Spice Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Icing

I had two goals for this week.  The first was to start back to the gym.  The second was to make cupcakes.  Shocking that I only accomplished the second goal.  Who has time for the gym when there are all these cupcakes to eat.  I guess I should have started out the week by saying I can only make cupcakes if I head to the gym first.  Lesson learned!

A cup cake shop opened up a few blocks from our house called Sweet by Kristy.  They are jumbo sized cupcakes.  I've had about 4 different ones and they were all are amazing.  I had one a few weeks ago that was like a cupcake version of a Cinnabon.  I wanted to make a small attempt at trying to recreate this wonderful deliciousness.

I figured I would find a recipe and try to develop from the basic recipe.  I made spice cupcakes with brown sugar cream cheese icing.  This recipe was really good.  The icing was the best part.  It melts in your mouth with brown sugar goodness.  However, I found the cupcakes to be too dense.  The next time I make it I will attempt to make them more moist.  Or I may try a new spice cake recipe.  Does anyone have a spice cake recipe that they enjoy?

I give the recipe 3 cookies because the cake needs some adjusting.  I really enjoyed the brown sugar cream cheese icing and would give this 4 cookies ranked on its own.

 spice cupcakes with sugar-cream-cheese-frosting

Brown Sugar Icing

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
1/3 cup butter, softened (if using cream cheese, half the butter and add same amount of cream cheese)
2 1/2 cups icing sugar (powdered sugar)

In a small bowl or pot, stir together the brown sugar, water and vanilla. If you like, heat to a simmer to dissolve the sugar, or let it sit for a bit, stirring occasionally until the sugar is more or less dissolved. (It doesn’t much matter if there’s still some graininess in the bottom.)

In a medium bowl, beat the butter until creamy; add the icing sugar and about 3/4 of the brown sugar syrup and beat until smooth. Add more sugar or syrup as needed until you have a soft, spreadable icing.

 spice cupcakes:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg and/or allspice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter or non-hydrogenated margarine, softened
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray two 8” or 9” round cake pans or one 9? x 13? pan with nonstick spray.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. In a larger bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer for about half a minute, until it’s pale and creamy. Pour in the sugar and continue to beat for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl whenever it needs it.

Stir the vanilla into the milk. Add about one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir it in by hand or with the electric mixer on low speed, just until it’s combined. Add about half the milk in the same manner, then another third of the flour, the rest of the milk, and the rest of the flour, mixing just until the batter is blended.

Divide the batter between the prepared tins, filling them about 3/4 full, and bake for 20-25 minutes until the cupcakes are golden and tops are springy to the touch. Makes 1 1/2 dozen cupcakes.