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.

♥

Cupcakes Make People Happy.

2012 ended two weeks ago, but I just haven't found the words to blog here about it until now.  And that is because it was an amazing year. Can you believe I was left sort of speechless?!  So I decided to start my blog with how I ended last year. ♥

You see these cookies? They are signature Amanda Cupcake cookies! Inspired by my cupcakes.  I believe in soft sugar cookies...that are little discs of magic when you bite into them. Swirled with pillows of frosting on top and glitterized with sprinkles and all kinds of edible gems. I made them especially for one certain boy in mind ♥

Kayden is the boy I made them for. ♥

This is his mom Tina.  She is one of my volunteers.

She's a single mom, who goes to college full time too.

And somewhere in the midst of all of this, she finds some time to help me in the kitchen.

Her favorite thing to help me make in the kitchen is my frosting!

This is Tina at my Cupcake Mansion.

She does laugh the whole time she helps me make my frosting.

On a more serious note..she told me right before Christmas that her hot water heater had died, so she had to use whatever money she had to buy a new one.  Because of this, Kayden wasn't going to get any new presents, she was going to wrap one of his old fire truck toys to make it look like new and put it under the tree. I thought for sure I could do something, now that I live in the Cupcake Mansion, a place where people come from everywhere to eat cupcakes.

This was my Facebook post on my Amanda Cupcake fan page, and look at all the thumbs up.  Everyone in New London and the greater area wanted Kayden to have a Merry Christmas too! The best part after this Facebook post was when Tina surprised me by knocking on the door of my cupcake mansion that night.She just wanted to come and give me a hug :).

♥

So people came in, one by one bearing gifts.

And in return I fed the town of New London cupcakes ♥

I liked these special handmade ornaments that were especially custom made for Tina & Kayden because they will tell a story even when Kayden outgrows all his toys.

On Christmas Eve ♥

I gave him all his presents donated from the town of New London..and some donations even came through the mail from other states! He didn't open them on Christmas Eve though, I made sure to pile them all in a big bag-so he could unwrap them all on Christmas morning!

♥ This picture makes me smile, and giggle a bit. But really..it shows that cupcakes are a wonderful medium to make a big difference in one person's life. 

Like a kid in a cupcake shoppe, I let him pick whatever treat he wanted. He dove for a signature M&M sugar cookie!

This was Kayden's variety pack (his selections from the cupcake mansion)...

Some of my best cupcakes of the year:

♥A chocolate Snowman that I built out of frosting & oreo cookies

♥A chocolate peanut butter Rudolph with a shiny m&m nose

♥A sugar cookie that looks just like a cupcake

♥A Cupcake with a mini sugar cookie on top 

♥A Chocolate Mint Hug Cupcake with a thin mint baked inside

♥A Chocolate Peanut Butter Gem

I thought the best way to wrap up 2012 would be to focus on one big goal that I turned into a reality right at the end of the year.  I've always wanted to use cupcakes as a medium to make a difference in someone's life.  I have this huge dream of committing random acts of cup-kindness all over the world.  Some would say I am cupcake obsessed.  This is the reason.  The wonderful people that I meet and make smile, the lives behind the cupcakes.  This story says it all, and the fact that I was able to use my cupcakes to make someone truly happy..means that this dream of sending hope out into the world through cupcakes...is well on its way ♥ Welcome 2013. A year of cupcake hope!

The "Fun" In "Funfetti!" Cake Batter Cupcakes!

What can you think of that compares to eating cake batter?

If you think about it, your typical white cupcakes don't even taste like cake batter.

And there is always some special memory of a woman in your life involved with eating cake batter because she'll always lick the bowl with you while she's baking (whether it's your mom, grandma, BFF, or wifey).

I'll reveal a secret here.  (My favorite thing about baking cupcakes is sampling the batter.  I was born a rebellious spatula licking cake batter lover, even after all the warnings about salmonella. And I'm pretty healthy)!

What's even better than cake batter alone....

Sprinkles and Cake Batter!

Cake Batter=Fun

Sprinkles + Cake Batter=Funfetti! ♥

(I think I even just somehow managed to make math fun).

This cupcake goes out to you, my fellow cake batter lovers.

Yay!

Cupcakes that taste like cake batter.

The secret is really in the frosting more than anything else.  I poured half a bag of Pillsbury White Cake Mix in the frosting blend. It was that easy. You can do it too. Now my mind is running away with me because this adventure made me realize that the grocery store aisles could be *full* of things to mix in frosting. Oh my. 

There's a cheesecake filling inside of the cupcake that resembles the texture of cake batter. 

And sprinkles..of course!

The cool thing about this recipe.. is that you can make many things. Cupcakes, Cakes, Cake Pops.  

I even made this giant cupcake with a cupcake liner of sprinkles to celebrate a special birthday♥

This recipe is for more nostalgic moments in the kitchen.  

Please don't forget to add sparkles! ♥♥♥♥

Cake Batter Cupcakes Recipe:

(this one's easy, you will be a cake mix doctor)

1 Box Pillsbury or Duncan Hines Cake Mix

1 1/2 Cups of Buttermilk in place of water

4 Eggs

1 (4 oz) box of White Chocolate Pudding

1 tsp almond extract

1/3 Cup of Vegetable Oil

2 Cups of Multi-Colored Sprinkles

1.  Line your Cupcake Pans with 18 Cupcake Liners

2.  Preheat oven to 325.

3.  Using the paddle attachment on your mixer, whip white Cake Mix, Buttermilk, Pudding, Eggs, Almond Extract, and Vegetable Oil in Stand Mixer until fluffy (for about 2 minutes).  Make sure you scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula to blend all the yummy-ness together.

4.  Fold sprinkles into cake batter using rubber spatula ♥

Using an ice cream scoop, fill your cupcake liners about half full with batter.

Before putting your cupcakes in the oven, you'll want to make your 

Cheesecake/Cake batter-esque filling:

Ingredients:

8 oz Cream Cheese

1 egg

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 tsp Vanilla

Whip Cream Cheese, Egg Sugar, and Vanilla in a medium sized bowl until creamy.

Use a cookie dough scoop to scoop this on top of the cake batter in cupcake liners.

Bake your cupcakes at 325 for appx 18-22 minutes. When your cupcakes are baked, the "cheesecake" portion might look unfinished. This is supposed to stay soft, to resemble cake batter!

The Cake Batter Flavor is in the Frosting! ! ! ! !

7 oz Marshmallow Fluff

2 Cups of Unsalted Butter

1/2 Package of White Cake Mix

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

2-3 Cups of Powdered Sugar

Optional: 2-3 Tablespoons of Heavy Whipping Cream

Using the paddle attachment, whip Marshmallow Fluff and Butter together (both at room temperature) in a stand mixer.  Next add White Cake Mix and Vanilla Extract.  Gradually add Powdered Sugar until frosting is the thickness desired. (Less Powdered Sugar=light and dreamy fluffy frosting.  More Powdered Sugar=thick stiff frosting good for piping details)

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

Share your dreams, and they will come true.

I've always been a really big advocate of writing down my goals & dreams.
And I've *always* promoted the sharing of dreams.
If you share your dreams, you are automatically handed a responsibility to make them happen.
Then they become real.

Dreams can change, or unexpected things can happen.
But that is what gives life color and meaning.

I didn't really have a "final" plan for this cupcake. ♥
So did it turn out how I expected?
Not really. But it was a very much loved cupcake.
Loved by me and the family who ate it.

I have created cupcakes since I was 16 years old.
I remember the first cake I made for my brother.
It was a fun mess.

But I was experimenting.....and sharing my dreams with my brother.
And we partied with Toastman, Pokey, Gumby and friends.
The cake was like a dream to my brother.
And he was one of the first people who told me that one of the favorite things I ever made for anyone was my cakes.

He gave me the confidence to keep creating....making mistakes..practicing..
I don't think I've ever told him this before.

Most of the time my cakes looked really cute, but didn't taste very good.
(They were overly sweet).

I just knew that cake was this "medium" for me to create the most amazing form of art.
The kind of art that can make you laugh.
But also the kind of art that can warm your stomach, body, and soul. ♥

I remember when I came up with my first real "beauty" that tasted delicious as well.
The first success of a birthday cake I made for my mom.

She still tells me this is the favorite cake I have made her.
And this was made about 10 years ago. ♥



So you see.. you don't need to always follow the rules.
Follow your own pattern, be proud of who you are, and find comfort in your soft skin.
Nothing works better for *you* than being..well..*you*

I've had people giggle at me because I do things "differently."
I've dropped things.
Made messes that were difficult to clean up.
Felt a little more like "I Love Lucy" than Martha Stewart (which I still do to this day!)

But it all seems to work and come together beautifully.

I think after years of sharing my dreams, I've found one that really fits me.
If I can finally piece together everything I love in life on top of ..or as a surprise in the middle or on the bottom of a cupcake, I know there are millions of people who can find that one thing that makes them special too.

A handwritten "love" letter I received from a new friend this week.
We met through a cupcake delivery.
This shows what can happen if you share your dreams.♥

Oreo Cupcakes

I created a new and fun cupcake.
The Oreo Cupcake.
It is fun because it is full of surprises.

The swirls of cream cheese frosting.
The hidden chunks of oreo cookies inside the cupcake.
The surprise half oreo on the bottom (with the double stuffed cream filling left on for extra delicious-ness).
It looks so pretty when you peel off the paper.
And tastes amazing when you bite into it.

I even had a chef tell me that "these are the best cupcakes I have ever eaten."
That is saying something.
Everything is better with an Oreo. ♥
Even cupcakes.