Oil-based maple cupcakes with a frosting built on brown sugar syrup rather than more powdered sugar. Twelve cupcakes.

The stated total time does not work

Worth knowing before you plan around it. The source gives 5 minutes prep, 15 minutes baking and 35 minutes total, and the description says about forty minutes.

Those figures only cover the cupcakes. The frosting requires dissolving brown sugar in water over 5 to 10 minutes and then cooling that syrup completely, and the cupcakes have to cool completely before anything goes on them.

Realistically this is closer to an hour and forty five minutes start to finish, most of it waiting. Around 20 minutes of that is active work.

Make the syrup first and put it in the fridge, then bake. That way both are cooling at the same time rather than one after the other.

Dissolve the brown sugar completely

Three quarters of a cup with a quarter cup of water, whisked over medium heat until there are no grains left.

this …

This is the step that makes the frosting worth making. Brown sugar beaten straight into butter stays as crystals, and the frosting comes out gritty no matter how long you whip it.

Dissolved into a syrup first, it goes in as a liquid and the frosting is smooth. It also carries the molasses flavour through evenly rather than in pockets.

Five to ten minutes, whisking occasionally. Run a spoon through and check for grit before you take it off.

The syrup must be completely cold

Poured into a glass bowl or jar and cooled, with the fridge as the faster route.

Warm syrup added to whipped butter melts it, and melted butter cannot hold the air you just beat in. The frosting collapses into something soupy that will not pipe.

Completely cold means cold to the touch, not merely not-hot. The refrigerator gets there in about half an hour.

Oil rather than butter in the cupcakes

A third of a cup of vegetable or canola oil.

Oil stays liquid at room temperature where butter sets firm, which is why these stay moist as they cool rather than tightening. It is the same reason so many carrot and chocolate cakes use oil.

There is no creaming step as a result. Everything wet gets whisked together in one bowl, which is why the prep time is genuinely short.

The frosting is where all the butter is, at a full cup.

Flour, milk, flour

The dry mixture and the milk added alternately, starting and ending with flour.

Adding all the milk at once to a mixture with this much sugar and oil in it can split the emulsion. Alternating keeps enough flour present to absorb the liquid as it goes in.

Whisk just until combined. There is no gluten benefit here and overmixing gives a tough, chewy cupcake.

Room temperature is not optional

The maple syrup, yogurt, egg, egg white and milk are all specified as room temperature, and the notes make a point of it.

Cold ingredients added to oil do not emulsify properly. The batter looks separated, and the finished cupcakes come out denser than they should.

Half an hour on the counter covers it. Eggs warm faster sitting in a bowl of warm tap water.

Two thirds full, which is about three tablespoons

The notes give that measure and it is useful.

These rise well, so two thirds gives you a domed cupcake that sits level with the liner rather than mushrooming over it. Fuller and they spill; less and they look sunken once cooled.

Measure the flour properly

Fluffed with a fork, spooned into the cup, levelled with a knife.

Scooping the cup into the bag compacts the flour and can add a fifth more than intended, which is the usual cause of a dry cupcake.

Ten minutes in the pan

Then onto a rack to cool completely before frosting.

The pan time lets them firm enough to lift out without tearing. Longer and steam condenses underneath and the bottoms go damp.

Adjust the cream at the end

Two tablespoons to start, with a third added if the frosting is too thick.

The source notes preferring three total. Start at two and judge, since the syrup already contributes liquid and how much depends on how far it reduced.

Storing

Airtight, two days at room temperature or five refrigerated.

Around 511 calories per cupcake with 61 grams of sugar, which reflects three cups of powdered sugar plus the brown sugar syrup in the frosting alone.

Maple extract is optional and worth it

A quarter teaspoon, listed as optional.

A quarter cup of real maple syrup contributes sweetness and moisture but surprisingly little maple flavour once baked, since its aromatic compounds are volatile. The extract is concentrated and survives the oven.

Without it these read as brown sugar cupcakes with a maple note. With it, maple leads.

Piping

Any large star tip gives the classic swirl, and the source names one it prefers. A butter knife works and gives a rustic finish.

If the frosting softens while you pipe, ten minutes in the fridge firms it back up.

Print Recipe

Maple Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

Author: Yas Sine Cooking Method: Baking Cuisine: American Courses: Dessert Recipes Recipe Keys: B Buttercream F Fall Baking K Kid-Friendly M Make-Ahead

Difficulty: Beginner Prep Time 20 mins Cook Time 18 mins Rest Time 65 mins Total Time 1 hr 43 mins

Cooking Temp: 350  C Servings: 12 Calories: 511

Best Season: Fall, Winter

Description

Twelve maple cupcakes made with real maple syrup and yogurt, finished with a smooth brown sugar buttercream.

Ingredients:

Servings

• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ¹⁄₄ teaspoons baking powder
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
• ³⁄₄ cup brown sugar for the cupcakes
• ¹⁄₃ cup vegetable or canola oil
• ¹⁄₄ cup maple syrup at room temperature
• ¹⁄₄ cup plain or vanilla yogurt at room temperature
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 large egg white at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon maple extract (optional)
• ¹⁄₂ cup milk at room temperature
• ³⁄₄ cup brown sugar for the frosting
• ¹⁄₄ cup water
• 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt for the frosting.

Instructions

1. Make the frosting syrup first so it has time to cool. In a small saucepan over medium heat whisk together the 3/4 cup brown sugar and the water. Continue whisking occasionally as it melts, 5 to 10 minutes, until no grains remain. Pour into a glass bowl or jar and refrigerate until completely cold.
2. 
Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners.
3. 
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
4. 
In a large bowl whisk together the 3/4 cup brown sugar, oil, maple syrup, yogurt, egg, egg white, vanilla and maple extract until combined.
5. 
Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk to the wet ingredients in the order flour, milk, flour, whisking just until combined without overmixing.
6. 
Fill each liner two thirds full, about 3 tablespoons, and bake 15 to 18 minutes, checking the centres with a toothpick. Cool 10 minutes in the pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. 
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on high until smooth and creamy.
8. 
Add the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of cream, the salt and the completely cooled brown sugar syrup. Mix on low about 30 seconds, then increase to high and beat 1 to 2 minutes until light and creamy. Add the third tablespoon of cream if it is too thick.
9. 
Pipe or spread onto the completely cooled cupcakes..

Keywords: Moist, Maple, Creamy