Pizza? Yes. Cupcake? Yes. Pizza cupcake?! (hmmmnnn…)
Today is a very special day. It’s my little boy’s 2nd birthday.
Days before his birthday, I had the dilemma of whether to bake a (A) cake or (B) cupcakes. Both require frosting and i’m not in the mood to make the frosting no matter how much I force myself and I don’t know why. Hormonal imbalance? Getting old? Nah… I’m just lazy (sorry son). And I thought that a 9-inch 3-layer cake is not enough to share it with our friends-slash-neighbors. And we want our share too.
So the last minute, I decided to make pizza cupcakes. Why? I don’t know (again).
Dear self, please be serious now. Okay?
Well, our plan for my son’s birthday is my mom will cook her signature spaghetti and then just order cheap (but reliable 😉 ) pizza. I’m not convinced with giving our friends plain pizza. Cupcakes are good but I don’t like to make the frosting. The idea popped up. Hence, pizza cupcakes.
Isn’t it great? Laziness can lead to these yummy-ness.
I know that when you see these pictures, some of you might think that they are hard to make. But no. They’re easy. You’ll just need some extra time to:
- Slice onions and bell peppers
- Chop mushrooms (If using fresh. I used canned to make life a bit easier)
- Grate LOTS of cheese
- Cook ham and bacon
- Chop the cooked ham and bacon
- Flatten the bread (I have a technique w/o using rolling pin and I’ll teach you how)
The good news is, you can make some of the tasks above ahead of time (except onions, bacon and bread tasks). Just seal them very well in a container and pop in the fridge.
What I really like about these pizza cupcakes:
- Using white bread is more convenient than making a pizza dough
- White bread is more accessible and cheaper than store-bought pizza dough (in my case)
- Since you’ll be using cupcake pans, a max of 12 pizzas can be produced in one batch which is great for party/gatherings
- And since they’re in cup form, they can hold so much toppings!
More toppings pleeeaase!
- It’s good to be fancy sometimes
- They’re cute
You read it right. They’re cute. And #delish.
- 12 pieces white bread
- 1 pack pizza sauce (115g or about 1/2 cup - good for 12 pieces of bread)
- 165g cheddar cheese, grated (plus more if you like lots of cheese)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated (optional)
- 1 cup pineapple tidbits (about 200g to 250g)
- 1 small can sliced button mushrooms (or 1/2 cup)
- 1 medium white onion, cut into strips
- 1 large green bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1/2 cup sweet ham, cooked and diced into bite size pieces
- 4 to 6 strips of bacon, cooked until crisp, chopped into small pieces
- Cook ham and bacon and chop into bite size pieces. I cooked mine in the microwave. You can save time chopping the bacon if they are crisp. Put them in a paper towel, then crumble or crush them with your hands. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
- Flatten the bread using a rolling pin or drinking glass. You can work on big batches by using 2 plates. Put 4 to 6 pieces of white bread on the first plate. Put the second plate on top of the pile of bread then push it down to flatten them.
- Press the flatten bread on cupcake pans and form them into cups. It's okay if they are not perfectly or neatly shaped into cups. See 5th picture above.
- Brush the bread with pizza sauce using pastry brush or spread it with a spoon.
- Evenly distribute the toppings: half of the cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, pineapple, mushrooms, sweet ham, onions, and bell pepper. Top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the sides of the bread are golden brown.
- Sprinkle bacon bits then transfer on a serving plate. Serve 'em hot. Enjoy!
- • You can adjust the amount of toppings. We like to add lots of cheese.
- • Use any toppings you like. Leftovers are great too!
- • Use any pizza sauce, tomato sauce or your homemade pizza sauce.
Don’t. Bite. The. Screen.
Okay, I might be almost a year late in saying this, but Happy 2nd Birthday to your son! 🙂 Hehe… it’s nearly time for his third birthday, right? I LOVE that you made Pizza Cupcakes! What a creative and interesting idea! It’s super cool too that you used sliced bread as the crust. These savory cupcakes look so delicious–I just want to reach through the screen and grab one. Off to pin this on my Fun Foods board. Thanks for such a brilliant recipe, Sheryl! <3
Yup he’ll be turning three on July. Time flies way too fast! ?
I really wanted to make a real pizza dough but watching over a hyper kid while baking is crazy! Using sliced bread is the easiest way haha! Thank you Demeter! I’m glad you liked it ?