Cinnabon Fakes Cupcakes (No TWD Today!)

Greetings from England! The photo above is Bath Abbey, from our last visit there. We're currently visiting many spots in England! I don't have this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe because I have been on vacation and the recipe hadn't yet been posted before I left. This week's recipe was picked by Jasmine of Jasmine Cuisine and she selected Peanut Butter Crisscrosses. I've made these before, using Nutella instead of peanut butter and they were wonderful. In the meantime, here's another recipe.

One weekend my husband and I were at the local mall and we noticed that Cinnamon carried some good looking cupcakes. Later that evening my husband instant messaged me this recipe, which is a replica of what they sell at Cinnabon. I like cupcakes and I like cinnamon, so I thought I would give them a try. Now I’ve never actually eaten the original, so I’m no judge of their authenticity, but I figured they would be really tasty no matter what.

The cupcake recipe is pretty basic, with the addition of a cinnamon sugar streusel that you add to the cakes before baking. You sprinkle it on top but it immediately sinks to the bottom and for me, it was sometimes stuck to the bottom of the cupcake liner. The cinnamon flavor was nice and the texture of the cake was good, too. The original recipe said to bake the cupcakes for 10-12 minutes, but I baked mine closer to 20-22 minutes for them to test done.

I did have a bit of a problem with the frosting. The ingredients are what you expect in cream cheese frosting, but the original recipe has you beat the frosting for 12 minutes to make it light and fluffy. I did that and just let the mixer run while I did some other things. When the timer when off, I checked on the frosting and it was very runny, way too runny to frost cupcakes with! I ended up having to add several cups of powdered sugar to get the frosting to a workable consistency. The frosting was good, although a bit sweet with all the extra sugar! These were so good and I have no idea if they are authentic or not, but they were still very yummy.

4 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, softened

1-1/2 sticks butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs & 1 egg white
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix with sugar, cinnamon, and butter with a fork until you make a crumby, coarse mixture. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy. While that's beating, combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl. In another bowl combine eggs, milk, and vanilla. Mix with a fork.

Beating on slow, add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter/sugar. Add 1/2 the wet ingredient mixture. Alternate until all of the ingredients are incorporated. Do not over mix.

Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter. Sprinkle cinnamon mixture on top of the batter. It will sink in during baking. Bake for about 20 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting

8oz. package of cream cheese-room temperature
1 stick butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon milk

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until thoroughly mixed. Add sugar one cup at a time. Mix well after each cup. Add the vanilla, lemon juice, and milk and beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes and sprinkle a little cinnamon on top.

Recipe from Bread, W(h)ine, and Cheez