Very Vanilla Doughnut Cupcakes

I promised I’d be back this weekend and I’ve been busting my way through some more complicated recipes. I think I may have perfected the vegan donair which I plan to post later this week.

I knew I couldn’t come crawling back after all this time unless it was for something truly fantastic. My plan to win over your sweets-loving-hearts ended in this recipe. The texture is more of a muffin, dense and moist. Its prettily (tots not a word, I know) speckled with nutmeg and vanilla bean. It fills your kitchen with a first baked-good at the end of Summer smell. You can totally brush these with butter and dredge in cinnamon-sugar but AJ requested a glaze which I think works perfectly with their nooks and cranny tops. I chose not to line with cupcake liners for aesthetic reasons but after making them I’d advise against using liners. The high content of butter makes the edges crispy almost like a shortbread and because the cupcakes themselves are not sweet the glaze is given more space to drip down. This recipe makes 12 standard size cupcakes.

Very Vanilla Doughnut Cupcakes

Adapted from Just Baked by Me post Downtown Bakery and Creamery’s Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins.

Cupcakes

• 1 cup of unsalted butter room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 + 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 vanilla bean, insides removed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup of buttermilk plus 2 tbs or add 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar to milk and let stand for 5 minutes before adding to mixture

glaze:

• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 tbs of salted butter
• 2/3 cups of icing sugar
• 1 tbs of milk
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Pre-heat oven to 350. Prepare a muffin tin with non-stick spray or butter and flour.

In a large bowl, add butter and sugar and cream together until fluffy. Open and extract the vanilla form the vanilla bean and add to butter mixture. Drop in one egg at a time  and mix with a hand mixer until all incorporated.

If you are not using pre-made buttermilk, in a small dish add apple cider vinegar to milk stir and set aside.

In a separate bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg and stir. With a wooden spoon, add a third of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and combine. Add a third of the milk to the butter mixture and continue mixing in the remaining dry and wet ingredients alternately until well combined and smooth. Please be aware this batter is more the consistency of un-kneaded bread dough so try not to over mix the batter. If needed add a few extra tablespoons of milk to process.

Scoop about 1/4-1/3 cup of batter into each tin.

Bake for about about 30 minutes until the tops and sides are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let rest in the tins for about 2-3 minutes while you prepare the glaze.

Use a small mixing bowl and add melted butter, the entire middle of an extracted vanilla bean, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract and 1/3 cup of icing sugar and stir. Add milk and remaining 1/3 cup of icing sugar until you have a thick paste.

Remove the cupcakes from the tins and place on a wire rack that is sitting on a piece of parchment paper/ tin foil or cutting board. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of glaze onto each cupcake making sure to cover the top surface as best as you can.

Serve warm  or cooled after glaze sets. Perfect with a coffee or tea.

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