King Cake Cupcakes

Filling shot. These cupcakes were at the warm side of room temperature, and so were exceptionally gooey.

Happy Mardi Gras, all y'all! I wonder, sometimes, if the fact that I'm in California means that I have to eventually turn in my Southerner card. I still think wistfully of Mobile, Alabama as my real home, regardless of how long it's been since I've lived or even visited there. And despite the fact that there are (count them) four different kinds of chicken sausage in my freezer and both chevre and marinated beets in my fridge and at least 6 bottles of mineral water in my pantry. I'm still no Californian - I just live here.

And you do realize that Mobile has the oldest recorded celebration of Mardi Gras in this country, don't you (c'est vrai - look it up)? Chew on that, New Orleans!

Or, chew on this (segue! segue!) - I've made (and eaten) my share of King Cakes and I thought it would be fun to make a cupcake that is (loosely) based on that idea. What we have here is a cinnamon cupcake with an almond crust, filled with a cream cheese filling and topped with an almond buttercream. It's actually pretty simple, especially for me. And it's darn tasty. But no, it's not exactly like a king cake (almond?!?!). For one thing, no one actually likes to eat king cake (snerk). It's usually really dry and not that sweet. The reason you eat a king cake is that you want to get the weird looking plastic baby that is hidden inside (tucked in after the fact, not baked in. That would be strange even for us). Getting the baby means either that you are king for the day or that you need to provide the king cake next year. These cupcakes have no baby hidden in them, simply because the folks out here would be wildly startled to find a creepy plastic baby in their baked goods. Or they'd choke on it. And since I'm taking many of these to work, that would not be career-enhancing.

Anyhow, people eat the king cake to get to the baby, and then enjoy the really good food. Jambalaya! Gumbo! Muffalettas! Po' boys! Yum! I plan to make some jambalaya myself...with my portobello-swiss chicken sausage...kidding! To the cupcakes...and laissez les bon temps rouler!

King Cake Cupcakes

makes about 30 cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup and one 6-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners. Set aside.

~ Almond Crust ~
2 cups ground almonds (coarsely ground in food processor; see photo below)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl. Press a bit more than a tablespoon's worth of the mixture into each cupcake liner, pressing down with your clean fingers to make a smooth, even layer. Bake in the preheated oven for 6 - 7 minutes or until the crusts are just starting to brown. Use your senses here - if you can smell the nuts, these are probably ready. If you smell burning, you're done. Start over. Set the crusts aside to cool while you make the batter.

Ground about like this. You're not making almond meal or anything.

Check out my helper!

He did a fine job, too.

This is about the color you're looking for.

Wow, I said there wouldn't be an process photos last blog and there weren't - I guess I am making up for it now. Anyways...

~ Cinnamon Cupcakes ~

2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat just until butter melts; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs and sugar until thick enough for the batter to fall in a heavy ribbon when the beater is lifted, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Add in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and beat just until blended. Beat in the milk-butter mixture just until blended. Divide batter evenly among the cupcake liners. Bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. While cupcakes are cooling, prepare the cream cheese filling.

~ Cream Cheese Filling ~
8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 - 4 cups powdered sugar

Beat together the cream cheese and butter until well-combined. Add in the vanilla and salt and mix in. A cup at a time, beat in the powdered sugar. You are aiming for a not to sweet mixture that is nowhere near stiff enough to pipe on a cupcake ('cause it's a filling, not a frosting, see?). Three cups will probably do it. You can go for four if you're nervous.

~ Filling the cupcakes ~

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 cream cheese filling, then replace the cap. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

Don't worry if your cupcake runneth over. You're going to be covering all this with frosting.

~ Almond Frosting ~

1 cup butter, room temperature

1/8 - 1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 - 9 cups powdered sugar

Beat the butter in an electric stand mixture until smooth and creamy. Add in the vanilla and almond extracts and the salt, and beat in until well-combined. Add in the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, adding in the milk as needed for consistency. You are going for a frosting that is stiff enough to pipe on but is still nice and smooth and creamy.

Pipe or spread on the frosting onto the filled cupcakes. If desired, garnish in Mardi Gras style (purple, gold, and green sprinkles - or edible glitter as I used). Now eat up, and share with your friends!

The filling has firmed up a little in this shot.

This picture makes me ready for Lent. Eat up! The Lord is just waiting for Wednesday!