A few people have asked how/where the pugs are lately, so I decided to include them in this post! They make regular appearances on my Instagram feed if you'd like to keep up with their curly tails (and antics) there.

To answer the question - they are well. Sweet and spoiled and all-around stinkers!

Oreo surprise inside!

I baked these in straight-sided paper muffin cups (found here) then unwrapped the cakes and leveled the tops before frosting. These could certainly be made in a jumbo muffin tin, but I think they're pretty cute as mini cakes.

For the sprinkling of these cakes, I mixed together equal parts multicolored jimmies, jumbo nonpareils and regular nonpareils. You'll need about 2 cups of sprinkles for coating, so be sure to have plenty on hand before you begin. Getting the sprinkles on evenly can be tricky, but I found that frosting and coating the sides of the cake first works best. Then you can frost the top of the cake and sprinkle on more nonpareils with a spoon (see above).

This recipe uses Swiss buttercream, and if you've never made this icing before you can check out my how-to video in this post. It's not as sweet as a quick confectioners' icing, and it doesn't crust so you can take your time applying the sprinkles after frosting.

The Oreos inside are a nice surprise when you cut into the cake, and if you can find the Birthday Cake variety, the middles are dotted with sprinkles, too. A perfect match!

Mini Oreo Sprinkle Cakes
[click for printable version]
Source: Basic recipes from the SprinkleBakes book
Yield: 10 mini cakes 
Prep: 2 hours

Cakes
10 Oreo cookies (Birthday Cake Oreos, if you can find them!)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup hot water
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp. canola or other vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place 10 straight-sided muffin cups on a large baking sheet, or line a large capacity muffin tin (often called “Texas” tin) with paper liners.  Place an oreo in the bottom of each cup.
3. Sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.  Add eggs, water, heavy cream, oil and vanilla.  Mix with a hand held mixer until smooth.  
4. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each three-quarters full.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Let cool before frosting.

1. Set a saucepan filled one-third full of water over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.
2. Whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and salt in a large heatproof bowl ( I suggest a stainless bowl). Set over the simmering water and whisk until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar has dissolved (120-140 degrees on a candy thermometer, to be sure).
3. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
4. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Increase to medium-high until stiff peaks are formed.
5. Continue beating at medium-high speed until the mixture is fluffy and has cooled (the mixing bowl should feel cool to the touch).
6. Turn the mixer off and switch from the whisk attachment to the paddle. Turn the mixer on medium-low and add the butter, a few cubes at a time, beating until well incorporated before the next addition.
7. Add the vanilla extract.  Divide batter and tint with food coloring, if desired.
8. Beat until the frosting is thick and completely smooth.
9. Place the mix of nonpareils in a shallow dish. Frost the sides of a cake and roll in the sprinkles until completely coated. Place the cake on the shallow dish and frost the top of the cake; cover top of cake with nonpariels using a spoon to sprinkle them over. Lift cake with a spatula onto desired serving plate. Repeat with remaining cakes.
10. Transfer remaining icing to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe a mound of frosting on top of each cake. Place an Oreo standing upright into each icing mound. Garnish further with Allsorts candies, if desired.