Ides of March Bloody Caesar Cupcakes

Julius Caesar served as my introduction to Shakespeare; at the tender age of 11 The Bard took hold of me and has still not let me out of his clutches. And while it’s not my favorite of his plays (that honor goes to The Winter’s Tale and oh sure, while I have you here — which one do you like best? Oh, you’re a sonnets gal? I’ll be out on the balcony whenever you’re ready!), old Julius and his frenemies will forever hold a special place in my heart and mind. Which is why every year on 15 March, I find myself becoming unreasonably thrilled by the calendar and have to give myself a stern talking to about why it’s simply not OK to show up to the office in a stola.

Sometimes I even get hepped up on the Ides of other months, just for the fun of it.

I was nattering about thematic baked goods to a friend over the weekend, and was rewarded for my babble by having an Ides challenge thrust at me (better than a dagger I suppose?): Make a Bloody Caesar cupcake.

I’ve made savory cupcakes before and thought about using a tomato soup muffin recipe as the base for a proper Bloody Caesar cupcake, but to be totally honest with you I can’t get past the overwhelming gagosity of a Clamato cupcake, so.

Instead of dry heaving my way through a recipe that actually just sounds gross, here’s what I came up with by way of a Bloody Caesar cupcake: A red velvet cupcake featuring a raspberry sauce filling (so it will ooze blood, get it?!) with cream cheese frosting, decorated with a garland of green laurel leaf piping and a wee dagger cake topper.

I’ve linked my favorite recipes for each of the elements throughout, along with a tutorial on how to use a leaf tip for piping. I bid you good luck in your baking endeavors and, of course, leave you with a stern warning to BEWARE.

Jolie Kerr is celebrating Women’s History Month by pondering the evil that men do over a bowlful of batter.

Photo base via TFN