Pop Rocks Fire Cracker Cup Cakes with Sprinkles

Pop Rocks take me back to the days of Piggly Wiggly. I often followed my brothers there to buy candy to sell at school. Some days while at dance class, a few of us girls would run down to the corner store during break to buy Pop Rocks and Now-and-Laters. Not the best of snacks, but it was more about the experience of little blasts inside our mouths that made us giggle.

Source: Adapted from Patrick Decker by Cathy at Noble Pig
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
12 tbsp (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1-1/4 cups sugar
8 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla, divided
1 cup milk
1/2 cup rainbow candy sprinkles
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
About 3/4 cup blueberries, to garnish
About 3/4 cup raspberries, to garnish
Lots of Pop Rocks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffins tins with paper baking cups.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, then set aside.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is fluffy, substantially increased in volume and lightened in color, about 3 minutes.

In another large bowl, use an electric mixer with clean beaters to beat the egg yolks and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla until thickened and pale in color, about four minutes. Add the beaten egg yolks to the butter-sugar mixture and mix to combine.

With the mixer on low, add a third of the sifted dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Once mixed, add half of the milk, followed by another third of the flour. When well mixed, add the remaining milk, mix, then add the remaining flour. Use a silicon spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are mixed in.

Gently fold in the sprinkles. Fill the prepared muffin tins with batter. Cook until a skewer inserted at the center comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes. Do not over bake. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Just before serving, in a large bowl combine the heavy cream, powdered sugar and remaining vanilla. Use an electric mixer to beat until thick. Dollop or pipe whipped cream over each cupcake, then garnish with blueberries and raspberries. Sprinkle each cupcake GENEROUSLY with POP ROCKS.

Variations:
-Use store bought cupcakes or boxed mix.
-Use any canned frosting.