Spaghetti & Meatballs

I made some delicious spaghetti & meatballs for dinner last night...

APRIL FOOLS!

Ok, so I made some delicious cupcakes last night.  And made them look like spaghetti & meatballs.  Super easy & super cute!  You still have time to make these and fool someone today!

What you'll need:

24 cupcakes - use your favorite cupcake recipe (I used my go-to chocolate cake recipe)
1 batch of buttercream icing (recipe below)
Icing/food coloring (I used Wilton's Buttercup)
24 Ferrero Rocher chocolates (I used the Rondnoir dark chocolate ones)
1 jar of strawberry/raspberry jam or sauce

Bake cupcakes and let cool.  Prepare buttercream icing:

1 stick butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup shortening (used to help the "noodles" hold their shape)
4 cups (or 1 lb) powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 to 4 Tbsp heavy cream

Cream the butter and shortening with a mixer until well mixed and fluffy.  Gradually add in the powdered sugar, and then beat on medium speed for a minute.  Add vanilla & half of the cream.  Beat until combined & fluffy.  You want a thinner consistency here, so use the rest of the cream as needed to achieve a loose, but not runny, frosting.  Color with a yellow icing gel to get a noodle color.

Pipe onto cupcakes using a piping bag and #5 tip.  If you don't have a piping bag or tip, you can use a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off.  To make the noodles, simply hold the bag about 6 inches above the cupcake and squeeze.  The noodles will really form themselves, just move the bag around to completely cover the cupcake in noodles.

Once the noodles are piped on, place your jam in a bowl and stir to loosen it up.  Place the chocolates in and cover them in jam, then spoon onto the top of the cupcake.  You can add an extra dollop of jam on top of the meatball and help it spill down the sides.

See how easy it was?  You still have time to whip up a batch and fool someone!

Cupcake idea from Hello, Cupcake!