sunday recipe: cupcake heaven

i'm going to forget about my healthy eating goals for just a moment...

i was absolutely speechless when i came across this recipe from the adorable sarah of 20 something cupcakes. s p e e c h l e s s. feast your eyes on her incredibly original recipe for cinnamon sugar coffee cupcake heaven...

sugar donut cupcakes
[in sarah's words]

> 3/4 cup sugar
> 1 large egg
> 1 1/2 cups cake flour
> 2 tsp baking power
> 1/4 tsp salt
> 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
> 1/4 cup vegetable oil
> 3/4 cup buttermilk
> 1 tsp vanilla extract
> 3 tbsp butter, melted
> 3/4 cup sugar, for rolling
  
to make the cupcakes:

preheat your oven to 350F. lightly grease your muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil. in a large bowl, beat together the sugar and egg until nice and light in color. in a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. since i never have cake flour on hand, i make it myself using all-purpose flour and cornstarch. just replace 2 tablespoons of flour with cornstarch, for each cup you need. sift together a few times – i probably went for 5; the more you sift, the closer to cake flour it becomes. now pour the flour mixture into the egg mixture and stir to combine. pour in vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract – stir until just combined. don’t overmix, lovelies.

divide batter evenly into 10  cups, filling each about 3/4 full. bake for 15-18 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

while your cupcakes are baking, melt the butter and pour the remaining sugar into a small bowl. when the cupcakes are done, remove from the pan and let them sit for a few minutes. now, roll them in the melted butter and then in the sugar. cool completely on a wire rack.

time to make some freshly whipped cream:

making whipped cream is so super-easy that once you’ve done it once, it can be a little dangerous. all you do is beat some heavy cream in a bowl, and add a bit of sugar – like this. i also added a bit of cinnamon.

now, for the ice cream:

first, take your ice cream out of the freezer and let in soften for about 10 minutes. i used häagen-dazs because i find it to be the best coffee ice cream ever made, but you could use something else or make your own.

cut your cupcakes in half. first, add a dollop of your cinnamon-sugar whipped cream to the top half of the cupcakes. you can do this with a pastry bag and a large tip, or by cutting a little hole in a plastic bag. here is a fab tutorial on working with a pastry bag – and don’t feel bad if you make a mess and hate life when you’re using it. i still can’t seem to figure the damned thing out.


now, take a small scoop of ice cream and place onto the bottom half of the cupcake. place your frosted top on your ice creamed-bottom, and you’re good to go. just sprinkle with some cinnamon-sugar and D.I.E.

recipe + image via: 20 something cupcakes