One of my most favourite memories of hot summer days visiting family in Vancouver, was getting a snow cone from the fair. They always looked so beautiful and shiny- and were incredibly disappointing once you’d sucked all the syrup off! These cupcakes are anything but disappointing as the best part (the cupcake) is saved for last at the bottom. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make homemade snow cone syrup and how to make your regular cupcakes look like a real snow cone!
Cotton Candy Cupcakes
May 31, 2014 by
I’m not a huge lover of the taste of cotton candy, but I love the smell, the look and idea of it. If I could find a way to cover the spun sugar in chocolate, well then I’d be in love!
What I do like are the soft pastel colours that end up in a fluffy mound on the end of the cone. It always reminds me of the way I think clouds would look and feel if you could see them up close. I had always wondered how cotton candy was made, and if you have the same wonder, make sure you check out my previous post (and video) on exactly how you can do it at home.
For the cotton candy flavouring of these cupcakes, I used the cotton candy that I made with my cotton candy machine, and for extra flavouring, I used LorAnn Gourmet flavouring, which I bought through Golda’s Kitchen. If you want a strong cotton candy taste, you will want to use a larger amount than what my recipe requires. I was being cautious with the amount that I put in, but feel free to add however much you want to.
If you are going to be making these cupcakes and the mini cotton candy toppers, make sure that you make the mini cones immediately prior to serving your cupcakes. The cotton candy does not stay “flossed” for long.
How to Make Cotton Candy – Jelly Belly Cotton Candy Machine
May 28, 2014 by
First off, I think that North America should formally recognize cotton candy the way the Australians do- Fairy Floss- from now on. How much more fun is that name?!?! It sounds so sweet.
As a child, I spent my time at the fair watching the cotton candy man “stir” the cotton candy to make beautiful puffy clouds of blue and pink. It kept my attention for a whole 30 seconds or so, which is quite good considering all the distractions on the fair grounds. Every year at the end of August, my parents would take us to the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) which is a 17 day fair in Vancouver, BC. It has rides, exhibits, show homes, trade shows, and of course, FAIR FOOD! Obviously, being who I am, the food was my favourite part.
Unfortunately for me, no one paid me money to make this video. I was hanging out in my favourite store (Target) and saw the box for the Jelly Belly Cotton Candy Maker. I knew that I had to figure out how to make cotton candy at home. I followed the enclosed directions, which were easy to follow, put the machine together, and started right away. I feel that this machine is great for people of all ages! *The inner core get quite hot, so kids should definitely be supervised while using the machine.*
My machine came with 6 cotton candy cones as a “bonus” but what would have also been nice would have been the inclusion of the sugars. I tried making cotton candy with granulated sugar, and it worked, so perhaps that is why flavoured sugar isn’t included in the machine package, but who wants to make white cotton candy?? I purchased an additional pack (Jelly Belly Cotton Candy Making Kit) of 2 different flavoured sugars (blue/pink) and more cones for another $20. If you are a died hard cotton candy fan, this would be a great investment, but if you are looking to make cotton candy for the masses, you probably want a machine that is larger and faster. It takes 5 minutes for the machine to heat up, another 1-2 minutes for the sugar to start to floss once added, and another 1-2 minutes to collect the spun sugar onto the cone.
Once the sugar is spinning, rolling the cone along the flossing ring can take some getting used to, but as long as you are moving the cone and “catching” the floss, there is not really a right/wrong way to do it. Stay away from the centre core though, as it’s heat will melt your spun candy, and it will also slice into your neatly piled floss! All in all I think this is a great, fun machine! If you’d like to see more machine reviews, let me know in the comment section!
