I am so so so glad you’re here today, because today I’m having a special bloggiversary party to kick off two very important things: my blog’s 4th birthday (omg!), and my blog’s new design (yay!).
It’s so crazy to think that four years ago, I had just created this blog. I was so excited to get started and create something that was completely my own where I could share my funny stories and wacky anecdotes, and where I could challenge myself to concoct unique desserts. And if I’m being frank here, I think I’ve succeeded!
Since being born in 2011, The Domestic Rebel has grown far beyond what I could have imagined, with tens of thousands of fans on my combined social channels, working with top brands in the industry like The Pampered Chef, Kitchen Aid, Tieks, and the Real California Milk Advisory Board, and meeting so many fabulous people and making so many new fantastic blog friends. I’m so forever humbled and grateful to my opportunities because I know this job can be fleeting, and something bigger and better could come around the corner and turn my space on the interwebs into an even smaller particle of the world. It’s important to me to remain grateful to this awesome job and the people who make it possible: YOU!
Sorry to be sappy, but you guys rule my life. I love you all so much for coming to my blog, commenting on my posts, liking my Facebook and Instagram statuses, repinning my Pinterest pics, and overall being such a loyal, fun and supportive bunch. If I could, I’d bake you all the biggest, gooeiest cookie to resemble how I feel about you: oozing with lotsa love!
So with 4 years on the blog, it was also time for a change. A new facelift, to be precise. I’m positively loving my new design from the talented Erika S. at Designer Blogs. I think she perfectly encapsulated who I am as a blogger and person – with my intense love for donuts, to the rebellious-yet-fun new logo of my spatula and whisk crossbones, to the funky fonts I love so dear.
Besides the new look, here are a couple new features you’ll love:
1) The hovering Pin-It button on each picture makes it even simpler to directly Pin my creations to you favorite Pinterest boards. Simply click the donut icon that pops up in the right upper corner of each picture and voila! Instantly pinned. So easy!
2) Sharing couldn’t be easier with the new Share bar on the bottom of each post. Directly link my posts and pictures to your Facebook or Twitter feeds, Stumble them, or even email it to friends and family. No copying of links or saving pictures necessary.
3) The NEW Recipe Index makes searching for recipes a breeze, thanks mainly to the new visual icons for every recipe. I’m still working on a couple of the older posts that don’t have pictures, but they’re still accessible through the links. Craving chocolate? Simply click the Chocolate link and instantly be taken to a page where you can access all recipes tagged with ‘chocolate.’ This definitely helps streamline searching for your favorite recipes, or getting ideas of what you want to make!
4) You may also like… the new linked-within feature on every post! Featuring a handful of some older, archived posts, this is a great way to see stuff you haven’t seen (and some of my first recipes!) for more inspiration.
I am SO VERY HAPPY (!!) with my new design and I seriously hope you love it, too! I really feel like this design perfectly defines who I am and I hope you’ll find the new look and features to be just as awesome as I do!
And to kick off this brand new blog design and celebrating four blissful years blogging, I’m throwing a fabulous party and you’re all invited! And lemme just say, the party favors are pretty damn cool — there ain’t no gumballs or cheap plastic yo-yos here.
For being such an awesome person, you can enter to win three prizes! The GRAND PRIZE is a pair of Tieks Ballet Flats (a $200 value!!), the highly coveted and ever-so-stylish flats I’ve talked about prior and that are sweeping the world with their sleek appearance, shocking comfort, and gorgeous hues. Not only are Tieks incredibly comfy, but they come in a wide range of styles, colors and sizes to fit everyone perfectly. Amazing!
SECOND PLACE PRIZE is Too Faced’s brand-spankin’-new Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette! With sixteen flattering, highly-pigmented shades, this palette is perfect for everyone! Shades range from a bright blue called Blueberry Muffin, to a gold-flecked brown named Hot Fudge, to a shimmery sweet Butter Pecan highlighter color. Each shade is packed with real cocoa, giving a sweet aroma with every brush stroke. This limited edition palette is a fan favorite among beauty bloggers and fashionistas everywhere!
And last but not least, THIRD PLACE PRIZE is a $25 gift card to Baskin Robbins ice cream! The worst thing about 31 flavors? All the options to choose from! From Cherries Jubilee to Baseball Nut, Baskin Robbins has some of the best ice cream around! Second only to donuts, ice cream is one of my favorite desserts, and the Neapolitan color scheme is a clear theme in my new blog design. I absolutely love the sweet shades of rich chocolate brown, bubblegum-pink strawberry and creamy vanilla and love how they translated into my new look!
So, do you want to win one of these SWEET prizes?! Enter using the Rafflecopter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
GOOD LUCK, & THANKS FOR ENTERING AND BEING SUCH A FANTASTIC FAN OF THE DOMESTIC REBEL!
Okay, now who’s hungry? For today’s recipe, I thought I’d throw it back to one of my first-ever posts: Neapolitan Cupcakes! I made these for a bakery-themed 20th birthday party I had and they were an instant success. Everyone loved the cool two-toned cupcake flavors and the rich strawberry buttercream on top, and I knew I wanted to recreate them and give them a sweet, updated look for this special day.
So without further adieu, take a bite out of these ultra-sweet and fun to eat Neapolitan Ice Cream Cupcakes!
5.0 from 3 reviews
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Neapolitan Cupcakes {And A HUGE Bloggiversary Party GIVEAWAY!!}
Author: Hayley Parker, The Domestic Rebel
Recipe type: Cakes/Cupcakes
Prep time:
15 mins
Cook time:
18 mins
Total time:
33 mins
Serves: 18-20
Two-toned chocolate and vanilla cake is topped with a swirl of sweet strawberry buttercream to mimic the classic flavors of Neapolitan ice cream! Kids and adults alike will love these fun cupcakes as a nod to a sweet childhood-favorite.
Ingredients
1 box chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients on back of box
1 box white cake mix, plus ingredients on back of box
1 small box sugar-free fat-free instant vanilla pudding mix
1 small box sugar-free fat-free instant chocolate pudding mix
¾ cup (1 & ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup seedless strawberry jam (I like Smuckers Simply Fruit)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tsp strawberry extract (depending on how strong you'd like it)
¼ cup heavy cream
About 4 cups powdered sugar
Red food coloring
White non-pareils sprinkles
Maraschino cherries
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 muffin tins with about 18 paper liners. Set aside.
Prepare the chocolate and vanilla cake mixes in separate bowls using the ingredients and directions on the back of the boxes. Stir the vanilla pudding mix (the dry mix) into the vanilla cake batter, and stir the chocolate pudding mix into the chocolate cake batter. Allow the batters to set for about 5 minutes until thickened.
Working quickly with two separate cookie dough scoops or spoons, spoon about a heaping Tablespoonful of batter onto the left side of the cupcake liner with one flavor. Then immediately spoon the other flavor onto the right side of the cupcake liner. Repeat layers, filling the cupcake liners about ¾ full. You should have roughly around 18 cupcakes, maybe a couple more depending on the box mixes.
Bake for approx. 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean or with moist crumbs. Cool completely.
While cupcakes cool, make your frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, strawberry jam, vanilla, strawberry extract and milk with the paddle attachment for about 2 minutes or until creamy. Add in the powdered sugar, about a cup at a time, until a light and fluffy texture has been achieved. Add in food coloring, only a couple drops at a time, and beat until a light desired pink shade has been achieved.
Spoon the frosting into the piping bag attached with an open star tip. Pipe high onto cooled cupcakes and immediately garnish with white non-pareils sprinkles and a cherry. Serve immediately or store leftovers airtight in the fridge.
*NOTE: If you want to pipe the frosting thick onto the cupcakes, consider doubling or tripling the recipe.*
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Rich chocolate, creamy vanilla and sweet strawberry combine to create these decadent, delicious and festive Neapolitan cupcakes that taste strikingly similar to the classic ice cream flavor. The two-toned and dual-flavored cupcake is a striking, graphic touch with the bright, bubblegum pink-frosting on top. If you’d like, garnish these cupcakes with waffle cone pieces or pirouline cookies or slices of strawberry. You could also top the cakes with chocolate and white chocolate curls for a prettier touch.
Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for being a great fan of The Domestic Rebel! Love you! Mean it
xo, Hayley
*In the interest of full disclosure, I was generously provided with the Tieks grand prize (retailing at a $200 value) from Tieks. All other prizes were purchased on my own. All opinions are 100% my own and always will be. Winners will be chosen at random through the Rafflecopter widget on 2/24/2015 and will be notified via email. Winners will have 24 hours to respond to the email before a new winner is chosen. First winner randomly chosen will receive the grand prize, second winner randomly chosen will receive the second prize, and so on.