The Snow Day

There's been a lot of cold, snowy days this winter, and about a week ago we got hit with a doozy of a snow storm. Being a native of Syracuse, though, I know how to handle it. We are #1 in snow fall in the country, so there's something to be said about that! The snow was so bad that we got a snow day...woo hoo! For me, a snow day means no kids in my program. But on this day, the snow was so bad that we were in a State of Emergency and got mandated to go home at noon.

What would you do with a paid half day off?!

view from my front porch at work

When I got safely home, I started looking for inspiration for my next Syracuse-inspired cupcake. I asked my Baked by Kelly fans what flavors came to mind when they thought of a snow day and my fans answered: hot chocolate with marshmallows. What's more Syracuse than hot chocolate and marshmallows on a snow day?! To get more inspired for my next creation, I spent some time walking around the cabin to take photos of the snowy scape. For those of you who don't know, yes -- I live in a log cabin.

the woods surrounding the cabin

The barren trees, the blistering cold, the snow-covered pines, and that giant icicle...there's no denying that it's winter time in Syracuse folks! I went inside and curled up in front of my fire, and once I warmed up after my snowy adventure, I decided to create The Snow Day cupcake!

The Snow Day is a hot chocolate cupcake with marshmallow buttercream frosting and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

For the chocolate cake, I tried a new recipe. It came out denser than my usual recipe which is softer. Some people like a denser cake though, so it will be a good recipe to keep on hand.

To portion out the batter, I used my new OXO scooper and I was sooo happy with the result! It literally took me 2 minutes to get the batter into the liners. Scoop, drop! Scoop, drop! No mess, no hassle -- it was great! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who bakes cupcakes on a regular basis.

new scooper!

all filled and ready to go

I made a marshmallow buttercream frosting to go on top. I was really impressed with this frosting! The consistency of it was perfect for piping onto my cupcakes and the flavor was so sweet. To finish it off, I sprinkled cinnamon on top.

Thank you to my talented friend Sarah Heppell who took some of these photos for me. She braved the snow and cold to help me along my blogging journey!

Curl up under a blanket with a mug of hot chocolate, and warm up from that cold Syracuse weather!