The cupcake tastes like pancakes with maple syrup and looks like a little pat of butter is melting on top. If you make the icing fluffy and swirly it could also look like mashed potatoes.
Ingredients:
***Cupcakes***
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon maple extract, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Maple Frosting***
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 3 to 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon maple extract, optional
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation:
Heat the oven to 375°.
Cupcakes: If using cupcake papers, spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with the prepared cupcake papers. Or, grease and flour the cups or spray with baking spray.
In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
In a large bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the eggs and melted cooled butter until smooth. Whisk in the flavoring(s). Stir in the flour mixture until smooth. Spoon into the prepared pan, filling cups or papers about 2/3 full.
Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes to a rack to cool completely.
Frosting: In a mixing bowl with electric mixer, use paddle attachment and beat the butter. Gradually add 1 cup of confectioners' sugar until smooth and light. Add the maple syrup and more cups of confectioners' sugar, and the maple and vanilla extracts. Beat until light and fluffy, adding more confectioners' sugar as needed.
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Normally I would just frost this with maple buttercream frosting, but I wanted to be silly for April fools day, so I took the frosting and made it a filling by coring the cupcakes after they cooled and stuffed it in with a measuring cup. You can also use a piping bag to fill them. I then made a new batch of frosting minus the maple extract so that the frosting would stay white.
You can frost it smoothly or make it fluffy. To make the appearance of butter on top, place an unwrapped yellow Starburst candy in the center and drizzle Carmel sauce across it. Alternately, you could make a well of Carmel sauce and put the Starburst in the center, pressing down a bit on the candy so that the sauce spills out onto the sides of the cupcake.
This recipe is adapted from about.com southern food by Diana Rattray.
