Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut...

Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't...Almond Joy's got nuts, Mounds don't!  Anyone remember that jingle?  It's pretty catchy huh?  I remember hearing this in the Almond Joy/Mounds commercial a loooong time ago.  And yep, whoever made this jingle was very successful.  I still remember it years later.  And I apologize if this jingle is now stuck in your head for the remainder of your day...or even years later!  And what does this have to do with dessert posts?  Oh, I made some Almond Joy and Mounds cupcakes!  I had something similar when I was in Vegas, so I thought I'd come home and make my own version.  Which I did.  I must admit, this was a pretty tasty cupcake.  I've been kind of stuck in the basics of cupcake flavors.  You know, vanilla, chocolate....Well, I guess vanilla and chocolate!  Chocolate because it is sooo tasty.  I'm serious.  My chocolate cake will hook you in!  And vanilla because I am forever fixing my vanilla recipe.  I just have not had the time to explore all the different flavor combinations out there!  Anyways, I finally figured out a vanilla recipe that I really enjoy.  So the base of these almond joy cupcakes was the vanilla cake.  However, I changed the recipe to make the cupcake batter into a coconut cake...since almond joy consists of chocolate, almonds, and coconut.  The results?  A divine, light, moist coconut cake.  Yum.

The first pictures a Mounds cupcake.  The bottom picture is Almond Joy.  I made extra big regular cupcakes...I wanted the slight dome on top of the cupcake so that I could dip it into the rich chocolate ganache.  I then topped each cupcake with sweetened coconut flakes, and depending upon whether I wanted Mounds or Almond Joy, I topped the topping accordingly.  The Mounds cupcakes received lightly toasted, unsweetened coconut flakes.  Whereas the Almond Joy received toasted sliced almonds.  Overall, this cupcake was yummy.  I think I could have double dipped the ganache though, and I would double dip the next time around!  This cupcake looks rich and heavy, but it's actually not!  It's a pretty airy cake and very light in sweetness!  (Hence needing to double dip the chocolate ganache!)  I would definitely make this cupcake again!  Thanks, Vegas, for the inspiration!