In preparation for this Saturday's celebrations, I created a Lucky Charms themed cupcake in which I experimented with grinding up the cereal to substitute for half of the flour content of the vanilla cupcakes. Rainbow magic is what it takes to whip up these treats: vanilla and whole grain cereal cupcakes filled with a creamy Bailey's concoction, frosted with a fluff buttercream, topped with marshmallow hearts, stars and horseshoes, clovers and blue moons, pots of gold, and rainbows, and the red balloons, they're magically delicious!
Whole Grain Cereal Cakes
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup Bailey's Irish Liquor
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup ground Lucky Charms cereal (marshmallows removed)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup Lucky Charms marshmallows (seperated from cereal)
green food colouring
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease pan(s).
In a large bowl combine butter and sugar until fluffy (~3 minutes). Beat in the eggs one at a time. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, cereal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl combine the Bailey's, milk and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the butter/sugar mixture in thirds alternating with the milk mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients, until combined. Stir in green food colouring. Pour the batter into the pan(s). This batch yielded 12 regular sized and 7 mini cupcakes baked for 15 and 10 minutes respectively.
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup Bailey's Irish Liquor
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup ground Lucky Charms cereal (marshmallows removed)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup Lucky Charms marshmallows (seperated from cereal)
green food colouring
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease pan(s).
In a large bowl combine butter and sugar until fluffy (~3 minutes). Beat in the eggs one at a time. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, cereal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl combine the Bailey's, milk and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the butter/sugar mixture in thirds alternating with the milk mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients, until combined. Stir in green food colouring. Pour the batter into the pan(s). This batch yielded 12 regular sized and 7 mini cupcakes baked for 15 and 10 minutes respectively.
Bailey's Filling
3 tbsp flour
1/2 cup Bailey's
1/4 cup confectioners/icing sugar
1 tbsp butter
In a small saucepan combine flour and Bailey's over medium heat, whisking continuously until thick, approximately 2 minutes. Once the mixture has reached the consistency of pudding/custard, remove from heat and stir in butter and sugar. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and allow to cool.
3 tbsp flour
1/2 cup Bailey's
1/4 cup confectioners/icing sugar
1 tbsp butter
In a small saucepan combine flour and Bailey's over medium heat, whisking continuously until thick, approximately 2 minutes. Once the mixture has reached the consistency of pudding/custard, remove from heat and stir in butter and sugar. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and allow to cool.
Fluff Frosting
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 cups powder/confectioner sugar
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz Fluff
Cream the butter and sugar together until well combined. Add vanilla and Fluff, mixing thoroughly.
Once the cupcakes cooled, I filled each of them with some Bailey's filling, frosted them and topped them with one of each Lucky Charm marshmallow shapes as well as gold sprinkles.
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
2 cups powder/confectioner sugar
1 tsp vanilla
8 oz Fluff
Cream the butter and sugar together until well combined. Add vanilla and Fluff, mixing thoroughly.
Once the cupcakes cooled, I filled each of them with some Bailey's filling, frosted them and topped them with one of each Lucky Charm marshmallow shapes as well as gold sprinkles.
The Panel
Overall, presentation sat very well with the cupcakivores as they mused their childhoods. Mixed comments on several levels concerning flavor. A few of the judges found the treat to be rather sweet, with Crazy Cakes going as far as saying "a diabetic's nightmare", though she added that the Bailey's filling was "delectable", a comment supported byDiana, Fathoms Chef and Peanut. The creative use of the whole grain cereal was positively received, producing surprisingly smooth cakes. The marshmallows also provided a fun element and texture, though the toppers softened overnight.
Kupcake: "Pot-o-gold on the icing, one of my favs."
Shannah: "The marshmallow frosting combined with the Lucky Charms completed the dance of sweetness in my mouth!"
My comments:
I agreed with some of the judges in that this week's creation was extremely sweet, my teeth actually pulsed painfully for a moment. The Fluff frosting was wonderful tasting but a little on the soft/melty side likely due to the marshmallow nature. The aroma was most certainly that of opening up a box of Lucky Charms in preparation for a morning bowl. Moisture level of the cake was good and the ground up cereal was a great addition. I personally found the consistency of the filling to be too much like a frosting but equally delicious. The marshmallows softened after sitting on the cakes over night which was a little disappointing since I was looking forward to the crunch they typically add as part of the cereal.
Overall, presentation sat very well with the cupcakivores as they mused their childhoods. Mixed comments on several levels concerning flavor. A few of the judges found the treat to be rather sweet, with Crazy Cakes going as far as saying "a diabetic's nightmare", though she added that the Bailey's filling was "delectable", a comment supported byDiana, Fathoms Chef and Peanut. The creative use of the whole grain cereal was positively received, producing surprisingly smooth cakes. The marshmallows also provided a fun element and texture, though the toppers softened overnight.
Kupcake: "Pot-o-gold on the icing, one of my favs."
Shannah: "The marshmallow frosting combined with the Lucky Charms completed the dance of sweetness in my mouth!"
My comments:
I agreed with some of the judges in that this week's creation was extremely sweet, my teeth actually pulsed painfully for a moment. The Fluff frosting was wonderful tasting but a little on the soft/melty side likely due to the marshmallow nature. The aroma was most certainly that of opening up a box of Lucky Charms in preparation for a morning bowl. Moisture level of the cake was good and the ground up cereal was a great addition. I personally found the consistency of the filling to be too much like a frosting but equally delicious. The marshmallows softened after sitting on the cakes over night which was a little disappointing since I was looking forward to the crunch they typically add as part of the cereal.