Pralines and Cream cupcakes

Ooh, I loved these. I really did. I was sorry to eat the last one. I will also say that these were probably among the most time-consuming of the cupcakes I have attempted so far. Of course, they didn't have to be. I'm very good at overcomplicating things.

I knew I wanted a pralines and cream cupcake. I knew I wanted to go as Southern as possible (I was bringing these to my sister, and I figured she'd appreciate it). So I made the pralines myself (I used the recipe here if you're interested, bearing in mind that the writer leaves out the Very Important Detail that you need to cook the candy mixture to about 236 degrees. I actually knew this, but I thought it odd that it wasn't mentioned). I knew what I wanted as far as frosting and filling (salty sweet filling, and I had caramel leftover from the caramel apple cupcakes, so, easy enough), and I wanted to go super-Southern with the cake part, so I turned to Alton Brown's chiffon cupcakes (this is one link-happy paragraph, isn't it?).

Wanting to pump up the praline-ity, I had bits and pieces left from trying to get the candies off the wax paper upon which they had cooled (which always happens. Those are cook's pieces), so after putting together the batter I gamely plunked in the praline bits. Which immediately sank to the bottom. I could hear my mother's voice - "And did you really think that was a good idea, dear?" Well, no. I didn't. I didn't think at all, actually. I was plunking.

Still, I forged ahead and baked the cupcakes and hesitantly unwrapped one. Yep. All the pieces had gone to the bottom and sort of goo-ed to the paper liners, leaving sticky, snaggle-toothed cupcakes. The cake itself was lovely - not-too-sweet, light and fluffy and moist, but obviously the praline idea wasn't going to work with this recipe. This is probably because I baked chiffon cupcakes after Labor Day and before Memorial Day, or something. So, delicious but not quite right, appearance-wise.

Pound cake, while certainly not strictly Southern, has, to my mind, a Southern-ness about it, but typically it's dense, dense, dense, and not really what I want for cupcakes. Rather it's what I like toasted, with coffee. But sour cream cupcake is a bit lighter (in texture, anyway - ha!), and so I tried that. Of course, I had to make caramel sauce again (darn!) and pralines again (double darn!) and I had it quickly because we were leaving for the family visit on the next day and instead of plunking I gently folded in the pralines, and...

Eureka! Light and fluffy cupcakes with a tender crumb, which I then filled with a salty dense caramel buttercream, and topped with a praline frosting. Yummmmmm - just kissing the line of altogether too much, but not there yet. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. And feel free to take shortcuts! It won't hurt my feelings a bit.

~ Sour Cream-Praline Pound Cake Cupcakes ~
3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups crushed praline pieces (make your own pralines or purchase them or wait for someone to give them to you and use some up this way)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners (so, 24 cupcakes and you may still have extra).
 http://www.rachelscookery.com/2011/10/caramel-apple-cupcakes-with-apple-pie.html
Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda into a medium bowl; set aside.
In a stand mixer cream butter and white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time; add vanilla.
Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream and mix just until combined. Gently fold in the praline pieces.
With a spoon, scoop the batter into each cupcake liner and fill it 2/3 full.

Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely before filling and frosting.


~ Caramel Buttercream Filling ~
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup caramel sauce (use the caramel drizzle found here or purchase some from the store)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until soft and creamy. Add in caramel sauce and salt and mix well. Beat in powdered sugar.


Once the cupcakes have cooled, cut out a cone-shaped portion out of the top of each cake. Slice off the excess cake from the cone (leaving the flat cap) and reserve the top. Fill the resulting hole with about a tablespoon of the filling (or however much you need). Replace the cap. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes, and then put in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill and set the filling.

Look at that crumb. Look at that filling!

 ~ Praline Frosting ~

6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream (plus more if needed)
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring butter, brown sugar, and cream to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring often; boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.


Pipe frosting on using a pastry bag with a large star tip. If desired, garnish by perching a leftover praline piece jauntily on the top of the cupcake. Store in the refrigerator, but let come to room temperature before serving.

Makes between 24 - 30 cupcakes.