, filling a little over 1/2 full.

5.  Bake at 325 for 18-22 minutes, or until your kitchen smells like egg nog, Caribbean spice and all things nice.

6.  Before decorating, let cupcakes cool ♥


The "Spiked" Frosting:
(frosts around 18 cupcakes)

8 oz cream cheese (softened at room temp)

1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened at room temp)

4 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream

4 Tablespoons Rumchata
5 Tablespoons Egg Nog
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
8-10 Cups Powdered Sugar

 

1. In Stand Mixer,  Whip Cream Cheese & Butter together until the ingredients begin to look light and fluffy.

2. Gradually add Heavy Whipping Cream, Rumchata, and Egg Nog until combined.
3. Now add Nutmeg, Cinnamon and Vanilla Extract.
4. When all ingredients are combined, gradually pour powdered sugar into what will be a fluffy frosting.  Keep adding powdered sugar until frosting is stiff enough to pipe out onto your cupcakes.
5. Once frosting is finished, cut a hole at the end of a disposable piping bag and place a 1A round tip at the end.

6. Fill your piping bag with frosting and swirl on top of cupcake.  Using edible gold glitter sugar crystals, sprinkle each cupcake with love and edible glitter.

One Girl and A Cupcake Shoppe ♥

I just celebrated a year at the Cupcake Mansion in New London.
I even invited a unicorn.

Plus 300 people standing underneath a sparkly ceiling buying cupcakes.

...in a small farmhouse that I named The Cupcake Mansion a year ago.

In the same week as my Cupcake Mansion celebration..I started selling cupcakes at Woodmans (one of the biggest most awesome grocery stores in Wisconsin).  My first big box retailer.  What an honor.  We sold out in 2 days the first week! ♥ (this is me and one of my sidekicks, Katarina at Woodmans demo-ing our product).

Everything seems like a big blur, and when I look back at myself a year ago..
I see myself as an artist. A baby.
Now I see myself as an artist and a business woman. ♥
I wonder who I'll be this time next year?

At my grand opening party, my dream was to run a cupcake fashion show.
Every model dressed up like a different version of  (me) Amanda Cupcake.
There was..Lucille Ball Cupcake, Unicorn Amanda Cupcake, Rainbow Brite Amanda Cupcake, Zombie Amanda Cupcake, Cupcake Superhero Amanda Cupcake, Business Amanda Cupcake, Betsey Johnson (fashion designer) Amanda Cupcake...the list goes on ♥

But I have to be honest here.
This model... defined the true Amanda Cupcake at this moment in my career.
We named her "At Night Baking Amanda Cupcake."
Amanda Cupcake's true identity revealed.
Frosting, candy melts, flour caked onto jeans.
Glitter or frosting on my face and in my hair.
Half asleep from working so hard..

but still happy & satisfied, because creating is everything ♥
Even if it means you have to sacrifice to turn a dream into a living!

When the model blew powdered sugar at the audience, tears welled up in my eyes.  To me it was more than just a funny and fun fashion show.  The fashion show was my story, unfolding in action before my eyes.  

Me♥
In the past year..
I've made so many wishes.
(and I'm making one in this picture as I blow the sprinkles!)

I've made many mistakes but they've made me an amazing problem solver.
I've shed tears in my own cupcake batter trying to resolve them!
I've gained about 15 lbs, sigh :)
I've accepted peacefully that while the rest of the world is out partying on a Saturday night, I'm at home enjoying a bubble bath, a glass of wine, or a snooze.
I've experienced more love than I ever have!

...and sadly I've managed to figure out how to handle the criticism of haters too.
And while I am on this divine cupcake rollercoaster..
I'm gonna keep the faith♥.

That's my recipe for you in this blog entry.
It may not fill your tummy, but I hope it fills your heart.
Thank you all for your support in the past year.
Let's show everyone that cupcakes can change the world.
Perhaps a cupcake is a path to World Peace?!

quote by Kurt Vonnegut ♥
Photos by Maison Meredith Photography & Tommy Trout Photo

Root Beer Float Cupcakes ♥ Dedicated to Grandmas Everywhere.

One of my favorite memories from my childhood was with my grandparents.

I'd ride four hours in the backseat of my parents' minivan to visit my grandparents' lake house in Northern Wisconsin for a weekend.  Four hours of travel time is a long time for an 8 year old girl, especially sitting next to my naughty teasing brother in the backseat.

But you know what made those four hours worth it?

My grandma, cheering me on when I arrived.

Hugging me, telling me how pretty I was becoming.

And after a long ride, she'd serve my brother and I a Root Beer Float in a tall glass.

Over 20 years later..

I made Root Beer Float Cupcakes:

Of course I used real A&W Root Beer in the batter.

I swirled the buttercream frosting on so it looked like the foam that "floats" on top of a Root Beer Float. (This frosting look achieved with a piping bag and a 1A Round Tip!)

♥

Last week my friend Hillary who volunteers at New Curative (an assisted living Home in Green Bay) asked me to teach a cupcake class to her friends there. ♥  I could make any cupcakes I wanted with the residents!  So I thought of my grandma's Root Beer Floats right away.

The experience teaching the ladies (who are also all grandmas) to turn Root Beer Floats into cupcakes sent me on a trip down memory lane.

♥

 My grandma should have been one of those fairy godmothers in a fairy tale book.  Her favorite thing to do was to feed me.  She had never ending buckets of ice cream in her freezer. It was like she could wave a magic wand and anything I wanted to snack on would be there.  I watched her scoop the ice cream into a tall glass, and as she poured the Root Beer over the top of the ice cream, the whole inside of the glass popped, bubbled, and fizzed.♥ My little hands wrapped around the thick glass.  The Root Beer Float was mine now, and I didn't mind my fizzy bubble mustache at all.  

♥

I showed all of the grandmas how to scoop the buttercream frosting so it looked just like ice cream on top of a root beer float!  (Inspired by my grandma)  Yes, all of that is frosting.  Nostalgia + Lots of Frosting=LOVE

I even came equipped with a delivery of Chef Hats made by my friend "Grandma Lala" (another fabulous grandma).


And we each wrote our name in chocolate on top of our Root Beer Float Cupcakes:

I think that this may have made my grandma proud. (She's in Heaven cheering for me on her own cloud of frosting I am sure, but I'd like to think she visits me once in awhile and approves that I've taken on her role of feeding people now).

  Now it's my house that is filled with endless buckets of frosting and edible glitter.   Just writing this blog makes me realize that perhaps some of my experiences with my grandma is where my love for magical baking began! 

And what you are seeing in front of my tiffany blue glitter wall at my Cupcake Mansion are Root Beer Float Cake Pops ♥  Recipe for both the cupcakes and cake pops....are below!

♥

Recipe for Root Beer Float Cupcake Nostalgia:

Makes 12 Cupcakes.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup A&W Root Beer
• 1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• 3/4 Cup Fine Baking Sugar
• 1/3 Cup Canola Oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 1/4 teaspoon Root Beer Concentrate (this may make the colors of your cupcakes light or dark depending on the brand used).
• 1 1/3 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Ginger
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Method:

1.  Preheat Oven to 325 and line your cupcake pan with 12 paper liners.

2.  In stand mixer bowl, combine root beer & apple cider vinegar.  Let this stand and "fizz" for a few minutes.

3.  After your mixture has "fizzed" for a little while, whisk sugar and oil in until mixture is frothy like a real root beer float.  

4.  Whisk in vanilla extract & root beer concentrate until combined.

5.  In a medium bowl on the side, mix your dry ingredients together:  Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Ground Ginger, and Salt.  

6.  Whisk dry ingredients into your stand mixer mixture until creamy. Scrape down bowl to make sure all ingredients are mixed together evenly.

7.  Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake at 325 for 15-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center of cupcakes comes out clean.

The Frosting ♥

13 oz Marshmallow Cream

1 Lb of Unsalted Butter

5 Tablespoons Dry White Cake Mix (this gives your frosting a vanilla flavor that combines well with the root beer flavor!)

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

6-8 Cups of Powdered Sugar 

Optional: 2-3 Tablespoons of Heavy Whipping Cream

For decorating: Paper Straws, Americolor Food Gel (if you want to color your frosting, Ice Cream Scoop, or 1A Round Decorating Tip)

1.  Using the paddle attachment, whip Marshmallow Cream and Butter together (both at room temperature) in a stand mixer.  

2.  Next add White Cake Mix and Vanilla Extract.

3.  Gradually add Powdered Sugar until frosting is the thickness desired. (Less Powdered Sugar=light and dreamy fluffy frosting, good for swirling.  More Powdered Sugar=thick stiff frosting good for scooping to look like ice cream)

Tip:   If you add too much powdered sugar and want a fluffy, lighter frosting.you  use the heavy whipping cream in your frosting recipe.

If you want to make root beer float cake pops: Crumble up your cupcakes in a medium bowl, mix with 2 Tablespoons of Frosting until consistency is like play-dough, and roll into 1 1/2" cake balls.  Refrigerate cake balls on a parchment paper lined baking pan until cake pops are firm enough to dip into white chocolate.

♥

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 ♥

Sweet Dreamer ♥

Today I am going to share a different kind of recipe with you.....

My true cupcake story.  It's my 2 year anniversary as Amanda Cupcake .You've asked me for my story, and I've never posted it in my own words anywhere. I've been featured in many articles, but this will be my version. The entire story.

 While there is a beginning, there is no end. I am on a continuous journey  in this cupcake world.  I hope me sharing this with you today helps you in some way-to follow your path, your dreams, or maybe start your own version of a cupcake mansion! 

me..in my first days as Amanda Cupcake

The Sweet Dreamer ♥

(I was given this name by Fox Cities Magazine, see the article here)

I haven't always been Miss Cupcake.  In fact, my real name is Amanda Wright. I've lived many lives before arriving at my superhero name:  Amanda Cupcake.   I was born and raised in Waupaca, Wisconsin, but I've visited many places since. I think I'm still a baby in the cupcake world, because I've only been Amanda Cupcake for 2 years and there is so much more I want to do (Cupcake Franchise?! Cupcake Product Line?! Cupcake Recipe Book?!)  In the past 2 years  I've baked thousands of flavors of cupcakes (I have about 60,000 cupcake photos in storage from just the past few years).

♥

Fox Cities Magazine described me this year as a "tutu donned superhero persona who is a mash up of four things-a pinch of Dr. Seuss's whimsy, a dash of Lucille Ball's humor,a sprinkle of her inner child, and a splash of Ellen Degeneres's dance moves".  That was the perfect description of what I have always wanted Amanda Cupcake to be.

♥

Props to my brother Cliff for my non-conventional cupcake career!  When we were teenagers,(in the nineties-before the days of the cupcake trend) I baked him a birthday cake and cupcakes to match.  (I thought my baked creations were goofy, but he loved them). After Cliff received my first cake and cupcakes as a gift, he "hired" me as as his baker for every birthday going forward. He said that I was doing something unlike anything he'd ever seen done with confectionaries before.  I never forgot his compliment, but his words got lost for awhile in my big dreams of becoming a famed fashion designer.  Like Betsy Johnson. I've always loved her carefree and wild spirit in her designs.

a cupcake high heeled shoe,  my fashion knowledge in my cupcakes♥

♥

I've been many things. A cute little office girl.  A cosmetologist.  A customer service representative.  Almost..a wife.  But I have this thing called a "God Voice" that has never been wrong.  And this  inner whisper told me that I had a really special calling, something having to do with fashion.  So I packed my bags and followed my dreams 2000 miles away from Wisconsin..to Los Angeles, California.  I lived there for 8 years, working as a product developer in the fashion industry.  I traveled the world to Hong  Kong, Paris, and Italy for inspiration. Most of the time I spent in California I was an employee for Billabong USA, developing junior girls clothing for Pacific Sunwear.

While living in California, I started to seek out another side of myself. I call it my "glitter heart" now.  I went to Saddleback Church and joined their PEACE program (a missions program there..where I could travel to other countries and help people).  But something stopped me.  I felt that little "God whisper" within and it told me that there was a different mission for me.

my glitter heart ♥

♥

After about six years of living in California, my big California Dream started to fade.  I was exposed to black mold and it made me fall ill for a long time.  During this time, my dad was admitted to the hospital and he almost died.  Shortly after my dad recovered, my mom was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.  I kept flying back and forth from California to Wisconsin to see my family. 

 
There was always some gigantic challenge. One thing after the other facing me for about a year and a half.  That's when I started baking again for solace.  I baked for people in my office, my roommates, small parties.  I never saw anyone react the way they did when I made cupcakes.  People would jump up and down, and squeal..like they won the lottery!

♥

After a year and a half of struggling with my own illness, my dad's brush with death , and my mom's Parkinson's diagnosis, I decided the smartest decision was to cut off my fast paced life in California and come home to Wisconsin. I needed my family. They needed me. And I needed to find balance again. 

Before I left, my boss at Billabong sat me down and said,

"Amanda..more than anything, I see you dressing cupcakes instead of people. I see you starting your own cupcake empire, delivering cupcakes in a cupcake mobile, wearing an apron or a tutu.  I think this is what you need to do."

Me and my little assistant Hanna (in tutus at the WDUX Home Show in Waupaca)

So when I moved back to Wisconsin, I started to do research on baking.  My cupcakes had always been pretty before..but they tasted overly sweet.  I wanted my cupcakes to taste great and be pretty too!  I  scoured the internet, met with, and learned from some of my favorite teachers:  Cupcakes Take The Cake blog, I am Baker, Bakerella, and the owner of MORE in Chicago on Michigan Ave.   All amazingly talented bakers and/or business owners.

♥

 I loved the idea of being a PERSON instead of a location.  I wanted to be real, someone people could relate to.   So I named myself Amanda Cupcake.  She was the re-invention of myself, the new healthy woman, and I've discovered now that she is the genuine me.

As I baked and baked..and baked, I began to heal. My parents were happy watching me too. They were my first fans, and are my biggest supporters/fans now. (My mom loves to stand in the front of my shoppe and visit with people when I am super busy).

My dad..with a cake I made him for his birthday

I shared my cupcakes with people in my community. I'd knock on doors and arrive with free cupcakes (sprinkled with glitter) for people who were sick or unhappy.  Glittery cupcakes made them smile, sometimes cry (in a good way).   I'd never leave without giving them a hug that I have now branded a "Cupcake Hug."   

Whenever I delivered cupcakes, I made a new discovery.  It wasn't *California* that would make me feel successful and joyous again.  It was doing something that I loved.   I was able to express myself creatively...and help people too.  So maybe this..was my mission.  My glitter heart. And it didn't matter where in the world I was, I didn't need to travel to another country.  I could reach out to people all over the world through my blog, in my community, and on Facebook through bright, sparkly, happy cupcakes.  I was on my way to being a cupcake fashion designer, and a cupcake philanthropist.  Yes, that does exist in my world. I call a cupcake philanthropist a Cupcake Superhero.

Cupcake Hug!

"When you connect with people unselfishly, business has a way of boomeranging back."

♥

In 2011, Amy Simpson (the owner of Simpsons and at the time..she was the owner of a small restaurant - Cronies -  in Waupaca) discovered my cupcakes. I delivered pancake bacon cupcakes to her, and after eating them, she was hooked.  She offered to rent Cronies to me when the restaurant closed at night so I could start business baking "officially" as Amanda Cupcake.   I was known as the girl who would bake out of Cronies restaurant all night.  I'd leave after baking, and in the morning..yummy cupcakes would appear on the counter (if you were lucky-they sold out quickly).

♥

My first famed cupcakes....were S'more Sparklette Cupcakes! (click here to check out the recipe).   Cupcakes Take The Cake (one of my inspirations) featured me on their blog, and I was ecstatic. I danced with joy announcing to my friends and family all over Facebook, and in my house, that one of *my* inspirations was featuring my cupcakes!

S'mores Sparklette Cupcakes

 Right after, Waupaca County Post asked to interview me.

And in the same week..Fox 11 Good Day Wisconsin asked me to air on a Saturday, showing all of Wisconsin how I bake cupcakes inside of a jar!  Once I debuted on TV once, I discovered my true love for TV demonstrations. It was really fun to share my passions with the world.  I established a friendship with the crew at Fox 11, and have returned many times to air with my friend Amy Hanten on Fox 11 Living With Amy.  I've discovered that making cupcakes on TV (along with teaching kids at schools) is my favorite thing to do in my career as a cupcake artist.

This  was my second time on Good Day Wisconsin!  A friend took this photo of her TV.

♥

My cupcakes weren't quite making me enough $$$ so that I could survive on cupcakes alone. It takes a long time to establish a business and be a financial success. Especially anything involving food.  I was working a second job at a Nursing Home as a cook.

On a randomly wonderful night, Cupcake Wars called me. I was sitting in my scrubs..in my car after my shift at the Nursing Home and received a voicemail from a Cupcake Wars Casting Agent in California. They wanted me to audition. I was just so overwhelmed with joy that I was hyperventilating! Maybe..this could jumpstart Amanda Cupcake !!

I auditioned for Cupcake Wars and you can see it here on youtube. It was a blast.  I never heard back from Cupcake Wars.. but now I think I know why.  I'm a little more Cupcake Love than Cupcake Wars. I am a big fan of Cupcake Wars, and their concoctions have always taught me that *nothing* with cupcakes is impossible...but I think the producers may have seen the same thing I do now too.  If I'm going to be on TV, I'd like my own little Food Network-esque show where I can dress up in fun glittery costumes and aprons..and share cupcake recipes with the world.  Maybe someday!?  

"They" say everything happens for a reason though.   Even though I never made it on the show, you can imagine...once the town of Waupaca heard about the call from Cupcake Wars, I started receiving more cupcake orders than ever.  The call from Cupcake Wars launched my business to a whole new level.   I was able to quit my job as a cook and make cupcakes my full time *everything*.  So thank you, Cupcake Wars!!!!

♥

I was so busy baking, I'd pull all nighters. I had so many cupcake orders sometimes I'd be up until Cronie's opened at 7am.  I'd bake until the wee hours of the morning, and make deliveries during the day. I taught classes, visited schools to share my growing cupcake knowledge, and  I visited with cupcake fans over breakfast.  Somewhere in there I'd sleep-but not often.  I was grateful for the plcae  that had given mea start..but I needed a new baking home if I was to grow into the Amanda Cupcake I always envisioned.  So I prayed-that if this was the right thing for me, and if I was supposed to make cupcakes my mission..that I'd find a new kitchen of my own to make my creations in.

♥

Jane and Dave Mulroy own a farm house on a biodynamic farm - Irish Acres in New London, Wisconsin.  Jane Mulroy has always had a vision here. To create a farm where the community can come to grow their own fresh crops.  She envisioned farmers markets here, wheelchair gardens, and more ♥  But she needed something a little more alluring than just plants to lure people in to her vision.    I wonder if she knew that it would be .. Cupcakes?! ♥

A party at The Cupcake Mansion ♥ (do you see the glitter walls in the background)?

I was at the WDUX Home Show in April 2012 as a food vendor.  Jane Mulroy was looking to rent her empty farmhouse to someone when she stumbled upon my cupcakes. I was wearing a brightly colored tutu and eye glitter, bright and happy cupcakes surrounding me.  Jane was immediately hypnotized by my sparkly cupcakes and it was there that she knew what she wanted to turn her empty farmhouse into.  A cupcake shoppe that I would name...The Cupcake Mansion.

Jane and I met many times to make sure our visions were in line with each other, and I had to be convinced that this opportunity wasn't too good to be true.  So I signed a lease with her, and upon signing the lease..she converted the 1848 farmhouse into a licensed kitchen and cupcake shoppe. 

During the 6 months I was waiting to move into the farmhouse, I was catering several weddings, pulling endless all nighters at Cronie's, and just waiting for the day I could step into my new kitchen...my new life.  I had come a long way.  And I was ready to start my next chapter in my cupcake kingdom.  I decided to call my new place..

The Cupcake Mansion.  A Destination.

Follow Your Heart.

♥

On October 20th, 2012..I opened the Cupcake Mansion as a retail shoppe.  500 people showed up to my grand opening.  I was crying all day long - in happy tears - like this was my wedding!

People traveled from everywhere to visit me at my cupcake mansion.  I sold out of cupcakes within an hour and a half.  It was a day filled with sweetness. Not just because of cupcakes and sugar.. but because of the love I was given back from people who appreciated my work.  I am still blown away thinking about it all.

The true reason behind my cupcake obsession:  Is my love for others.  I bake little pieces of my glittery heart in every cupcake and hope that I might be doing something to change someone's life. Even if it is for a day.  People ask me why I share my recipes?  I think that hiding them is old skool. I learned from so many others, so why not help others?

But I am  not going to cover this story up with glitter to make it pretty. My cupcakes do that for me.

Chasing your dreams..and making them work day in and day out-is not always a glamorous or easy feat. You've asked me how you can start your own cupcake business.

Here are some of my beliefs if you want to become your own cupcake superhero:

1.  You must LOVE what you do with every bone in your body.
2.  You have to have FAITH that it will all fall into place as long as you work for it.
3. The first few years are the hardest, but also can be the most bittersweet. It's the time when you start to build your business character and make new friends.
4. Baking from scratch in the beginning isn't a necessity, start by doctoring up cake mixes since they are fail proof. Then move on to the true science of baking. ♥ 
5. Frosting is way better made from scratch than purchased in buckets.
6. And on the technical side of things...Find a great bookkeeper..so you can focus mainly on the baking..and the bookkeeper on your numbers.  

So many nights my shoes and pants are full of glitter and frosting and cake batter.  I have a little bit of a belly since I've *really* started baking (my California six pack is history and now I am more pin-up cupcake curvy than an athletic toned California hottie). I am often so sleepy on Saturday nights that I fall asleep at 7pm. .  But to me.. it's all worth it.   I've discovered my mission now.  And it's to help save the world...one glittery cupcake at a time.

Cupcake Pin Up ♥ Marilyn Monroe Red Velvet Cupcakes!

This story doesn't have an end. This is the beginning.

 I'd love to dance with Ellen Degeneres on her show, cupcakes in hand!  Or deliver cupcakes in a cupcake superhero cape to children at The Children's Hospital and give them a Cupcake Hug.  I'm determined to throw sprinkles and cupcakes from a Cupcake Shaped G6 Jet over the world.   I truly believe the world would be a happier place if cupcakes and sprinkles fell from the sky ♥ I look at nothing as impossible. In my world, it could all be conquered through cupcakes!

Wild Blueberry Velvet Cupcakes ♥

I have a wild imagination.

I know you probably have some wild in you too.

So I'm sharing a Wild Blueberry Velvet Cupcake recipe with you.

I see blueberries as nature's little edible ♥ gems.  They are blue on the outside..but how sensational is it that blueberries are bursting with violet on the inside!? Think of the blueberry as a beautiful ombre delight.  

My vision of a Wild Blueberry..Swirled with Electric Pink & Electric Blue frosting

(using Americolor Gels).  See my Rainbow Cupcakes Tutorial for how to Create A Rainbow Frosting Swirl.

Blueberries as the "gems" on top.

Sometimes I use chocolate covered blueberries on top. They're pretty & shiny. 

I buy them at my local Bulk Food Supplier.

What makes a cupcake *velvet*?

 Everyone has a different perception of velvet. To me..a velvet cupcake is rich. Rich in color...Rich in flavor..and combines some Luxurious tantalizing flavor journey that you can't quite explain. Leaves you asking, "What is that......Velvet?"

♥

Colors mixed to create the perfect "blueberry velvet":  Americolor Royal Blue Gel Paste (1 Tablespoon ) & Americolor Royal Purple or Electric Purple Gel Paste (1 - 2 Teaspoons).

You can liven up the blueberry flavor even more..by cutting a blueberry pop tart into squares.. and baking a square inside of each cupcake.  I pipe a small layer of blueberry batter into the cupcake liner, place a blueberry pop tart square on top  of this first layer.  Then I pipe another layer of blueberry batter on top of the pop tart. Sometimes..I don't even tell people about this surprise. The blueberry pop tart baked inside of the cupcake creates so much wonder.. "What in the world was that amazing gush of blueberry they just bit into?!"

You're turning Violet.♥

Wild Blueberry Velvet Cupcakes.

The Recipe 

Ingredients:

3 Cups Flour

1 1/4 Tsp Baking Soda 

1 1/4 Tsp Salt

1 1/4 Tsp Cocoa powder

1 1/2 Cup Veg Oil

2 1/4 Cup Fine Baking Sugar 

1 1/4 Cup Buttermilk

3 Eggs

1 Tablespoon Royal Blue Americolor Gel Paste

1-2 Teaspoons Royal Purple or Electric Purple Americolor Gel Paste

1 1/4 Teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar

1 1/4 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1 1/4 Teaspoons Almond Extract

1/8 Cup Water

1 1/2 Cups Blueberries

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 and line your pans with 24 cupcake liners.
2. In one large bowl, sift flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder together.
3. In stand mixer, cream Vegetable Oil, Eggs, and Sugar together. After you have creamed these together, add your vinegar to this mixture.
4. In separate bowl, combine/ whisk liquids together: Water, Vanilla, and Almond Extract.
5. Alternate the addition of dry ingredients & liquid ingredients to the creamed mixture. 

6. Add colors and beat into batter, scrape down bowl in between addition of colors to make sure batter is colored evenly.

7. Using a spatula, fold blueberries into batter.

6. Fill Cupcake liners about 1/2-3/4 full and bake for 18-22 min at 325 or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

(If you want to pipe the swirls like I did above, make sure you add enough powdered sugar to the frosting).

8 oz Cream Cheese (softened)

½ Cup Butter (softened)

3-5 Tablespoons Milk or Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

6-8 Cups Powdered Sugar

Optional piping tips to use:  French Star Pastry Tip, Open Star Pastry Tip

Optional colors to use in frosting:  Electric Pink, Electric Purple, Royal Purple, Royal Blue, Electric Blue

1.   Whip Cream Cheese and Butter until Creamy.

2.   Add Liquids & Mix together until blended.

3.   Gradually add powdered sugar until it forms creamy peaks.

Fantasy Vanilla Almond Rainbow Cupcakes ♥

A true story & recipe by: Amanda Cupcake

One Starry Starry Night while everyone else was dreaming, I swirled fantasies on top of cupcakes.

Little fantasies that tasted like vanilla almond rainbows.   At the first warm & colorful bite of my rainbow cupcake creation, I "remembered" that I had "forgotten" a wild food fantasy from the days before anyone ever called me Amanda Cupcake.  

♥

Back in my angsty teen days, I was a painter.  Art was my favorite class, painting was my outlet.  Even back then though, my instincts yearned for something beyond paint.  I wished that I had the tools to create *edible* art that had never been seen before.  Paint that I could eat.  I started envisioning a new colorful creation. Ice cream themed after famous paintings. Like Van Gogh's Starry Night--inside of an Ice Cream Carton.  I envisioned myself opening the carton to reveal a frozen replica of my favorite legendary painting..as ice cream. I thought that the neatest thing ever would be if I could dip my spoon into a soft dairy canvas, and as the ice cream melted, the "paints" would  blend together into brand new colors I never even knew existed.  Sort of like Superman Ice Cream..but more "fantasy" than comic strip.

♥

Wow..so....

My rainbow fantasy cupcakes that I dove into, buttercream first.. were a real life version of "paint that I could eat."   My teenage fantasy come true. Even though this wasn't ice cream, the colors in the frosting and inside of the cupcakes evolved with every single vanilla almond bite. Just like my vision.

And the best thing ever...I actually did create these cupcakes on a starry starry night.  The starry starry night can be recreated on the cupcake by lightly sprinkling Hologram Silver Disco Dust on top of fresh frosting!   

♥

You too..can make Vanilla Almond Rainbow Fantasy Cupcakes:

Your Fantasy Vanilla Almond Rainbow Cake Mix Recipe:

• White Cake Mix (no generic labels, brand names only)
• 1 1/2 Cups Buttermilk (in place of the water on the box)
• 4 eggs
• 3.9-4 oz Vanilla Pudding (the pudding gives it that "from scratch" texture).
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of Pure Almond Extract
• 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
• Disposable Piping Bags (for layering the rainbow colors on top of each other in the cupcake liners)
• Light colored cupcake tin (a light colored tin works better than dark so that your bright colors don't brown when baking)
• White Cupcake Liners (this recipe makes about 12-15 cupcakes)
• Oven, Preheated to 325.

A friend is always good to bake with. ♥ I'm lucky to have two of the cutest little friends ever, Hanna and Rainy. I call them my "Mini Me's'"

My edible paint colors that I swear by for fantasy rainbow cupcakes and their frosting.  Americolor Gel Paste in Electric Pink, Electric Yellow, Sky Blue. (You can buy these here or at a local cake decorating supply store).

Step 1: Combine all ingredients in stand mixer and whip together well using flat beater attachment.

Step 2: Take out 3 separate bowls and pour about 1 1/2 Cups of batter in each bowl.

Step 3: 

♥For Sky Blue:  Mix two small drops of Americolor Gel Paste in one Vanilla Batter Bowl.

♥For Electric Pink:  Mix three to four small drops of Americolor Gel Paste in a separate Vanilla Batter Bowl. 

♥For Electric Yellow: Mix three to four small drops of Americolor Gel Paste in a separate Vanilla Batter Bowl. (I use more drops of color for the yellow and the pink so that the colors are really vibrant).

Step 4:  Stop and gaze at the beauty of your bright batter colors in each separate bowl.

Pour each color of batter into a separate disposable piping bag, and cut a small hole at the end of the piping bag.

♥Cover the bottom of your cupcake liner with electric yellow batter.

♥Repeat by piping electric pink on top of your electric yellow batter.

♥Repeat again by piping Sky blue on top of your electric pink batter.

♥Now you can add little swirly swirls of extra color, until your cupcake liner is filled 1/2 full.

♥Bake at 325 for appx 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

..and taste test. I did. The cupcake is...gone!

Look how pretty the cupcake liner looks alone! You don't even need to buy the fancy schmancy ones at the store.  This started out as a plain white cupcake liner.

The Pastel Rainbow Fantasy Frosting technique:

(it's truly magical).

REAL BUTTER IS LOVE ♥

I use a homemade buttercream for the best swirl texture.

1 Lb of  Unsalted  Softened Butter in my Buttercream Recipe ♥

I swear by Marshmallow Creme as the base for my frosting.

I use 13-14 oz in my frosting recipe.

See full recipe for buttercream frosting below.

♥Just a reminder of how pretty the frosting is♥

Just like my batter, I separated my frosting into 3 bowls.

Then I mixed each gel paste color into a separate bowl (about 3-4 drops per bowl--you can always add more color if you want the color to come out more vibrant). 

Electric Yellow, Electric Pink, Sky Blue.

Hint: If you want your frosting to look more "Unicorn-esque" like these cupcakes... (these colors remind me of Unicorns!), I use white in place of yellow. Or still use the yellow but add white too as a 4th color.

To pipe a multi-color rainbow swirl:  I stacked each color of frosting on top of one another inside of a disposable piping bag. ♥  Your piping bag will look so pretty from the outside, like this!

  This is the view from the inside of the piping bag, as I am stacking the sky blue, electric pink, electric yellow buttercream frosting colors on top of each other.  

 For a dreamy puffy fantasy swirl, I use a round Wilton 1A Piping Tip like in the picture.  Before you stack the frosting inside of the piping bag, cut a hole in the end of the piping bag big enough to fit the tip, and slide the piping tip down into the end of the piping bag.  

♥No cupcake will look the same.  When all three-four colors blend together inside the piping bag you'll start seeing greens, purples, turquoise colors swirl a fantasy rainbow onto your cupcake! 

♥Where you might need patience:  For the brightest colors possible, switch piping bags every time your piping bag runs out of frosting. This prevents colors from turning muddy or brown.

The final product.  My signature rainbow fantasy cupcakes.

Maybe this summer..fantasy rainbow ice cream cupcakes?! ♥♥♥

Marshmallow Creme Buttercream Frosting Recipe:

13-14 oz Marshmallow Fluff or Cream

1 lb butter

1 T Vanilla Extract

Dash Salt (to lessen the sweetness a tad)

8 Cups Powdered Sugar (depending on how thick you want your frosting to be-use less for creamier frosting and more for thicker swirls)

• Use a spatula to scrape the fluff and the butter out into your stand mixer.
• Mix well until fluffy and well blended.
• Gradually add a pinch of salt and vanilla extract.
• Now add your powdered sugar, slowly until the frosting reaches desired consistency.
• (The more powdered sugar you add—the more stiff the frosting will be for decorating).