French Toast Cupcakes / Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Thursday was a half day for me (thank you SNO-MG!!) and I had a desire to bake.  I had no clue what I wanted to bake, all I knew was that I wanted to bake and that was what I was going to do.  :) 

Of course I asked the husband what he wanted, and he did tell me to bring my cookbook to him and he would pick something out.  However, my cookbooks weren't doing it for me.  So onto Pinterest I went.  I searched cupcakes and found a french toast cupcake.  I thought it sounded good and I had most of the ingredients on hand so off to the kitchen I went.  I had to substitute two of the ingredients, and I will say, they came out pretty dang good.

I wanted to frost them, but I didn't have the ingredients on hand for the whipped cream frosting below that they suggested (OK, I didn't have the whipping cream on hand), so I came up with my own.  

French Toast Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 TEASPOONS MAPLE EXTRACT (I ADDED THIS ON MY OWN FOR A MORE MAPLE FLAVOR)
• 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (I SUBSTITUTED THIS AND USED AGAVE SYRUP)
• 1/2 cup half-and-half, at room temperature (I substituted THIS AND USED VANILLA ALMOND MILK)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Prepare the cupcakes: Combine the flours, baking powder, potato starch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl with a whisk.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugars with a mixer on low speed until combined, 6 to 8 minutes. Gradually mix in the vanilla and egg whites. Scrape down the sides of the bowl; continue mixing until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the maple syrup and half-and-half, mixing after each addition and ending with flour. Mix until the ingredients are just combined; do not overmix.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about three-quarters of the way. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting (my own recipe)

Ingredients:

• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 STICK OF BUTTER
• a splash of milk 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 TSP MAPLE EXTRACT
• 1 cup powdered sugar (SIFTED)

Using a stand mixer, whip the cream cheese and butter for 5 minutes until smooth.  Add milk, vanilla and maple extracts, mix thoroughly. Lower the speed to low as you slowly add the powered sugar. Continue to beat on medium for 5 minutes.  (You can add more milk for a thinner frosting.  For a thicker frosting, use less milk.)

Before the cupcakes go in the oven

After they are baked and iced

The photo I posted on instagram.

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