This week was my dear friend and podcast co-host's birthday, and if you have followed my blog for awhile, I am sure you've noticed that I make a lot of baked goods for people. One, because I love baking, and two, because I think I might be slightly insane. At least that's what many of the people who know me have iterated repeatedly to me. I will concur that I am baking insane as it does appear that I always have a baked comestible coming out of the oven or cooling on the counter for the multitudes who cross my home's threshold to enjoy.
One of my son's friends, a giant creature who I think is transforming into a vampire as we speak (he was bitten by a bat a few weeks ago, don't worry though, he's currently under a rabies treatment series), said it best:
"You are not like most moms, you seem to always be baking or cooking something."
Lady Dimitresque's soon to be adopted son is right I think. I have toyed around with opening my own, Kat-like treat shop for years. However, I am already stretched a little thin with all the life I live, and a retail food establishment has to be your life, so for right now my baking prowess will remain utilized for those I adore. Who knows what the future holds though, one can only be told so many times that they MUST open a shop before it might actually become a reality...we shall see.
Anyway, future retail establishment dreams aside, my friend's birthday was looming, and I wanted to do something fun for him. He used to live the under the perpetual influence of cannabis life, and has an appreciation for stoner cuisine. I have to admit that I am pretty impressed with some of the concoctions those in the thrall of munchies concoct, and in honor of that thought vein, I decided to make a sugar cereal inspired cupcake.
Part of the inspiration also came from the fact that my local grocery store had a 12 hour cereal sale. I rarely buy sugar cereal, as I don't eat it, and it's really not the best breakfast option, but as a treat the stuff is kinda fun! Plus at $1.68 for a box or big bag, my frugal nature rejoiced.
Which brings us to the cupcakes. Now, I have been a little over-worked, so I used a boxed cake mix, but I spiffed up the mix because I hate dry cake which lacks body. Hence the addition of an extra egg and pudding. The star of the cake mix though was the infused cereal milk that I crafted to use as the liquid in the cake mix.
Fruity Pebbles have this smell when they sit in milk that is the finest chemical fruit smell ever concocted, and if you let them sit in a bowl of milk for an hour, strain them with a mesh strainer, and whisk in a touch of brown sugar and salt, you get this glorious, fruity liquid that imparts a punch of laboratory-crafted, taste-bud smacking goodness that is smashing for a party cake.
I liked the cereal milk so much that I infused some whipping cream with the Fruity Pebbles as well for the buttercream frosting that I topped the cupcakes with. The frosting was so, so good. Like, I was allowing myself sugar that day and grabbed a pinch of Fruity Pebbles and piped the frosting on it good. Yum.
Anyway, I baked the cupcakes the night before. Any cake I bake I tend to bake the day before, cool it, wrap it with plastic wrap, and tuck it away in the cupboard over night. Moisture cake magic happens, trust me.
The following day I whipped together the frosting, piped it in a swirl on the cereal milk infused cupcakes using my favorite thing ever made, disposable piping bags, and then got to do the most fun part of this particular type of cupcake construction, rolling the tops of the frosted cupcakes in a bowl of Fruity Pebbles to garnish them.
I think they turned out so great:
And even more so than how they looked was the fact that they just tasted so dang awesome!
Now, there is nothing remotely redeeming about these cupcakes in the health department. They are a testament to Big Food industry chemists, but as a fun treat they knocked it out of the park. I'm seriously going to make them at least once a year, probably around my friend's birthday and 12 hour cereal sale time. And if you have a friend or family member who loves sugar cereal, I can almost guarantee they will love these cupcakes!
The Cupcakes:
1 Funfetti cake mix (I used Pillsbury) (or scratch made funfetti cake batter, enough for 24 cupcakes)
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
2 TBSP instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup cereal milk *see instructions belowPre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line cupcake trays with enough wrappers for 24 cupcakes.
Whisk pudding mix into cake mix and add oil, eggs, and cereal milk. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scrap bowl, then beat on med-high for 4 minutes until batter is light and fluffy.Fill cupcake tins 2/3's full and bake for 13-15 minutes. Do not overbake cupcakes, no one likes a dry cupcake.
The Cereal Milk:
1 1/2 cups of Fruity Pebbles
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/2 TBSP brown sugar
a generous pinch of saltPlace the Fruity Pebbles cereal into a bowl, pour the cream and milk into the bowl with the cereal and stir it a bit until the cereal is completely saturated. Let the cereal sit, covered for a minimum of 20 minutes (I let it sit 60 minutes). Strain cereal through a mesh strainer. I use a rubber spatula to really press the cereal into the mesh so that I can extract all that good corporate kitchen chemistry flavor! After straining, add the brown sugar and salt. Give the cereal milk a good whisking. After that the cereal milk is all ready to use!
The Frosting:
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
3-5 TBSP's cereal cream see instructions belowBeat butter and shortening together until well combined, and add powdered sugar a cup at a time, until well combined. Add vanilla and cereal milk and beat until super fluffy. I usually add a TBSP or two of cereal milk as I am adding the powdered sugar in, you want to only add enough milk to get the texture of frosting that you want, spreadable without being runny. This gets easier to achieve over time with practice, I honestly don't even measure the milk that I put in frosting, it's a complete eyeball thing.
The Cereal Cream:
1/2 cup Fruity Pebbles cereal
1//4 cup whipping cream
2 Tablespoons whole milkPlace the Fruity Pebbles cereal into a bowl, pour the cream and milk into the bowl with the cereal and stir it a bit until the cereal is completely saturated. Let the cereal sit, covered for a minimum of 20 minutes. Strain cereal through a mesh strainer. I use a rubber spatula to really press the cereal into the mesh so that I can extract all that good corporate kitchen chemistry flavor! After that the cereal milk is all ready to use!
The Garnish:
1 cup Fruity Pebbles cereal
Place Fruity Pebbles in a bow, gently roll tops of frosted cupcakes in the cereal until coated. Garnish done!
Lol your statement about the artificial fruit flavour tickled me up.
Sounds like something my boys will love.
Got to try this.
You know, that's how I feel about artificial fruit flavor, it's a tickle for your taste buds, lol:)
I hope your boys enjoy them, my kids sure did!
It does in a very strong way. I need to try this out this weekend if possible.
That makes me laugh hard because it's true. You really could make a fortune with those. Marketed to the stoner crowds in the pot shops you would be baking them forever.
I'm always taking mental notes from your baking posts and the wrap it in plastic wrap and set it in cupboard overnight trick makes perfect sense and I hadn't thought of it. Baking is less of a summer time thing for us as it heats the house up so much but now it is where I can start again. I need to make a batch of zuchini bread, pumpkin bread, and an apple bake now that our apples are about ready.
Having a bake shop next to a dispensary would be a guaranteed winner lol, I'd never get to sit down!
It sounds like you are going to be really busy with harvest baking projects, not that you aren't slightly busy already😉 I keep watching my ever orangeing (that's totally a word) pumpkins with anticipation as I adore that first bite of pumpkin bread for the season. Hmm...after reading about all of that yumminess that you are going to be crafting, I find I am rather hungry for some non chemical fruit smell delicacies....
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Thank you!!!
the cakes look so tempting. 😋
Awe, thank you! The aroma they give off is what really gets you, like it's hard to walk by one without stuffing it in your mouth lol!
Gosh, they look very nice! I rarely eat cereal anymore since a documentary my boyfriend watched and told me those stupid cereals (regular though) you both eat so much, are insanely unhealthy. I started to see certain patterns after eating them (I ate them every morning with milk and some cocoa powder lol) and my boyfriend was the worst one affected, he often threw up.
I have them at home, the regulars but they are rarely touched. I try not to buy these colored / chocolate ones as I won't eat them and then my daughter will have to eat it all. Although she's still tiny and probably not going to have a bad response after eating them, I just avoid it for the longer term. This little dragon of mine has a serious fear of healthy food. Everything needs to be balanced out a bit, that's why I probably bake these banana bread more often than the usual mom, so we have an easy breakfast. She often refuses to eat bread now too, so it's turning into a tough cookie :)
I do admit that your foodies posts are inspiring me to try different twists and make these bakings more healthy (I know this one is not the best example lol) so thank you for that <3
You know what's funny, I don't like breakfast cereal much, and I rarely ever buy it(I usually make homemade for my crew), but this recipe was for a special occasion and they were super yummy, so I didn't feel too bad about eating them, even if sugary breakfast cereal is literally garbage food lol.
You and your boyfriend are so beyond smart for avoiding the stuff! I'm sorry he has such a reaction to them!
That said, I totally hear you about balance, and once in a great while I'll buy the kids some of the fun cereal. Most of the not healthy goodies on my blog are from celebrations, although sometimes we tend to have more celebration food than we should...
Since baking season is about to wrap up and I will be spending most of my time out in the garden and farming, and since I have been posting a lot of celebratory (and not so good for you) foodie posts, I am going to do a series of what I normally eat, which is mostly sugar and refined flour free.
And you have inspired me so much with your foodie posts, I can't wait to see more of them when you get all settled in Spain!
They look awesome @generikat. Every time I read one of your food posts I have to take more insulin, lol
Oh no! LOL! We don't want that! I am going to start a series of healthier (and yummy) posts containing the food that I normally eat, as I only have sugar once a week. We don't want that insulin of yours spiking to the moon!
Thank you bunches @beststart
Jeez, how long did you leave the cupcakes out that they look like this
I baked them in 2008, they have to age like a fine wine, at least 5 years. This was my finest ever batch!
I have never seen cereal used that way before. I loved your description of the smell of fruity peebles with milk. Thanks for sharing.
LOL! Thanks! It was a fun and tasty (although not very healthy) experiment!