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Baby shower time!!! My friend Krystal is having baby #2 soon, and a group of us food bloggers are throwing her a Virtual Baby Shower! Krystal and I first met at a food photography/styling workshop hosted by Matt Armendariz and Adam Pearson. Since then, we’ve kept in contact with each other in the digital space. Sadly, I wasn’t able to participate in Krystal’s first VBS for baby Elena (whose Instagram pictures slay me – so adorable!). So I jumped at the chance to participate in VBS #2. Especially when I heard it was cupcake themed.
Let me tell you about these Maple Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting. Imagine a stack of pancakes that’s been doused with a substantial amount of butter and maple syrup, then topped with a melty, ooey gooey, toasted marshmallow. Yeah, that’s what these cupcakes taste like. They’re quite addicting. I actually sat down and ate three of them shortly after photographing the picture above. Continue reading for the recipe.
The cake portion of these cupcakes is sweetened with pure maple syrup. No additional sugar added. So you can image the intense maple flavor and aroma present with each bite.
Maple Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, slightly softened, cut into pads
- 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening, at room temperature
- 2 cups pure maple syrup (do NOT use imitation here)
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
For the frosting:
- 8 egg whites
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F and set a rack in the middle of the oven. Line 2 12-cup cupcake pans with paper liners.
- Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. Add butter and shortening to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until well-combined and fluffy (1 - 2 minutes). Turn the mixer to low, and slowly pour in maple syrup. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 3 minutes. The mixture will look a bit chunky - that's ok.
- Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs (yolks and whole) one at a time. Wait until the egg is fully mixed in before adding the next. Turn the mixer off, scrape down the sides and add half of the flour mixture. Beat on low until just incorporated. Stream in all of the milk, then turn the mixer off again. Add the remaining flour mixture, and beat on low until just combined. Don't over-mix here!
- Take the bowl from the mixer, scrape down the sides, and gently fold in chopped walnuts. Scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake liners. You'll want to fill them 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (one pan at a time) until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool for 15 minutes before frosting.
- To make the frosting, combine egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Set the bowl over a medium saucepan filled with simmering water. The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Whisk until the sugar dissolves into the egg whites and the mixture looks frothy ( 3 to 4 minutes).
- Transfer the bowl a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat for 5 - 7 minutes until stiff, glossy peaks form. You'll want to start on a low speed and gradually work your way to high. Add vanilla extract and whisk until fully incorporated (just a few moments more).
- Using a piping bag, swirl the frosting on to the cooled cupcakes. Fire up a blow torch and lightly caramelize the swirls. Store cupcakes covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
With that, I’ll finish by saying Happy Virtual Baby Shower to Krystal!! I can’t wait to see more adorable pictures on Instagram 🙂
For a full list of all Virtual Baby Shower cupcakes, please visit Eva Bakes.
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I’m Brandon: food explorer, recipe curator, cocktail shaker, dessert lover. Kitchen Konfidence is how I document my time spent in my favorite space, the kitchen. Did you make a recipe? Tag @brandiego on Instagram so I can see the how it went!
Jessica @ Sunny Side Up says
I have been obsessed with maple syrup lately, so these cupcakes sound ah-ma-zing to me! And the toasted marshmallow tops?? Gorgeous. Oh, and I totally agree, Krystal’s adorable instagram pictures get to me every.single.time!
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Jessica!!
Stephanie @ Macaroni and Cheesecake says
This sounds like such a fantastic combination! And you can never go wrong with toasted marshmallow frosting!
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks! It really does make everything better 😉
Krystal R. says
Oh my gahhhhh Brandon! These have me drooling and totally wishing that we were in the Jetsons-era and had smelly computer vision or something crazy so I could enjoy these right now!! These sound absolutely scrumptious and I can’t wait to try these out, some of my favorite sweet combinations here!! Thank you again for participating in my VBS, and be on the lookout for my IG pics next week! Beware of the cuteness overload and the trigger camera-happy mama!!! XXOO
Brandon Matzek says
Glad you like them Krystal :)!!
Jessica of My Baking Heart says
Gorgeous cuppies, Brandon! Would love to have a real-life shower so I could scarf one of these down! 😉
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks! I totally agreed. I would love to try all the other cupcakes too 🙂
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
They are just gorgeous! And I remember that day of the workshop so very clearly, meeting you and Krystal both for the first time that day as well! Feels like a lifetime ago…and she’s on baby #2 now! I would loooove these cupcakes. I love golden/light colored cupcakes more so than chocolate, crazy but true. These would be perfect with the maple!
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Averie! Can you believe that was over 2 years ago? How the time flies.
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
I know…I feel like I still had a ‘baby’ back then. And now she’s 6.5 and knows her way around an ipad better than I do! 🙂 And a couple cookbooks/photography later for me and you both! Time flies!
Amy @ The Nifty Foodie says
These cupcakes are so cute! The frosting sounds way awesome too!
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Amy :)!
foodnerd4life says
I love this idea. The maple with the walnuts and marshmallow- yum! Can’t wait to try these out.
FoodNerd x
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks FoodNerd :)! It’s a pretty addicting combination.
Laura Dembowski says
I absolutely love marshmallow frosting! This looks so pretty perfectly swirled and toasted. Also love maple syrup. These must have incredible flavor with 2 cups of it.
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Laura. I’m not the best cupcake froster, but with over 2 dozen cupcakes to frost, I got a lot of practice 🙂 My first ones were a mess!
Becky says
I would like a big cup of coffee to drink with these amazing cupcakes! yumo!
Brandon Matzek says
You know… I never had coffee with these cupcakes, but that is a great idea!!
Shay says
These look and sound incredible- and I’m not even a big cupcake guy. Well done!
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Shay. If you like pancakes, you’ll love these cupcakes 🙂
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Sweet baby shower treats!! And I want a blowtorch in my life. That frosting is killing me 😀
Brandon Matzek says
Haha, I have one from Ace Hardware. Low-tech, but effective 😉
Ana Fernandez says
oh my they are incredibly cute! I just bought some vegan marshmallows and I think this might be the perfect recipe to use them!
Brandon Matzek says
Interesting! Yeah I’m sure vegan marshmallows would be ok here.
Jess says
Ahhh! These sound delicious!
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Jess!
Barbara Dooley Whiffen says
These look amazing!!! Your VBS friends were probably drooling at the site of them! I’ve been wanting to try the blow-torch method on some marshmallows, but I’m too scared.
Brandon Matzek says
Thanks Barbara! You can always practice torching store-bought marshmallows 😉