….because these babies are magic!
So I guess I’m in some kind of weird nostalgic for Christmas (or at least Christmas treats!) mode. The faux peanut butter balls last week are probably what got me thinking about the other Christmas delectables that I make. This brought me to thinking about my maple cream cookies…and how much I love them…but how much effort it is to chill the dough, roll it out and cut it into cookie shapes etc. (ummm…actually, I guess I don’t really need the “etc.” since that’s pretty much it). Ok, it’s not really that much work at all, and I do kind of enjoy it, but I was basically looking to revamp and transfer that flavour to something new. Christmas maple cream cookies, meet your new home, maple cream cupcakes! The flavour you know and love, but bigger, bolder and dare I say even more ambrosial than in cookie form? (Although I probably just think that because you get so much more of it on a cupcake 😉 ). People say you can have too much of a good thing, but I have to completely disagree on that one – at least where maple is concerned. Besides, maybe I’m just trying to be patriotic. Yeah, that’s what’s happening here. I’m just supporting the Candiana that is the maple syrup industry (suck it Vermont! 😉 ).
On that note, these cupcakes actually amp up the mapleyness even more than the cookies. Maple in the actual cupcakes, topped with a maple cream icing and…wait for it….a maple caramel filling! Now, does that really sound like “too much of a good thing” to you? You don’t even need to answer that since an emphatic “of course not!” is the only acceptable response any sane and rational person would have. In fact, I even went a step further with these and added a generous sprinkle of maple sugar to top them off. Basically what I’m saying here is, if you have maple syrup in your fridge, then you already have 90% of the ingredients required to create this delicious homage to all things Canada – or whatever excuse you need to tell yourself to justify baking a billion cupcakes 😉 . If you want to be incredibly, incredibly lazy, you could also just toss back a shot of said maple syrup and call it a day 😉 ….or dare I say do both?
Mmmmm….caramelly….
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cake/pastry flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup vegan butter room temperature (i.e. slightly softened)
- 2 egg replacers
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
- maple sugar or cane sugar (optional – for sprinkling on top)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325F (170C)
- Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- With a mixer on medium speed, add the butter by heaping teaspoonfuls. Add 4-5 teaspoons and mix to incorporate into the flour mixture. Repeat until all the butter has been incorporated. It’s ok if it’s not completely mixed in, you just don’t want any large chunks of butter.
- Add egg replacer one at a time.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, almond milk, vanilla, and maple extracts. Add this slowly to the rest of the dough mixture. Beat until just incorporated (try not to overmix).
- Divide the batter evenly among your prepared cupcake liners (should be about 3/4 full). Bake about 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely (very important to cool completely before adding the filling as the cupcakes will likely fall apart when you cut into them if they’re too warm).
- While they’re cooling make the maple caramel filling and maple icing (see recipes below).
- Using a teaspoon (or bread knife), carefully cut a circle into the top of the cupcake and scoop out some of the cake so that you have a well in the center. Fill with the maple caramel sauce and replace the “cap” carefully on top.
- Ice the cupcakes with your maple cream frosting. Sprinkle with maple sugar if desired.
- Store in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tbsp agave
- 1/4 cup vegan butter
- 3/4 cup canned coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp maple extract
Directions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the sugar, maple syrup, water and agave
- Bring to a boil, and let cook, swirling the pan, but not stirring, until it reaches 248° on a candy thermometer.
- Add the canned coconut milk, vegan butter and maple extract. FYI – it will start bubbling like crazy for a minute when you add the coconut milk and butter.
- Continue cooking, but stirring this time, until mixture reaches 220° (or higher if you want it thicker. I accidentally “overcooked” mine – i.e. it was fine, but I’d intended it to be a little saucier…much like my personality 😉 ).
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before using to fill cupcakes.
Ingredients
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened slightly
- pinch of sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup
Directions
- Beat the icing sugar, vegan butter, and salt together.
- Mix in the maple and vanilla extracts.
- Add the maple syrup a bit at a time, until the filling is at a spreadable consistency (or whatever consistency you like).
- If you accidentally make it too soft, add a bit more icing sugar.
Does this recipe work with non-vegan ingrdients such as eggs, butter etc.
by Linda Willis February 2, 2016 at 03 : 05I haven’t tried it, but I can’t see any reason why not 🙂
by admin February 2, 2016 at 05 : 01