Rocky Road Cupcakes - Tweaked

When I made root beer float cupcakes for my boys, I had to make something that my daughter & I could eat since we don't like root beer.

She had been wanting some Rocky Road Cupcakes that I have done before, but I felt it needed a bit of a tweak & I am very happy with how they came out!
Instead of just marshmallow fluff this time, I made a marshmallow buttercream for the filling! Oh, yes I did! Tried it after the marshmallow fluff expanded & dripped everywhere last time; the buttercream seemed to give it much better stability. I kept the almond crust at the bottom of each cake, then topped each with a ring of chocolate buttercream, mini marshmallows & sliced almonds on top. I baked these beauties in elegant black & gold baking liners.

Gourmet & Gorgeous!

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Sometimes, you find yourself doing & creating things out of love, so you sacrifice yourself a bit & endure things you despise. These cupcakes fall into that category for me: Root Beer. Just the words turn my stomach, but the boys in my house love it. So...my 13-year-old son brought it up in passing once & thought, "Why not?"

I wanted to make these to taste like *gag* a root beer float. So, I found root beer flavoring & knew that's what I should use. I wanted to use my vanilla buttercream icing as the "ice cream" topper. I had plans to use some leftover Twizzlers as straws, like I do for my slushie cakes.

Keep in mind that I love doing quality control on my cupcakes...but not this time. I had to solely rely on my root beer lovers to give me their opinions & critiques. I served 'em up cold (root beer float - DUH!) but without the Twizzler straws. Apparently my hubby knew we had some & finished them off. Go figure.

As it turns out, as strong as they smelled to me (and made want to lose my lunch), the baking process weakened the root beer taste. So, I will have to try these again, against MY best judgement, and make sure to include the Twizzler straws next time, too.

I know that by becoming a cupcaker, people are going to ask for some odd flavors once in a while, and sometimes flavors we despise. Guess I gotta learn to suck it up & dive in for the clientele!

Margarita Cupcakes

It's been a little while since I've posted any cupcakes! Sorry for anyone who has been looking for new posts...but here you go!

Not too long ago, we were having guests over & I wanted to try a particular flavor of cupcake that would allow me to try the piping gel recipe I'd come across. Margarita Cupcakes! The cupcakes tasted like a margarita, I actually had a rim of a sugar/salt mixture around the edge, then I placed a dab of my homemade piping gel (margarita flavored, of course) in the center & topped it with a sugared lime slice candy.

Sadly, my piping gel didn't set well at all...and it melted over everything! However, sticky mess or not, they were tasty!! Our guests were surprised about the salty rim!

I just need to find a good piping gel recipe so I can flavor it on my own. If you have one I can follow, I would be greatly appreciative!