Circus Animal Cupcakes

I'm asked quite often where I get my recipes.  I make them up, I say. Through trial and error, I developed a basic recipe that then allows me to play around with the right ingredients to make a cupcake with the desired flavor.  So then the next question is usually, where do I get my inspiration.  Everywhere I say.  When I was creating my drink inspired cuptails, the inspiration came from a list of my favorite drinks.  But these next few cupcakes, are not drink related (well not alcohol drink related).

The next cupcake in my whirlwind of cupcakery bakeryinging came from a thought I had in the grocery store.  Circus Animals!  I know, it's already a yummy cookie, why turn it into a cupcake?  And I say, why not?

Must have sprinkles!

In the oven they go!

And of course, you need both colors!

Sex on the Beach Cuptail

I am one of those fortunate people that knows just how I was conceived! Too much information to be sharing via a blog you say?  Well, let just say this next cuptail is for Betty who had a lunch date on the beach ;)
#9 in my baking marathon - Sex on the Beach

Sex on the Beach cuptail

Salted Lime Margarita Cuptail

"This tastes just like the drink! How did you do that?!?" - Dana (a long time friend

Strangely enough the Salted Lime Margarita cuptail is probably the closest to the actual drink than any of the others - it came to together quite easily and continues to be a crowd pleaser among the adults.  I debated about adding the salt initially because honestly - I ask for my margaritas without a salted rim - but I must admit, these ones are perfect with the salt.  People are a little leery to try these at first but when they do, they love them!

This cupcake is also the source of some controversy.  My husband works with someone who wants the recipe.....but I'm not sharing......she's tried to win me over with sharing cupcakes and recipes with me but I'm holding firm - of course she can always order 2 dozen :)

So good!

If you like Pina Coladas.................

Inspiration, where does it come from? When I first had the idea of making "drink inspired" cupcakes, I listed about 6 drinks that I thought would easily be translated into cupcakes. Pina Colada was one of the first ones on the list.  I love Pina Colada's and Malibu rum is super tasty so it was obvious to me that this needed to be my first "alcohol based cuptail" experiment!  I use the term "alcohol" loosely, because when all is baked and done - the alcohols are too!  But I think I have figured out a way to capture the essence of the alcohol and truly make my Pina Colada Cuptail one amazing cuptail!

Have I mentioned that this is probably MY favorite cuptail!

As far as how to display this cuptail, it has gone through a bit a of a metaphorsis

Starting with the dried baby pineapple slice

Then I tried to candy half a slice of pineapple myself

Same attempt at candying a pineapple

But then I found these dried pineapple chunks, some little swords and voila!

And yes, I do like getting caught in the rain!

Did someone say coffee?

I know I've mentioned this before, but the stereotype of the coffee drinking Seattle-ite is true!  We love our coffee, so when I began the "cuptail" making adventure it only seemed natural to make a Kahlua Coffee Mocha Cuptail, so I did.
I love Kahlua! When I was 19 my grandparents took me into Mexico (they were snow birds living in Yuma at the time).  I insisted that we pick up some Kahlua and we did - we each bought a bottle, but unfortunately I was too young to bring a bottle back over the border (and the border guard was not very nice about it).  I was given the choice to either take it back to the store where I bought it, or dump it out right there, NO WAY was I going to dump a perfectly good bottle of Kahlua, so we sadly took it back to the store.  My first college boyfriend taught me to make "homemade" Kahlua but the process is timely and well, I can just run down to the liquor store and buy it now (I'm well above 21).  So as you can see, Kahlua and I go way back!

This also happens to be my son's favorite cupcake that I make - just more proof that he's mine!

Out of all the "alcohol" based cuptails I make, this one is only one that requires an extra shot be involved - you know, the one that goes directly into my pie-hole!

I know I've said this before - but these come out of the oven smelling just heavenly........ahhhh.

Topped with a light whipped chocolate and a chocolate covered espresso bean and there you have it!  Pure delight in 1 or 2 bites!

This little piggy went to market and cried yippee all the way home!

Dave Ramsey is a financial genius and my husband and I are trying to follow the "Ramsey" plan to get out of debt (http://www.daveramsey.com/home/)........so trying to start a business in a down economic time may not be the brightest idea I've ever had, so I'm trying my best to find ways to get the word out about my cupcakes without going further into debt.  This weekend, I tried one of those ways out.....I took my cupcakes to market! The 2nd Saturdayz market that is! http://www.2ndsaturdayz.blogspot.com/http://www.2ndsaturdayz.blogspot.com/  This market is more of an antiques, refurbished furniture, etc. type market so I had no idea how cupcakes would do at something like this, but I figured I had to try.

It's November, so I went with 3 flavors that to me say "Fall/Thanksgiving"; Pumpkin Cheesecake, Dutch Apple Crumble and Salted Caramel Mocha Swirl. And because our church was having "Bacon Sunday" on Sunday - I decided to make my Chocolate Bakon Vodka Cuptails and bring those too! I had just under 200 cupcakes - I specialize in the mini cupcakes and so to make things easier I sold each one for $1.00.  I nearly sold out!  I couldn't believe how much people were loving my cupcakes!  I especially loved some of the comments - one vendor came up to me and said, "Your cupcakes are probably the best I have ever had and I've had a lot of cupcakes" - her favorite was the bacon cupcakes (which were my best sellers).  Another person came up and said that her friend had bought her the Dutch Apple Crumble and that it was not the one she would have picked but then she went on to say that it is the BEST cupcake she has ever had!  So, I will be going back to market in December - I have 3, maybe 4 new recipes that I plan to try out, all geared toward Christmas treats, and of course, I will be bringing my main attractions - The Chocolate Bakon Vodka Cuptails (probably a double batch), so if you are in the Seattle Area on that 2nd Saturday some check out some  very cools stuff and enjoy a cupcake or two (why not, they're small)!

Left to right: Dutch Apple Crumble, Salted Caramel Mocha Swirl, Chocolate Bakon Vodka & Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

Salted Caramel Mocha Swirl

Dutch Apple Crumble

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

If you're achin' for some bacon....

Bacon, bacon, bacon - the universal food!  Everyone loves this tasty, salty treat! One of the best smells in the world is bacon - it can draw a crowd from miles around.  And one of the best parts, it's not just for breakfast anymore!  There is bacon on burgers, chocolate bars and bacon dipped in chocolate, there is a whole line of Bacon salt, Bakon Vodka and of course there is the maple bacon bar. (http://voodoodoughnut.com/menu.php)

So when my husband asked if I would make cupcakes for one of his employees, I said sure, what kind does he want?  The text that came back was this, "Zac said bacon".  Bacon?  What does he mean "bacon"? So I did what every 21st century girl does in this day to get advice, I asked my Facebook friends. I received some good suggestions but I also received a few comments saying that bacon on a cupcake was just wrong.  I was making mostly "drink inspired" cuptails at the time so I knew I needed, of course, to use the Bakon Vodka (http://bakonvodka.com/). So after much contemplation, I decided to go with a Chocolate Bakon Vodka cupcake topped with a Caramel buttercream, BACON, and a caramel drizzle.......feast your eyes on this!

My 5th cupcake batch in the marathon......

These are really good, I mean it, really good!

The finished product

Oh yeah, after I made these and sent them off with my husband, he sent me this text

"Zac says 'Bacon cupcakes = love!'"

When you live in the Northwest, warm drinks seem to be a necessity.  It's not that it's that cold here, we don't have snow for months at a time....and despite the rumors, we don't have rain 360 days a year.  But it is true that we have coffee stands on just about every corner.  In fact if you were to count the number of coffee places within a mile radius of my house the number would be at least 8.  So we are obsessed with coffee and other warm beverages.  In my pursuit of new cupcake recipes, I decided try a hot chocolate recipe but then I started thinking about my other love, Mexican food......so how about a Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcake! And Voila a new cupcake is born.

Baking these bad boys makes the most wonderful smell!

So now for the perfect topping -boiled frosting - a warm marshmellowy topping that is so tasty and really pretty.  Of course it wouldn't be complete with out Mexican chocolate sprinkled on top!

MMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmm!

My grandma is 93 years old.  She lives too far away to visit as often as I would like but we talk on the phone often.  A few weeks ago she asked me again if I was still baking and if I was still enjoying it.  Of course I said I was and that I was experimenting with new recipes.  She asked why I was making everything from scratch since boxed mixes are so cheap these days, well, I told her, it just tastes so much better when everything is fresh.  Besides, I love creating new recipes that knock it out of the park on the first try (though there are a few that I have only gotten to first base on the first try and some that struck out big time) but I still love it either way.


I also love Chai tea latte's but when I tried the recipe the first time, it was a 2nd base try - not bad but not great.  I have since come up with a Chai that I think is pretty darn good and it was #3 in my baking marathon! 

Mixin' the Chai 

In the oven & baked to perfection! These come out of the oven smelling like a piece of Heaven!

And this little slice of spicy heavenly goodness is topped with a honey butter cream and sprinkled with nutmeg and cardamon - my tummy loves this one!