Cupcakes: Spaghetti and Meatballs Edition

I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything but I am pretty pleased with my April Fool's day Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcakes. Obviously I am not clever enough to come up with a real trick so I made treats instead. Solid compromise in my book as I don't think I would be able to hold a straight face long enough to pull off a legitimate prank. Here is how you can recreate these Italian beauts for any occasion.

Use a yellow or white cake mix to create cupcakes. Follow the box instructions or add a can of ginger ale or lemon-lime soda (diet or regular) to the mix, stir, and bake according to the box.

For the icing, I used store-bought buttercream since I felt it had the most noodle-like color. Spread a small amount on each cupcake as a base. Scoop the icing into a baggie and snip one corner. ***Full disclosure, I must have squeezed too hard on my first few attempts because I ended up popping the Ziploc, having to transfer the icing to a fresh bag, and start again, this time with success. So, live and learn, and take your time. 

This was actually super simple and I had no real rhyme or reason to my noodle pattern. I placed my cupcakes together and piped the icing all over, making little "piles" on each cake but letting the strands touch the other cakes and hang over the sides for a more realistic look. Once I was satisfied with the noodles, I unwrapped 12 Ferrero Rocher chocolates aka the meatballs. Super realistic right? Then, in a bowl, I spooned some raspberry jam (strawberry or any red color will do) to imitate the marinara sauce and coated the chocolate balls a few at a time. I then scooped a bit of the jam on each cupcake (you don't need much) and placed a meatball on each. If I had had some white chocolate to shave or some powder sugar, I would have sprinkled that on top as Parmesan cheese but even without, they still looked great and were a real hit.