November 29, 2012

pour some (brown) sugar (and cinnamon) on me


Cinnamon, brown sugar, and caramel are very near and dear to me. They make up my baking trifecta.


Knowing this, I set out to make a cupcake that somehow incorporated all three, and I think I created a real masterpiece. It all starts with a brown sugar pound cake that's soft and dense to an ideal degree. The next aspect is a cinnamon whipped cream filling that was lucky to make it inside the cupcakes at all--it's delectably fragrant and fluffy! The final touch is a made-from-scratch caramel frosting that's thick and sweet and irresistible.


I suppose a dulce de leche filling and cinnamon buttercream frosting would be tasty too. Let's be honest--any combination of those three ingredients is gonna make me happy. No one component dominates the others; they have a nice balance and taste wonderful together. How would you combine the three?


I'm sure there's some sort of PG-rated ménage à trois joke that would be perfect here. Pretend that there is, and laugh heartily. :)

No-Third-Wheel Cupcakes
Makes about 2 dozen
Ingredients:
One batch of brown sugar pound cake cupcakes
Cinnamon whipped cream filling:
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Caramel frosting:
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream, plus more as necessary
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Directions:
Make the cupcakes as directed and let them cool completely.
To make the filling, simply whip the cream and sugar until stiff, then blend in the cinnamon.
To make the frosting, melt butter in saucepan. Add brown sugar and cream. Cook over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Transfer to a mixing bowl and beat in powdered sugar until smooth. If frosting is too thick, add 1 tablespoon heavy cream at a time until consistency is right.
To fill the cupcakes, carve out a cone-shaped hole and squirt the cinnamon whipped cream inside. Apply frosting generously to the cupcakes and, after giving the components a few minutes to get friendly, devour.

25 comments:

  1. My kind of flavor. A tempting cupcake.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Definitely my favourite flavours! Tell you what though - your butterscotch goombah would be the ideal filling for this.

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  3. Oh! I love the font of your header!!
    Almost as much as the cupcake recipe.
    :)

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  4. Oh my....let me join you in the brown sugar and cinnamon shower....love it. These are too much to resist!

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  5. Three of my favorites together in a luscious cupcake... YUM!

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  6. Header font rocks! (And the cupcakes do, too, especially the caramel frosting part)

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  7. I am at work right now and cinnamon whipped cream and caramel is just not fair. Needless to say, I want.

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  8. Beautiful! And so light and fluffy looking! :) you are the cake master grace!

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  9. The words "brown sugar" alone make me swoon. I'll pretty much make anything that have them in the title. Your cupcakes, as always, look fantastic.

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  10. oooh...sounds delightful! I'm savoring just the name of it even, bc I can't taste it from here...YUM!!

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  11. Brown sugar, cinnamon and caramel make me want to go into the kitchen and bake right now. :) These look seriously delicious.

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  12. That is one perfect trifecta. What an amazing blend of flavors!

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  13. I think that trifecta is near and dear to everyone....well, at least anyone I'd want to associate with. LOL

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  14. A perfect cupcake with awesome ingredients :)

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  15. You have put all that is good in this world in these cupcakes. Seriously.

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  16. You definitely know how to take a cupcake to the next level Grace! Popping over later, so save a few for me....

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  17. Whoa, the flavour combo sounds amazing, but that frosting must be a show-stopper. You have such a knack for frostings Grace, they look fab too.

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  18. Appreciate this post. Will try it out.
    My site : how to play piano

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  19. Cinnamon is my favourite spice. The cupcake looks beautiful.

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  20. Apart from drooling and lusting, I have the Def Leppard song Pour Some Sugar On Me going around in my head :)

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  21. i completely agree with you... cinnamom brown sugar and caramel are some of my favorite ingredients to use in my baking! that cupcake is so tempting ;)

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  22. All of my favorite flavors. I'll bet these are amazing. I so wish tastes could go through the internet like phone calls...

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  23. This is a lovely combination of the trifecta. The cinnamon buttercream and dulce de leche filling sounds delicious too. I'd like to taste them both!

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