Three-Tone Frosting for Cupcakes.

I think you should make fancy cupcakes today. Don't you?

Or at least fancy frosting.

Maybe pipe it on a spoon and eat it straight for breakfast? Why not!

Let your hair down! It's summer! The three months of the year where it's socially acceptable to eat things like fried Oreos and cheesecake on a stick and chocolate chip cookies stuffed with s'mores.

And spoonfuls of red, white, & blue frosting.

For breakfast. Do it.

What's that, you say? Pie is the new cupcake? Nay. Cupcakes are the new cupcake. You know how I know? Because I made pie last week. And it was not fun.

Forgetting to add lemon to a lemon meringue pie? Not fun. Starting all over? Frozen pie crust that shatters in your hands as you try to unroll it?

Not.

Fun.

These? Fun!

I'm kind of proud of this one. It looks like a flag, no?

I giggled. Then I ate them. I froze them. Then I ate them frozen. And that's how it went.

Want to do it too? Here's how!

Three-Tone Frosting for Cupcakes

Printable How-To

1 batch of frosting (I used this recipe for vanilla buttercream, but this is a close favorite too.)

1 batch of cupcakes, baked and cooled completely

4 separate piping bags

1 piping tip (I used a Wilton #1M tip for these cupcakes). 

1. Make your frosting. Actually... make your cupcakes. Allow them to cool completely, then make a batch of frosting and separate it evenly into different bowls, adding whatever color or flavor you fancy.

2. Fill a separate piping bag with each individual color, one color per bag. Don't fill them up too much... they all need to be able to fit into one piping bag in a minute. You can always come back later and add more frosting to each bag as you need it.

Twist the tops of each bag closed to prevent frosting from exploding out.

Trust me on this.

3. Place all three bags into a fourth piping bag fitted with a decorating tip. You may have to hold the ends closed and squish the frosting down the bag to make them long and thin like a hotdog so they can all fit.

Make sure all three colors are placed evenly in the bag, otherwise one color may come out more than the other, and twist the bag closed. 

4. Do a couple of test swirls until the frosting comes out evenly and smooth.

See how the frosting is mostly blue with a teensy bit of red? 

It should look more like this, with the colors mostly even. Yay! Let's do this.

5. Frost your cupcakes! 

Now go make your friends jealous with your awesome new piping skills. 

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes.

Summer!

Things I'm excited about, in no particular order: 

Sunny weather. New flip-flops. Blue skies. 

Fresh berries.

True Blood, season four.

Beaches. The ocean. Sand in my toes.

Barbeques. Block parties. Fireworks!

Camping. Hiking. S'mores. 

Fairs. Ferris wheels. Funnel cakes and fried Oreos.

... more hiking. 

Midnight releases of Harry Potter and Breaking Dawn. At least seventeen times.

And these cupcakes. 

Cutest

cupcakes

ever.

I've never been so excited to bake a cupcake or to share a recipe with you.... but then I've never baked anything inside an ice cream cone either.

... note to self: find more things than can be baked inside ice cream cones.

Looking at this now... it's obvious they should've been dipped in or drizzled with some kind of dark chocolate fudge sauce. Swimsuit season, what? It's not officially summer. Until then... fudge sauce. Lots and lots of fudge sauce. 

Also: Walmart ice cream cones tastes like paper. And they break. Easily. Fun fact for you. Ask me how I know.

Just in case you're not totally convinced by their cuteness,   I'll break this down for you. 

Rich chocolate cupcakes (confession: cake mix. Triple chocolate fudge cake mix. I don't normally like using boxed mixes, but sometimes it's 10 PM & you want to bake cupcakes. It happens, right?) Crispy cones. Thick swirls of buttercream frosting looking like vanilla soft-serve.

Oh and sprinkles. Everything is better with sprinkles.

What better way to celebrate the unofficial start to summer then with a fistful of sugar and cake?

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Printable Recipe

24 flat-bottom ice cream cones
1 batch of cupcakes (either homemade or from a boxed mix)
1 batch of your favorite frosting (I used my favorite vanilla buttercream)
Sprinkles!

Preheat oven according to recipe or boxed cake mix. Place an ice cream cone standing up in each of the wells of a 24-cup muffin pan.

Prepare cupcake batter according to directions and spoon into ice cream cones, filling them 2/3 of the way full.

Bake according to directions, for about 20-23 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. 

When cupcakes have cooled, prepare your frosting and pipe on top in big generous swirls (I used a Wilton #1M tip for these cupcakes). Decorate with...

Source: Adapted from Betty Crocker. 

Memorial Day Recipes.

Need something last-minute and delicious for Memorial Day? I know I do. Here are five of my favoritest recipes from around the site that are simple, fast to make, loaded with sugar, and perfect for kicking off summer. 

What will you be making this weekend? 

Texas Sheet Cake. A classic. Moist cake, rich chocolate icing, handfuls of pecans. Love.  

Peanut Butter Crunch S'mores Bars. Because every barbeque needs s'mores. Especially rich, crispy squares of peanut butter deliciousness s'mores.

One-Bowl Vanilla Cupcakes. Color the frosting. Throw on some festive sprinkles or some sugary red and blue berries. Use them as hamburger buns? Yes.

Texan-Sized Almond Crunch Cookies. Whoa, flashback! Crunchy, sugary cookies full of almonds and buttery bits of Heath toffee. The first recipe I ever posted and still a go-to summer favorite.

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Mix dough. Grate cheese. Plop on baking sheet. These are addictive, melt-in-your-mouth, and delicious. Make them.

Have a happy Memorial Day!